Chapter 5: The Daughter Nobody Claimed
Gavin reached the kitchen in seconds.
Eli was standing beside the refrigerator, his hands shaking.
Ava had dropped a strawberry onto the floor.
“What happened?”” Gavin asked.
Eli looked at him.
“Is the little girl coming?””
Gavin crouched.
“What little girl?””
Eli wiped his face with his sleeve.
“The one Mommy said I wasn't supposed to talk about.””
Gavin felt his stomach tighten.
“Have you seen her?””
Eli nodded.
“She had a yellow blanket.””
Gavin looked toward Margaret.
She had followed him into the kitchen.
Her face was pale.
“Eli,” she whispered, “what did you say?””
“The baby girl.””
Margaret closed her eyes.
Gavin turned toward her.
“Tell me everything.””
Margaret looked at Ava.
“Not in front of the children.””
Gavin glanced at his daughter.
“Sweetheart, would you mind taking Eli upstairs? You can show him your toys.””
Ava nodded.
“Can I show him my dollhouse?””
“Absolutely.””
She took Eli's hand.
The boy hesitated.
Gavin gently touched his shoulder.
“Go ahead. I'll be right here.””
When the children were upstairs, Gavin turned back to Margaret.
“Who is the little girl?””
Margaret sat down.
“Rachel gave birth to a boy and a girl. The boy was taken to the neonatal unit because he needed additional care. The girl was stable.””
“And Daniel?””
“He was there that night.””
“Why?””
Margaret looked toward the hallway.
“Because Rachel had asked him to come.””
Gavin frowned.
“My brother and Rachel barely spoke.””
“That wasn't true.””
Margaret opened her handbag and removed another photograph.
This one showed Daniel standing beside Rachel at a family barbecue.
His arm was around her shoulders.
Rachel was laughing.
Gavin stared.
“When was this taken?””
“Three months before the delivery.””
He looked up.
“Why was my brother so close to my wife?””
Margaret took a breath.
“Because Daniel was Rachel's first love.””
Gavin felt something cold settle in his chest.
“First love?””
“They had been together before you met her. Their relationship ended, but they remained in contact.””
Gavin looked at the photograph again.
“Did Daniel know she was carrying his child?””
Margaret shook her head.
“He believed one of the twins might be his. Rachel wasn't certain. She told me she wanted the truth established after the babies were born.””
Gavin sat opposite her.
“And what happened?””
Margaret folded her hands.
“Rachel died before she could explain everything.””
Gavin rubbed his forehead.
“Then why did Daniel disappear?””
“Because Kendra told him the babies were dead.””
Gavin looked up sharply.
“She told him?””
Margaret nodded.
“She told him the boy hadn't survived and that the girl had been placed with another family.””
Gavin stared.
“Why would she do that?””
Margaret's eyes filled.
“Because she wanted Daniel to leave the country.””
Gavin stood.
“Where is he now?””
“I don't know.””
“You said Kendra was involved. What did she do with the little girl?””
Margaret hesitated.
“I believe she knows.””
Gavin walked to the window.
Outside, a delivery truck rolled slowly past the house.
Everything looked ordinary.
The neighbor's dog barked.
A sprinkler clicked on.
Yet Gavin felt as though his entire life had been constructed on top of a grave full of lies.
His phone rang.
A number he didn't recognize.
He answered.
“Hello?””
A man's voice came through.
“Gavin?””
He went still.
“Daniel?””
A pause.
Then a bitter laugh.
“I see she finally told you.””
Gavin gripped the phone.
“Where the hell have you been?””
“Trying to stay away from the people who ruined everything.””
“Are you the father of Rachel's daughter?””
Silence.
Then Daniel answered.
“I might be.””
Gavin closed his eyes.
“Where is she?””
“I don't know.””
“You're telling me you don't know where your own daughter is?””
Daniel's voice cracked.
“I haven't seen her since she was a baby.””
Gavin stared at the floor.
“Did you know about Eli?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn't you come looking for him?””
“Because Kendra told me you had adopted him.””
Gavin's blood ran cold.
“What?””
“She said you knew everything. She said you'd taken the boy and wanted me to stay away.””
Gavin turned toward Margaret.
She was watching him.
Daniel continued.
“I believed her, Gavin. I thought you wanted nothing to do with me.””
Gavin's voice became sharp.
“And the girl?””
Daniel took a shaky breath.
“She told me the girl had been placed with a family who couldn't have children.””
Gavin looked toward the staircase.
“Do you know where?””
“No.””
“Then why are you calling?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Because I received a message yesterday.””
“What message?””
“A photograph.””
Gavin waited.
Daniel's voice dropped.
“It was a picture of a little girl. Maybe six years old. She was standing beside a birthday cake.””
Gavin's throat tightened.
“What was her name?””
“Lily.””
Gavin looked toward the photograph of Rachel and the twins.
“What else?””
Daniel continued.
“On the cake, someone had written, 'Happy birthday, Ava's sister.''”
Gavin's phone nearly slipped from his hand.
Ava's sister.
He looked toward the stairs.
“Who sent it?””
“I don't know. But there was a note attached.””
“What did it say?””
Daniel was quiet for a moment.
Then he answered.
*The girl is living with the woman who stole her brother.*
The call ended.
Gavin stood motionless.
Margaret slowly rose from her chair.
“What happened?””
He looked at her.
“Daniel says the girl is living with someone connected to Kendra.””
Margaret covered her mouth.
“No.””
Gavin looked toward the hallway.
“Where is my wife?””
Margaret pointed toward the living room.
But before Gavin could move, Kendra appeared at the kitchen entrance.
She was holding a small photograph.
Her eyes were red.
“Gavin,” she whispered.
He turned.
“What?””
She held the photograph toward him.
It showed a little girl with dark curls, standing in front of a pink birthday cake.
Gavin recognized the shape of her eyes.
They looked remarkably like Rachel's.
Kendra's voice trembled.
“That's Lily.””
Gavin stared at her.
“Where is she?””
Kendra looked at the photograph.
Then she whispered:
“She's been calling me Mommy.””
Gavin felt the room tilt.
“You've been raising Rachel's daughter?””
Kendra nodded.
“But there's something you don't understand.””
Gavin stepped toward her.
“What?””
Kendra looked up.
“Lily isn't living with a stranger. She's living with my sister.””
Gavin frowned.
“Your sister?””
Kendra nodded slowly.
“And she believes Lily is her biological daughter.””
Gavin stared at the photograph.
Then at Kendra.
“Why would your sister believe that?””
May you like
Kendra's answer was barely audible.
“Because I gave her the baby.””
