Chapter 6: The Daughter I Brought Home
Adrian read his father's statement again.
The child we were supposed to keep was not the child she brought home.
He couldn't make sense of it.
Zoe had lived with him for six years.
He had been there when she took her first steps.
He had stayed awake through fevers, nightmares, and countless bedtime stories.
He knew the shape of her fingers.
He knew the sound of her laugh.
He knew the little wrinkle between her eyebrows when she concentrated.
She was his daughter.
Nothing could change that.
But now there was a question he couldn't ignore.
If the hospital had released the wrong twin, then whose child had he brought home?
"Dr. Bennett," he said slowly.
"Are you telling me Zoe isn't biologically mine?""
The doctor looked uncomfortable.
"I'm telling you the records contain conflicting identification information.""
"That's not an answer.""
"Your mother changed the paperwork after the delivery.""
Celeste gripped the edge of her chair.
"Changed it how?""
Dr. Bennett opened the file again.
"There were two identification bands. One was labeled Baby A. The other Baby B. Both babies were born healthy.""
He placed two photocopies on the desk.
"According to the original delivery record, Baby A was placed beside Celeste immediately after birth. Baby B was transferred for observation.""
Adrian looked at the papers.
"Which one is Zoe?""
"That's what we don't know.""
"How can you not know?""
"The original identification bands were removed during a medical procedure. The replacement records were completed by another staff member.""
"Who?""
The doctor didn't answer.
Adrian leaned forward.
"Who?""
Dr. Bennett looked at him.
"Your mother.""
Silence.
Celeste covered her mouth.
Adrian stood and walked toward the window.
Outside, traffic moved along the street as though nothing had happened.
He felt as though his entire life had been placed on a table and cut into pieces.
"Why would she do this?"" he whispered.
Dr. Bennett closed the folder.
"I believe Evelyn wanted to control which child stayed in the Cole family.""
"Why?""
The doctor hesitated.
Then Celeste spoke.
"Because she hated me.""
Adrian turned.
"What?""
Celeste looked down.
"Your mother never approved of me. She said I wasn't good enough for you.""
"She said that to you?""
"Many times.""
Adrian remembered.
Evelyn had always been polite around Celeste.
She had brought flowers to their apartment and complimented her cooking.
But there had been little comments.
Questions about her family.
Her education.
Her income.
He had dismissed them as ordinary differences between generations.
Now they sounded different.
Celeste continued.
"She told me I was going to ruin your future. She said the Cole family had a name to protect.""
Adrian's expression hardened.
"She doesn't get to decide who belongs in my family.""
Celeste gave a sad smile.
"She already did.""
He looked at the statement again.
His father's handwriting continued onto the second page.
Evelyn said the children could not both remain with Adrian. She told me one child would be raised by the mother and the other would remain with the father. She promised it would only be temporary.
Adrian's eyes moved to the final paragraph.
I believed her until I saw the second baby being carried away. I recognized the bracelet. It was not the bracelet assigned to the child we were supposed to release.
The statement ended there.
No explanation.
No signature date.
Just those words.
Adrian slowly lowered the paper.
"Did my father know Zoe was the wrong baby?""
Dr. Bennett shook his head.
"He suspected it.""
"Then why didn't he tell me?""
"Perhaps he was afraid.""
Adrian laughed bitterly.
"Afraid of his wife?""
The doctor said nothing.
Celeste reached for the photograph of the twins.
"Can I see that again?""
Adrian handed it to her.
She examined the tiny hospital caps.
Then she noticed something on the back.
A small handwritten letter.
A.
She turned the picture toward Adrian.
"Look.""
He leaned closer.
Beneath the date, there were two letters.
A and B.
Each had a tiny arrow pointing toward one of the babies.
But the photograph was too blurry to tell which child was which.
"Do you have the original?"" Adrian asked.
Celeste nodded.
"I think so.""
She searched through the box.
After several minutes, she found another photograph.
This one was clearer.
Two newborn girls lay side by side.
The first wore a pink cap.
The second wore a white cap.
A small identification card rested between them.
Adrian stared.
The card had been folded.
Celeste carefully opened the photograph's protective sleeve.
On the back was a note.
Baby A — Cole.
Baby B — Reed.
Adrian felt his breath catch.
"That means...""
Celeste looked at him.
"One of them was registered under your surname.""
"And the other under yours.""
The doctor nodded.
"That is consistent with the original records.""
Adrian studied the picture.
Then something caught his eye.
The newborn in the white cap had a tiny crescent-shaped birthmark near her right temple.
The same birthmark Zoe had.
He looked up.
"Wait.""
He turned the photograph toward the doctor.
"Look at this.""
Dr. Bennett adjusted his glasses.
He studied the image.
Then his expression changed.
"That's unusual.""
"What?""
"The original record describes Baby A as having a small birthmark near the right temple.""
Adrian looked at the note.
Baby A.
Cole.
Then he looked at the white cap.
The photograph's markings indicated that the baby wearing the white cap was Baby B.
The image and the records contradicted each other.
Celeste whispered, "Which one is which?""
No one answered.
Adrian's phone vibrated.
A new message.
This time, from Patricia.
*PATRICIA: Adrian, I heard you found Dr. Bennett. Please don't believe everything he tells you.*
A second message appeared.
*PATRICIA: I have something your father left with me before he died.*
Adrian immediately called her.
She answered on the second ring.
"Adrian?""
"Where are you?""
"Atlanta.""
"I need you to explain what happened six years ago.""
Patricia sighed.
"I knew this day would come.""
"Did my mother switch the babies?""
There was silence.
Then Patricia whispered:
"Yes.""
Adrian closed his eyes.
Celeste gripped his arm.
"Which baby did she take?""
Patricia's voice cracked.
"She took the baby she believed was biologically yours.""
Adrian frowned.
"What do you mean?""
"Your mother wanted a Cole heir. She didn't care which little girl had been born first. She wanted the one she believed carried the Cole bloodline.""
Adrian's stomach twisted.
"Then why did you bring Imani back to Celeste?""
"Because I couldn't let Evelyn give her away.""
"Where did she want to send her?""
Patricia hesitated.
Then she said something that made Adrian grip the desk.
"To a family who had already paid your mother.""
Celeste gasped.
Adrian's voice dropped.
"Paid her for what?""
"To take one of the twins.""
"Who were they?""
Patricia began crying.
"Adrian, you need to understand. Your mother didn't do this because she hated Celeste.""
"Then why?""
"Because she was trying to hide something about your father.""
Adrian stared at the phone.
"What does my father have to do with this?""
Patricia's answer came slowly.
"One of those girls wasn't supposed to inherit the Cole name.""
He felt the room spin.
"What are you saying?""
Patricia whispered:
"Your father knew that one of the twins wasn't biologically yours.""
Adrian looked at Celeste.
She had gone completely still.
Then Patricia added:
"And Evelyn has known the truth since the day those babies were born.""
The call disconnected.
For several seconds, Adrian couldn't move.
He looked at the two photographs.
Two identical newborns.
Two little girls.
Two different surnames.
And a family secret that had survived six years.
Celeste finally spoke.
"Adrian, we need to find out who Imani's biological father is.""
He looked at her.
Then his phone lit up again.
An incoming video call.
The caller was Evelyn Cole.
Adrian answered.
His mother's face appeared on the screen.
She was sitting in the living room of the family home.
Behind her, on the mantelpiece, stood an old framed photograph.
Adrian recognized the picture.
It showed his father holding a newborn baby.
But there was something he had never noticed before.
A second person stood in the background.
A woman.
And beside her was a little boy.
Evelyn adjusted her glasses.
"Adrian, darling," she said calmly.
"I think it's time you stopped asking questions about the twins.""
Adrian held the phone tighter.
"Who is the little boy in that photograph?""
For the first time, Evelyn's face lost its composure.
She looked toward the mantel.
Then back at him.
"That," she whispered, "is the reason your father made me promise to keep the girls apart.""
May you like
And before Adrian could ask another question, Evelyn said:
"Because neither of those little girls has the father you think she has.""
