Chapter 8: The Name Nobody Was Supposed to Know
Marcus reached the stairs before anyone else moved.
“Imani!””
He took the steps two at a time, with Caleb close behind him.
At the top landing, Imani stood outside her bedroom, holding a photograph. Her face was wet with tears, and her whole body trembled.
Marcus dropped to his knees in front of her.
“Baby, what happened?””
She held out the photograph.
“I found it in my room.””
Marcus took it.
It showed a woman holding a newborn baby in a hospital bed. The woman's face was partially obscured by the angle, but the baby was clearly visible.
On the back, written in faded ink, were the words:
If anyone asks, this child was never here.
Marcus felt sick.
“Where did you find this?””
“Inside my old picture book.””
“Which picture book?””
“The blue one. The one Tasha took away.””
He looked toward the bedroom.
“Did you go into Tasha's things?””
Imani shook her head quickly.
“No. It was in my book. I promise.””
Marcus pulled her into his arms.
“It's okay. You're not in trouble.””
Caleb crouched beside them.
“Dad, is somebody going to take Imani away?””
Marcus looked at his son.
“No.””
But the answer came too quickly, and all three of them knew it.
Downstairs, Daniel's voice rose.
“Marcus! You need to see this!””
Marcus stood, keeping one arm around Imani's shoulders.
“Stay with Caleb for a minute.””
“I want to come with you.””
“Baby—”
“Please, Daddy.””
He looked into her eyes.
She was frightened, but beneath the fear was a determination he recognized. She had spent too long being told that she wasn't allowed to ask questions about her own life.
He nodded.
“Stay beside me, then.””
They returned downstairs together.
Simone stood beside the dining table, gripping the back of a chair. Daniel had spread several documents across the tabletop. Tasha was near the front window, staring at the street as if considering whether she could leave without anyone noticing.
Marcus placed Imani's photograph beside the others.
“Explain.””
Daniel pointed to the name on the hospital bracelet.
“Evelyn Price.””
Marcus frowned.
“Who is that?””
“Evelyn was the hospital administrator responsible for reviewing the infant transfer records that night.””
Simone's face tightened.
“She told me my daughter had died.””
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.””
“And you knew?””
“I knew she had been involved in the paperwork. I didn't know exactly what she'd done.””
Marcus looked at the photograph.
“Why would a hospital administrator write something like this?””
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't know. But Renee believed someone had altered the records.””
Tasha turned from the window.
“Renee was confused near the end. She was taking medication. She wasn't always thinking clearly.””
Marcus stared at her.
“You're going to blame this on Renee now?””
“I'm telling you what I saw!””
“What you saw was a woman trying to protect children while everyone around her kept secrets.””
Tasha's eyes flashed.
“You have no idea what she asked me to do.””
“Then tell me.””
She looked toward Simone.
“I was told to keep the children safe. That was all.””
Simone's expression hardened.
“Which children?””
Tasha's lips trembled.
“Both of them.””
Marcus went still.
“What does that mean?””
Tasha looked at Imani.
Then at Caleb.
Then she finally sat down.
“I met Evelyn Price through Renee. She was the administrator who handled the records after the delivery complications. Renee believed she had found a discrepancy in the paperwork.””
“What discrepancy?””
Tasha pressed her hands together.
“The hospital had two newborn girls in intensive care. One was Simone's daughter. The other was Renee's.””
Marcus felt the room spin.
“Imani?””
Tasha nodded.
“Renee told me the records had been mixed up.””
Simone covered her mouth.
Marcus gripped the edge of the table.
“Mixed up how?””
Tasha's voice became barely audible.
“Renee believed the hospital had mistakenly assigned one infant's identification bracelet to the other child during an emergency transfer.””
Marcus stared at her.
“And you knew this?””
“I knew she was investigating it.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because she told me not to.””
Marcus struck the table with his palm.
“Stop saying that! Stop acting like someone else's instructions excuse what you've done!””
Tasha recoiled.
Imani flinched beside him.
Marcus immediately lowered his hand.
“I'm sorry, baby.””
Imani shook her head.
“It's okay.””
But it wasn't.
Nothing about the last twenty-four hours was okay.
Simone sat down slowly.
“If the bracelets were mixed up, then the baby I buried might not have been mine.””
Nobody answered.
She stared at the photograph, tears slipping down her cheeks.
“I held a tiny coffin,” she whispered.
“I listened to people tell me my baby was gone. I spent years visiting a grave and wondering what I had done wrong.””
Marcus felt his anger give way to grief.
“I'm sorry.””
Simone shook her head.
“Don't apologize for something you didn't know.””
She looked at Tasha.
“But someone knew enough to make me stop looking.””
Tasha began to cry.
“I didn't know which baby was which.””
“Then why did you help hide the records?””
“Because I was afraid that if the truth came out, both families would be destroyed.””
Daniel leaned forward.
“You weren't protecting the families. You were protecting the lie.””
Tasha looked at him.
“You have no right to judge me.””
“I have every right to regret what I did. I kept quiet, too. I let you convince me that silence was the kindest choice.””
Marcus turned toward him.
“Did Renee know which baby was hers?””
Daniel hesitated.
“She thought she did.””
“What does that mean?””
“Renee found a note in the medical file. It suggested the babies had been moved between units before the identification discrepancy was discovered. She couldn't prove which infant had gone home with which family.””
Marcus looked at Imani.
The little girl stood beside him, staring at the photographs.
“Daddy,” she whispered, “does that mean I'm not your daughter?””
Marcus knelt immediately.
“No. Listen to me. Nothing on these papers changes how much I love you. Nothing.””
“But what if the hospital made a mistake?””
He took both her hands.
“Then we will find out what happened. Together.””
She studied his face.
“Will you still be my daddy?””
Marcus felt tears burn behind his eyes.
“Every single day of your life.””
Imani threw her arms around his neck.
He held her tightly, closing his eyes.
Across the room, Caleb wiped his own cheeks with the sleeve of his shirt.
Simone watched them with an expression Marcus couldn't bear to look at for long.
She wasn't demanding that Imani become her daughter.
She was asking for the chance to know whether she had lost her own.
And Marcus understood that the only way to protect Imani now was to stop treating the truth as something that could be postponed until it became convenient.
He stood.
“We're getting independent testing. We're obtaining the original hospital records. And we're speaking to a lawyer who has no connection to anyone in this room.””
Tasha shook her head.
“Marcus, please. We can work this out privately.””
“No.””
“You don't want strangers involved in your family's business.””
“Our family's business is exactly why we need someone independent.””
She stood abruptly.
“If you do this, you could ruin everything.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Everything has already been ruined by people deciding that the truth was too dangerous to tell.””
He turned toward Simone.
“Would you be willing to provide a DNA sample?””
Simone nodded.
“Yes.””
“And if the results show that Imani isn't your biological daughter?””
Simone swallowed.
“Then I will accept that. But I won't stop searching for the child I lost.””
Marcus nodded.
“Fair enough.””
Daniel gathered the documents into a single stack.
“There is one more thing.””
Marcus closed his eyes briefly.
“Of course there is.””
Daniel slid a page across the table.
“This was attached to the original hospital review. It lists the people who had access to the infant records.””
Marcus scanned the names.
Evelyn Price.
A nurse whose signature was difficult to read.
A physician.
And, near the bottom, a name that made his stomach turn.
Tasha Reed.
His wife.
Marcus looked up slowly.
“You told me you only heard about the records from Renee.””
Tasha stared at the page.
“I did.””
“Your name is on the access log.””
She shook her head.
“I never worked at that hospital.””
Daniel pointed to the date.
“You didn't need to. This log records visitors who were given access to the administrative file.””
Marcus read the date again.
It was four days after Renee had died.
The day Tasha claimed she had first discovered the papers in Renee's belongings.
“You went to the hospital,” he said.
Tasha's face crumpled.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
She looked toward the stairs.
Then she whispered, “Because Renee left a message telling me where to find the truth.””
Marcus felt his blood turn cold.
“What truth?””
Tasha reached into her handbag and removed a small, sealed envelope.
“I was supposed to give you this if you ever found the other documents.””
Marcus took it.
His name was written across the front in Renee's handwriting.
He opened it carefully.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Marcus, if you are reading this, the hospital records have finally come to light.
There is one thing I need you to understand before you decide what to do.
The child you brought home that night was not the child I was shown before the emergency transfer.
Marcus stared at the page.
He read the sentence again.
Then he looked at Tasha.
“What does this mean?””
She shook her head, sobbing.
“I don't know.””
Marcus turned toward Daniel.
“Do you?””
Daniel looked at the letter.
Then he whispered, “I think Renee was telling us that she never knew which baby she took home.””
Imani clutched her father's hand.
Caleb stepped closer to his sister.
And Simone, standing beside the photographs of two newborns, began to cry as though she had just lost her daughter all over again.
Because the question was no longer whether someone had hidden the truth.
May you like
The question was whether any of them had ever known which child belonged to which family.
And the answer was waiting in records that had been sealed for ten years.
