Chapter 8: Two Babies, One Hospital Record
Evelyn closed the door behind her.
“Rachel, you've always had a talent for making things unnecessarily complicated.””
Rachel stood beside the hospital bed.
Her hands were trembling.
Patricia Wells moved toward the window.
I held Lily against my chest.
“Stay away from us.””
Evelyn smiled.
“Daniel, you look exactly like your father when he's angry.””
I felt my jaw tighten.
“Don't mention my father.””
“Why? He was a good man. He understood that certain truths had to remain buried.””
I looked at the folder in her hand.
“What is inside?””
“Your family's history.””
“Give it to me.””
Evelyn laughed softly.
“You're still making demands as though you have any idea what's happening.””
Alicia stepped forward.
“Where is my baby?””
Evelyn looked at her.
“Still asking the wrong question.””
Alicia's face hardened.
“Tell me where she is.””
Evelyn opened the folder.
Inside were hospital records, photographs, and several birth certificates.
She removed two documents.
“Three years ago, you believed your daughter had been switched with Rachel's baby.””
I looked at Rachel.
“Wasn't she?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“Not exactly.””
She placed the documents on the bed.
“These are the original birth records. Two mothers. Two children. Two different identification numbers.””
I looked at the papers.
One bore Alicia's name.
The other bore Rachel's.
But the hospital identification numbers were identical.
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Evelyn pointed at the first page.
“Your wife gave birth to a girl at 2:13 a.m. Rachel gave birth to a girl at 2:41 a.m.””
I stared.
“Twenty-eight minutes apart.””
“Yes.””
“And the babies were switched?””
Evelyn smiled.
“Both babies were moved. But only one was supposed to leave the hospital.””
Rachel suddenly stepped forward.
“That's not what happened.””
Evelyn ignored her.
“Your father had been funding a research program at St. Mary's. The program was intended to develop a treatment for a rare inherited condition.””
I looked at her.
“What condition?””
Evelyn placed another document on the bed.
A medical report.
A name was highlighted.
*Daniel Hayes.*
I stared at it.
“What is this?””
“Your medical history.””
I read the first few lines.
Then my stomach dropped.
A genetic disorder.
A condition that could be passed from parent to child.
I looked at Alicia.
She was staring at the document too.
Evelyn continued.
“Your father discovered that you carried a rare genetic mutation. He was terrified that your child might inherit it.””
I shook my head.
“My father never told me.””
“He believed he was protecting you.””
“By switching babies?””
Evelyn smiled without warmth.
“By controlling the outcome.””
Rachel began crying.
“He wanted to choose which baby would become part of your family.””
I turned toward her.
“What?””
Rachel pointed at the records.
“Your father believed one of the babies had inherited the condition. He wanted the hospital to conceal the test results until he could arrange a private adoption.””
Alicia looked horrified.
“That's why my baby disappeared?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“Your daughter was healthy.””
Alicia's knees nearly buckled.
“Then where is she?””
Evelyn didn't answer.
Instead, she looked at Lily.
“The child Daniel is holding was never supposed to be part of the arrangement.””
I felt my arms tighten around my daughter.
“What arrangement?””
“Rachel's baby was supposed to be transferred to another family. Alicia's baby was supposed to remain with her.””
Rachel shook her head.
“But somebody changed the labels.””
Evelyn's expression hardened.
“Because someone made a mistake.””
“No,” Rachel whispered.
“Someone changed them deliberately.””
Patricia stepped forward.
“Enough.””
I looked at her.
“Why are you involved?””
She raised her chin.
“Because your mother asked me to protect this family.””
“My mother is dead.””
“She knew she was dying. She gave me instructions.””
“What instructions?””
Patricia glanced at Evelyn.
Then she looked at me.
“To make sure neither of the children was harmed.””
I felt cold.
“Neither?””
Patricia nodded.
“Your wife gave birth to a second child.””
The room fell silent.
Alicia looked at her.
“No.””
Patricia reached into her coat and pulled out a photograph.
A newborn baby.
A small hospital bracelet.
And a handwritten name.
*Baby Hayes.*
Alicia covered her mouth.
I looked at the photograph.
“Where is that child?””
Patricia's eyes filled.
“She was adopted.””
“By whom?””
Patricia didn't answer.
I stepped toward her.
“Who adopted my wife's baby?””
Evelyn suddenly grabbed the folder.
“Patricia, stop.””
Patricia ignored her.
“Your mother arranged the adoption. She believed the child would be safer with a family outside the Hayes business.””
I looked at Alicia.
She was crying so hard she could barely stand.
“Did my mother know?”” I asked.
Patricia nodded.
“She knew everything.””
I shook my head.
“No. She wouldn't.””
“She regretted it,” Patricia whispered.
“She spent the last year of her life trying to locate the child.””
Evelyn laughed.
“Your mother was sentimental. That's why she failed.””
Alicia stepped forward.
“Who adopted my daughter?””
Patricia looked at her.
Then she looked at me.
And finally she said:
“The woman who raised her was Vanessa Reed.””
I turned toward the door.
Vanessa.
My bride.
The woman who had stood in that dressing room holding scissors.
The woman who had claimed she was trying to protect Lily.
The woman who had spent years telling me she wanted to become part of my family.
I suddenly understood why she had been so desperate to marry me.
She wasn't trying to become Lily's mother.
She was trying to keep the past buried.
I looked at Evelyn.
“Where is Vanessa now?””
Evelyn smiled.
“Somewhere safe.””
“Where?””
“She's already left the hotel.””
I pulled out my phone.
No signal.
Patricia looked at me.
“Daniel, there's something else.””
I turned.
“What?””
“Vanessa wasn't the one who contacted Alicia yesterday.””
I frowned.
“But she admitted—”
“She received a message from someone claiming to be Alicia. The call was arranged to make you believe your wife was returning.””
I looked at Evelyn.
She smiled.
“An effective plan, wasn't it?””
Alicia stepped toward her.
“You used my name to destroy my daughter's wedding.””
Evelyn shrugged.
“I needed Daniel to bring the necklace.””
I looked at the two silver stars.
“Why?””
“Because one contains the original DNA records, and the other contains the adoption documents.””
I stared at the stars in my hand.
The first one had been hidden with Lily.
The second had been kept by Alicia.
Evelyn reached out.
“Give them to me.””
I stepped backward.
“No.””
Her smile disappeared.
Patricia moved toward the door.
I heard sirens outside.
The police were coming.
Evelyn looked at the window.
Then she turned toward me.
“You think the police can solve this? Your father paid for the silence. Your mother arranged the adoption.
Vanessa helped conceal the records. Rachel took the child. Alicia disappeared.””
She smiled again.
“And you, Daniel, raised a little girl who was never supposed to belong to you.””
I looked down at Lily.
She was crying silently.
I kissed her forehead.
“She belongs with me.””
Evelyn laughed.
“You don't even know which child she is.””
Then she pulled a photograph from her folder.
It showed two little girls standing beside a Christmas tree.
They looked almost identical.
One wore a blue dress.
The other wore a red sweater.
On the back were two names.
*Lily Hayes.*
*Grace Morgan.*
I looked at Alicia.
Her face had gone completely white.
“Daniel,” she whispered.
“What?””
She pointed at the girl in the red sweater.
“That is my daughter.””
I stared at the photograph.
“Then who is the girl I'm holding?””
Alicia began shaking.
“I don't know.””
Evelyn slowly stepped toward us.
“That's what I've been trying to tell you.””
She pointed at Lily.
“The child you've raised isn't Rachel's baby.””
Rachel started crying.
“No…”
Evelyn continued.
“She isn't Alicia's either.””
My heart stopped.
“Then whose child is she?””
Evelyn leaned closer.
And with a smile that made my skin crawl, she whispered:
“She is the daughter of the one person in this room who has told you absolutely nothing about her real identity.””
I looked around.
Alicia.
Rachel.
Patricia.
Evelyn.
Then I looked down at Lily.
My daughter was staring at me.
“Daddy?””
I held her tighter.
“I'm here, baby.””
She reached into the pocket of her blue dress.
And pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“Mommy told me to give you this if the bad lady came.””
I unfolded it.
There were only two sentences.
*Daniel, Lily is yours. But she is not Alicia's.*
And beneath it was a name.
*Margaret Hayes.*
My dead mother.
The police burst through the door.
Evelyn was arrested before she could reach the corridor.
Patricia dropped her folder.
Rachel sat on the floor, crying.
Alicia held the photograph of the two girls against her chest.
And I stood in the middle of the old maternity ward, holding the only person I was certain I still had.
My daughter.
Then an officer approached.
“Mr. Hayes?””
I turned.
“Yes?””
“We recovered a vehicle outside. The driver claims he was transporting a second child for a woman named Vanessa Reed.””
My blood ran cold.
“Where is she?””
The officer looked at his notes.
“She left the area approximately twenty minutes ago.””
“Where was the child going?””
He hesitated.
Then he answered.
“To the private estate of Margaret Hayes.””
I stared at him.
“That estate has been empty for eighteen months.””
The officer nodded.
“Apparently, someone has been living there.””
He handed me a photograph taken by a traffic camera.
A woman stood in the driveway.
Long dark hair.
White blouse.
A familiar face.
May you like
My mother.
Except the photograph was dated yesterday.
