Chapter 6: The Woman in the Photograph
My mother's words followed me into the waiting room.
*Grant is not the one they think he is.*
I sat beneath a television showing muted morning news.
Priya sat beside me.
Neither of us spoke.
After twenty minutes, I finally asked, “What if I'm the second baby?””
Priya turned toward me.
“What?””
“What if the baby who was switched wasn't Natalie?””
She studied me.
“Why would you think that?””
“Because Mom said I wasn't who they thought I was.””
“That's not enough to conclude anything.””
“What if my entire identity is wrong?””
“Your birth certificate can be wrong. Your identity isn't.””
I looked at her.
“You know what I mean.””
“Yes.””
I rubbed my face.
“What happened to Nathan Hale?””
“We need to find the original death record.””
“Can you?””
“I can try.””
“Do it.””
She nodded.
My phone vibrated.
A notification from my home security system.
*Motion detected: Kitchen.*
I stared at the screen.
“Someone is in my house.””
Priya leaned closer.
“Did Natalie leave?””
“I don't know.””
I called her.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
I stood.
“We have to go.””
“We?””
“You said someone might be watching.””
“And you're about to walk straight home?””
“My wife is there.””
Priya grabbed her briefcase.
“Then we're calling the police.””
I hesitated.
The memory of Mom's warning returned.
Not the police.
Not yet.
Something about the situation felt bigger than a break-in.
We drove to my house.
Natalie's car was still in the driveway.
The front door was unlocked.
I pushed it open.
“Natalie?””
Nothing.
The house smelled faintly of smoke.
Not fire.
Cigarettes.
I hated that smell.
My mother had always hated it too.
We walked through the living room.
A lamp had been knocked over.
The kitchen chair was overturned.
Cabinet doors hung open.
Priya whispered, “Don't touch anything.””
I froze.
On the kitchen table sat an envelope.
My name was written across it.
I recognized the handwriting.
Mom's.
I reached for it.
Priya stopped me.
“Gloves.””
She pulled a pair from her bag.
“You carry gloves?””
“I've had cases where I needed them.””
I put them on.
Then opened the envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
Mom.
My father.
And a woman I'd never seen.
She was standing outside St. Vincent Hospital.
Behind them was a sign dated October 14, 1989.
My father's hand rested on the woman's shoulder.
Mom was holding a baby.
The woman was holding another.
On the back, Mom had written:
*Susan Hale was alive when she gave birth.*
I stared at the name.
“Susan.””
Priya took the photograph.
“That's the mother.””
“Of Nathan.””
“Yes.””
“Then who is the woman standing beside my father?””
Priya turned the photograph over again.
There was another note.
*She was the nurse who switched them.*
My heart stopped.
“Who?””
Mom had written a name.
*Evelyn Cross.*
Priya's face changed.
“You know her?””
“No.””
“Then why do you look like that?””
“I've heard the name.””
“Where?””
“My mother mentioned it once.””
“When?””
“Years ago.””
“What did she say?””
Priya looked at the photograph.
“She said Evelyn Cross was the last person to see your father before he disappeared.””
I swallowed.
“Can you find her?””
“I can try.””
“Try now.””
Priya pulled out her phone.
While she searched, I noticed something else.
The photograph had been folded around a smaller piece of paper.
I opened it.
A handwritten sentence:
*The child raised by Rebecca was not the child she took home.*
My vision blurred.
I read it again.
Then again.
“Priya.””
She looked up.
“What?””
I handed it to her.
Her expression tightened.
“That changes everything.””
“Why?””
“Because if this is true, the DNA test on Natalie doesn't tell us who you are.””
“What do you mean?””
“If Daniel was Natalie’s biological father, then she was one of the babies.””
I stared at her.
“And I could be the other.””
“Yes.””
“Then who raised me?””
“Your mother may have raised Natalie’s biological brother.””
The room spun.
I gripped the counter.
“Then where is Nathan?””
Priya looked at me.
“That's what we need to find out.””
A sound came from upstairs.
Both of us froze.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Someone was walking across the second floor.
I whispered, “Natalie?””
No answer.
Priya reached for my arm.
“Stay behind me.””
We climbed the stairs.
The bedroom door was open.
Natalie's jewelry box lay on the floor.
Drawers had been pulled out.
Clothes were scattered across the bed.
Then we heard a noise from the hallway.
A door slammed.
We ran.
At the end of the hall, the attic door was swinging.
I pushed it open.
Empty.
But the small attic window was raised.
Someone had escaped through it.
On the floor beneath the window was a hospital bracelet.
I picked it up.
There was a name.
*GRANT MERCER.*
My blood ran cold.
The date was October 14, 1989.
My birthday.
But the identification number wasn't mine.
It matched the number on the old photograph.
The number assigned to *Baby R*.
I looked at Priya.
“What does this mean?””
She didn't answer.
I turned the bracelet over.
A faded handwritten note had been taped to the back.
Three words.
*HE WAS NATHAN.*
I stared.
“No.””
Priya's face went pale.
“Grant…”
“No.””
“You need to sit down.””
“That's impossible.””
“Maybe.””
“My mother raised me.””
“Yes.””
“She gave birth to me.””
“We don't know that.””
“She told me she did.””
“I know.””
I shook my head.
“She couldn't have lied about that.””
Priya said nothing.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?””
A man's voice said, “You finally found the bracelet.””
My blood froze.
“Who is this?””
“You're asking the wrong question.””
“What do you want?””
“I want you to stop looking for the truth.””
“Where is my wife?””
A pause.
“Safe.””
“Put her on.””
“She isn't the one you should be worried about.””
“Then who?””
“Your mother.””
I clenched my fist.
“She survived surgery.””
“For now.””
My heart pounded.
“What does that mean?””
“You think Rebecca protected you.””
“Did she?””
“She protected the wrong child.””
I felt the room tilt.
“What are you talking about?””
The man laughed quietly.
“You were never supposed to find the bracelet.””
“Who are you?””
“I’m the man your father spent thirty-seven years trying to find.””
I stopped breathing.
“Where is my father?””
Another pause.
Then the man said:
“Ask your mother why she told everyone Daniel Mercer abandoned you.””
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Priya looked at me.
“What did he say?””
I couldn't answer.
Because beneath the terror, one thought had become impossible to ignore.
My father might not have abandoned us.
He might have been searching for me.
And if the man on the phone was telling the truth, then the question wasn't where Daniel Mercer had gone.
It was *which son he had been looking for all these years.*
A sound came from downstairs.
A key turning in the front door.
Priya and I looked at each other.
Then Natalie's voice floated up from the hallway.
“Grant?””
I took one step toward the stairs.
“I'm here.””
She appeared at the bottom.
Her face was streaked with tears.
She looked at me.
Then at the hospital bracelet in my hand.
And whispered,
“You found out.””
I stared at her.
“Found out what?””
Natalie slowly shook her head.
“That you're Nathan.””
May you like
Then she looked past me at Priya.
“And that your mother has known since the day she brought you home.””
