Chapter 4: The Second Baby
The bedroom door slammed upstairs.
Nobody moved.
I stood beside the open antique chest, holding Elena's letter in one hand and our daughter's photograph in the other.
My wife was alive.
My daughter was alive.
And apparently, there was another child whose existence had been hidden from me for seven years.
I looked at Vanessa.
“Who was the second baby?””
She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.
“I don't know what Elena is talking about.””
Elena laughed, but there was no humor in it.
“You really want to do this?””
Vanessa straightened her shoulders.
“Do what?””
“Pretend you don't remember the night you gave birth.””
The silence was immediate.
I looked at Vanessa.
“What?””
She shook her head.
“Don't listen to her.””
Elena stepped closer to me.
“Vanessa had a daughter that same night.””
My eyes moved between them.
“You were pregnant?””
Vanessa looked away.
I remembered no pregnancy.
Not once had she mentioned having a child.
She had lived in our mansion for years. She had attended family dinners, managed our household, and helped me recover from Elena's supposed death.
But I had never seen her pregnant.
I looked at her again.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
Vanessa's jaw tightened.
“Because it wasn't your business.””
“Then why is it in my wife's chest?””
Elena reached inside the antique box and removed a second envelope.
“This belongs to you.””
I opened it.
Inside was a hospital photograph showing two newborn babies wrapped in identical white blankets.
One had a small pink ribbon around her wrist.
The other had a blue identification band.
On the back, someone had written:
October 14. Two girls. One mother. One secret.
I stared at the photograph.
“Two girls?””
Elena nodded.
“They were born twenty-three minutes apart.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“Are you telling me those babies were twins?””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
Elena answered.
“Yes.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Then whose children were they?””
Vanessa suddenly grabbed the photograph.
“Give me that!””
I pulled it away.
She reached again, but I stepped back.
“Don't touch anything.””
Her voice rose.
“You have no idea what you're destroying!””
I looked at her.
“You stole seven years of my life. I think you owe me a little honesty.””
Vanessa stared at the photograph.
Then she said something that made Elena cover her mouth.
“The second baby was never supposed to survive.””
I stepped toward her.
“What did you say?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Nothing.””
“No. You said something.””
Elena's voice trembled.
“Tell him where she went, Vanessa.””
Vanessa looked at her.
“You should have stayed away.””
“I stayed away because you threatened my child.””
“You had no right to come back!””
“She's my daughter!””
Vanessa suddenly screamed.
“And she's mine too!””
The words struck the room like a gunshot.
I stared at her.
Elena began crying.
For several seconds, neither woman spoke.
Then I slowly turned toward Vanessa.
“You're saying the second baby was yours?””
Vanessa nodded.
I looked at the photograph again.
Two newborn girls.
Two mothers.
One night.
One secret.
But something didn't make sense.
“You said you gave birth that night?””
Vanessa looked down.
“Yes.””
“Where was the father?””
Her expression changed.
She didn't answer.
I looked toward Elena.
She was staring at the floor.
“Elena?””
She wiped her eyes.
“Vincent, the second baby wasn't conceived by Vanessa alone.””
I felt my throat tighten.
“What does that mean?””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Don't.””
Elena continued.
“Seven years ago, before I discovered the financial fraud, I found something in Vanessa's room.””
“What?””
“A photograph.””
“Of whom?””
Elena looked directly at me.
“You.””
I froze.
Vanessa whispered, “Stop.””
Elena's voice broke.
“You were standing beside her in a hotel room. The photograph was dated eleven months before our daughter was born.””
I looked at Vanessa.
Then at Elena.
“No.””
Vanessa began shaking her head.
“Vincent, it wasn't like that.””
I stepped backward.
“Were you having an affair with me?””
“No!””
“Then why was there a photograph?””
She started crying harder.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
Elena looked at me.
“She told me she was carrying your child.””
The foyer seemed to tilt.
I remembered that year.
I remembered Vanessa being unusually attentive.
I remembered her accompanying me to business dinners when Elena was traveling.
I remembered Elena confronting me once about a hotel receipt.
I had dismissed her concerns.
I had told her Vanessa was family.
And now I wondered how many things I had refused to see.
I looked at Vanessa.
“Was that child mine?””
She shook her head.
Then she whispered:
“No.””
Elena closed her eyes.
I stared at her.
“Then whose?””
Vanessa finally spoke.
“Your brother's.””
I couldn't move.
My brother.
Daniel.
My younger brother had died six years ago in a car accident.
He had been the only person who attended Elena's funeral with me.
He had stood beside me when I lowered my head over an empty grave.
He had held my shoulder and promised I would never be alone.
I looked at Vanessa.
“Daniel?””
She nodded.
“He loved me.””
I felt something inside me crack.
“You were having an affair with my brother?””
Vanessa wiped her face.
“He said he would leave his marriage.””
“Daniel was married?””
She looked away.
Elena answered quietly.
“Yes. He was married to Rachel.””
I closed my eyes.
Rachel.
My brother's wife.
The woman who had moved to Chicago after his funeral and never returned.
I remembered the day she left.
She had stood in the driveway with a suitcase and told me she couldn't bear living in a house filled with memories.
I had thought she meant memories of Daniel.
Now I wondered what else she had been trying to escape.
I turned toward Vanessa.
“Why did you hide the baby?””
Vanessa's voice became defensive.
“Because Daniel died. Rachel wanted nothing to do with me. And I knew you would never accept a child born from an affair.””
“So you gave the baby away?””
“No.””
“Then where is she?””
Vanessa looked toward the staircase.
Before she could answer, a young male voice came from upstairs.
“Mom?””
We all turned.
A teenager appeared at the top of the staircase.
He was wearing a gray sweatshirt and holding a phone.
I recognized him immediately.
Marcus.
Vanessa's son.
He had lived in the mansion since he was six years old.
I had paid for his education, bought his birthday presents, and attended his school events.
I had always believed Vanessa was a single mother whose husband had abandoned them.
Marcus looked at the open chest.
Then at Elena.
Then at me.
“What's happening?””
Vanessa hurried toward him.
“Go back to your room.””
He frowned.
“Why is everyone shouting?””
I stared at him.
“Marcus, come downstairs.””
Vanessa grabbed the railing.
“No. He doesn't need to be involved.””
Marcus ignored her.
He descended slowly.
When he reached the foyer, his eyes fell on the photograph of the two newborns.
He picked it up.
“Is that me?””
Nobody answered.
He turned it over.
Then looked at Vanessa.
“Mom?””
His voice became smaller.
“Why are there two babies?””
Vanessa reached for the photograph.
“Give it to me.””
Marcus stepped back.
“Is that my sister?””
Elena began crying.
I looked at Marcus.
And suddenly I understood.
Vanessa had never been protecting one child.
She had been protecting a secret that involved two.
I crouched to Marcus's eye level.
“Your mother needs to explain something.””
Marcus looked at me.
“Am I in trouble?””
“No.””
I placed my hand on his shoulder.
“You haven't done anything wrong.””
He swallowed.
“Then why is Aunt Elena crying?””
Elena covered her mouth.
I looked at Vanessa.
“Tell him.””
Vanessa's face crumpled.
Then she whispered:
“Marcus, you had a twin sister.””
Marcus stared at her.
“What?””
“She was born the same night you were.””
“Where is she?””
Vanessa looked at Elena.
Elena shook her head.
And then, from inside the chest, I heard a faint electronic sound.
A phone vibrating.
I reached into the box.
Beneath the photographs and envelopes was a small old mobile phone.
Its screen lit up.
One new message.
The sender's name was displayed in large letters.
*RACHEL.*
My dead brother's widow.
May you like
The message contained six words.
Vincent, don't let Vanessa find my daughter.
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