Chapter 6: The Woman Who Raised Lily
For several seconds, Gavin couldn't speak.
He looked at the photograph again.
The little girl was smiling.
She had a pink bow in her hair and chocolate frosting on one cheek.
Someone had written her name across the bottom.
*LILY — SIX YEARS OLD.*
Gavin touched the photograph with his thumb.
“Your sister has been raising Rachel's daughter for six years?””
Kendra nodded.
“And she thinks Lily is her own?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
Kendra sat down.
“My sister, Vanessa, couldn't have children. She'd suffered several miscarriages. After Rachel died, I told her I knew someone who couldn't care for a newborn.””
Gavin stared.
“You gave her Rachel's baby?””
“I thought I was helping.””
“You stole a child from her father!””
Kendra flinched.
“I was trying to give Lily a stable home.””
Gavin's voice rose.
“You don't get to decide that a child doesn't deserve to know her parents!””
Kendra began crying.
“You weren't there, Gavin. You were barely functioning. Rachel was gone.
Daniel was gone. Margaret was making accusations. Everyone was falling apart.””
“And your solution was to distribute the children like possessions?””
Kendra looked down.
“I didn't know what else to do.””
Margaret stepped forward.
“You knew exactly what you were doing.””
Kendra turned toward her.
“You weren't there when I had to make the arrangements!””
“I was at Rachel's funeral. I was there when Gavin buried an empty coffin because nobody gave him the truth!””
Kendra looked away.
Gavin raised a hand.
“Enough.””
He turned toward his wife.
“Where does Vanessa live?””
“Outside Columbus.””
“Give me her address.””
Kendra shook her head.
“Please don't go there tonight.””
Gavin stared.
“Why?””
“Because Vanessa doesn't know the truth.””
“Then she'll learn it.””
Kendra stood.
“If you tell her, she'll never forgive me.””
Gavin's expression hardened.
“You should have considered that six years ago.””
An hour later, Gavin was sitting at the dining table with Margaret.
Eli and Ava were upstairs, watching cartoons.
Kendra had gone into the guest bedroom and closed the door.
Gavin had contacted the appropriate authorities about the situation and was arranging for Eli to receive a medical examination. He also wanted independent legal guidance before making decisions about custody or approaching Vanessa.
But his mind kept returning to one question.
Why had Kendra suddenly brought Eli into the house?
He looked at Margaret.
“Why now?””
Margaret frowned.
“What do you mean?””
“Why did she bring Eli here after hiding him for six years?””
Margaret hesitated.
“Because the temporary caregiver was moving.””
Gavin leaned forward.
“What caregiver?””
“The woman who had been looking after Eli.””
“Where?””
“Not far from here.””
Gavin's fingers tightened around his coffee cup.
“So Kendra knew exactly where he was?””
Margaret nodded.
“She had been paying the caregiver.””
Gavin stared.
“She was financing the person looking after my son while keeping him locked away whenever he came to our house?””
Margaret lowered her eyes.
“I believe she was afraid.””
“Of what?””
Margaret took a moment.
“Of you finding out that Rachel's children weren't the only secret.””
Gavin looked at her.
“What else?””
Margaret shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Before he could ask another question, footsteps sounded on the stairs.
Ava appeared, holding Eli's hand.
“Daddy?””
Gavin immediately stood.
“What's wrong, sweetheart?””
Ava looked worried.
“Eli wants to ask you something.””
Gavin crouched.
“What is it, buddy?””
Eli looked at the floor.
“Am I going to another house?””
Gavin's expression softened.
“Not because you've done anything wrong.””
“Will Ava still be my friend?””
Ava answered before Gavin could.
“Of course. You're my brother.””
Eli looked at her.
“Really?””
Ava nodded.
“You can have the blue pillow in my room.””
Gavin smiled sadly.
“Let's take things one step at a time, okay?””
Eli nodded.
Then he reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a small plastic bracelet.
It was faded and slightly cracked.
Gavin recognized the hospital logo printed on it.
He turned it over.
A name was written in faded blue ink.
*LILY RACHEL.*
Gavin looked up.
“Where did you get this?””
Eli shrugged.
“Mommy gave it to me.””
Gavin's eyes narrowed.
“Which mommy?””
“The lady who brought me here.””
Gavin stood.
“Did she say where the bracelet came from?””
Eli nodded.
“She said it belonged to my sister.””
Gavin looked at Margaret.
She stepped closer.
“Let me see.””
He handed her the bracelet.
Margaret examined the faded lettering.
Then her face changed.
“This isn't possible.””
Gavin frowned.
“What?””
Margaret turned the bracelet over.
There was a small handwritten number on the inside.
“Rachel told me she wanted the twins to wear matching bracelets. One blue. One pink.””
Gavin stared at the blue bracelet.
“Where is the other one?””
Eli pointed toward Kendra's handbag, which had been left on the kitchen counter.
“Mommy has it.””
Gavin slowly turned.
Kendra stood in the doorway.
She looked at the bracelet in Margaret's hand.
Her face crumpled.
“Give that to me.””
Gavin didn't move.
“Where's the pink bracelet?””
Kendra swallowed.
“Gavin, please.””
“Where is it?””
She reached into her handbag.
For several seconds, she searched through the contents.
Then she pulled out a small pink hospital bracelet.
Margaret gasped.
The name was identical.
*LILY RACHEL.*
But there was something else.
A tiny handwritten message had been placed on the inside.
Gavin leaned closer.
It was Rachel's handwriting.
He recognized it immediately.
The message read:
*If anything happens to me, make sure Gavin knows about the promise.*
Gavin looked up.
“What promise?””
Kendra's eyes filled.
“I didn't know what it meant.””
Margaret stared at her.
“You knew about the bracelets?””
Kendra nodded.
“I found them in Rachel's hospital bag.””
Gavin's voice dropped.
“What promise?””
Kendra looked toward the staircase.
Then toward Ava.
Finally, she whispered:
“Rachel made me promise something before she died.””
Gavin felt his heart pounding.
“What?””
Kendra wiped her cheeks.
“She asked me to protect both children.””
Margaret shook her head.
“You did the opposite.””
“I know!””
Kendra's voice broke.
“I know what I did!””
Gavin stepped closer.
“Then tell me why you did it.””
Kendra looked at him for a long moment.
Then she said something that made Margaret grab the edge of the table.
“Because Rachel told me that one day, one of the twins would have to choose between their father and their mother.””
Gavin frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Kendra shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Don't lie to me.””
“I'm not!””
She reached into her handbag again and pulled out a folded envelope.
“This was inside Rachel's hospital bag too. I kept it because I was afraid of what it might reveal.””
Gavin took it.
His name was written across the front.
Rachel's handwriting.
He opened the envelope carefully.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
The first sentence made his blood run cold.
*Gavin, if you're reading this, it means someone has already told you that one of our children isn't yours.*
He looked up.
Kendra was crying.
Margaret had gone completely still.
Gavin looked back at the letter.
There was another sentence beneath it.
*But the truth is that both children are yours. Daniel was never their father.*
Gavin slowly lowered the paper.
“What?””
Kendra covered her mouth.
Margaret shook her head in disbelief.
Gavin read the sentence again.
Rachel had written that both twins were his.
But then why had the laboratory requested a second paternity test?
And why had Kendra spent six years hiding a child who was supposedly his?
He turned the page over.
There was a final line written at the bottom.
*The man who changed the hospital records is still close to you. And he knows where Lily is.*
Gavin looked toward Kendra.
“Who changed the records?””
Kendra didn't answer.
Instead, she stared at the front door.
A car had just pulled into the driveway.
Its headlights swept across the living room.
Then the doorbell rang.
Once.
Twice.
Gavin walked toward the entrance.
He opened the door.
A man stood on the porch.
Older than Gavin remembered.
Thinner.
His hair almost completely gray.
But the face was unmistakable.
Daniel.
Gavin stared at his brother.
Daniel didn't look at him.
He looked past him, toward the staircase.
Then he said:
“Before you let me in, Gavin, you need to know something.””
Gavin's jaw tightened.
“What?””
Daniel swallowed.
“The little girl you're looking for isn't Vanessa's daughter anymore.””
Gavin went still.
Daniel stepped closer.
“She's been missing for three days.””
Behind Gavin, Kendra let out a scream.
May you like
And from upstairs, Eli whispered:
“That's the man who took my sister.””
