Chapter 7: The Fifth Child
I looked at the photograph until the faces began to blur.
Five people.
My father.
My mother.
Me.
Maya.
And a baby I had never seen before.
The picture was old. The colors had faded slightly, but the baby’s face was clear enough to make out dark hair and wide eyes.
I looked at Dad.
“Who is that?””
He didn't answer.
“Dad.””
His lips parted.
Nothing came out.
Maya stepped closer.
“Dad, who is the baby?””
Daniel was watching him.
So was Evelyn.
Nobody moved.
Finally, Dad whispered, “I don't know.””
I laughed.
It was an ugly, nervous sound.
“You don't know?””
“I've never seen that picture.””
“It's you.””
“I know.””
“That's Mom.””
“I know.””
“That's me.””
“I know.””
I pointed at the baby.
“Then how can you not know?””
Dad took the phone from my hand.
He stared at the photograph.
His thumb moved slowly across the screen.
Then he zoomed in.
His face changed.
“What?””
He looked at Daniel.
“You've seen this.””
Daniel nodded.
“Once.””
“When?””
“Before Lena disappeared.””
Dad's eyes hardened.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I wasn't sure what it meant.””
Daniel took the phone.
He examined the photograph.
“This wasn't taken at your house.””
Dad shook his head.
“No.””
“The curtains are different.””
Maya looked closer.
“That's not our kitchen.””
“No,” Daniel said.
“It's your wife's old apartment.””
Dad stared at him.
“My wife didn't have an apartment.””
“She did.””
“When?””
“Before you met her.””
I felt a chill.
Daniel turned the photograph over.
“There.””
A date was written in faded ink.
Dad read it.
His expression went blank.
“Three months before our wedding.””
Maya looked at him.
“So Mom was pregnant?””
Dad shook his head.
“Not with you.””
“Then who?””
Daniel looked at me.
“You.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
He pointed at the baby.
“That baby is you.””
I stepped backward.
“No.””
Dad looked at the photograph again.
Daniel continued.
“You were six months old in this picture.””
I stared at him.
“That can't be.””
Dad's voice was barely audible.
“I was told your mother was pregnant when we got married.””
Daniel shook his head.
“She wasn't.””
“Then where did I come from?””
Nobody answered.
I looked at Maya.
She was staring at Dad.
“Tell him,” she whispered.
Dad shook his head.
“I don't remember.””
Maya's voice cracked.
“You do.””
He looked at her.
“You've always told me you remember the hospital.””
Dad rubbed his forehead.
“I remember a hospital.””
“Which one?””
He closed his eyes.
“St. Vincent's.””
Daniel immediately shook his head.
“That's not where Devin was born.””
Dad opened his eyes.
“What?””
“Devin was born at Mercy.””
The room went silent.
I stared at my father.
“Dad?””
He looked terrified.
“I don't understand.””
Daniel pulled another document from his folder.
“Because the story you were told wasn't the story that happened.””
He handed Dad a birth certificate.
Dad read it.
Then read it again.
My name was there.
My date of birth.
My biological mother's name.
Dad's hand began shaking.
I took the document.
I looked at the mother's name.
It wasn't my mother's.
It wasn't anyone I recognized.
“Mara Bennett,” I whispered.
Maya's face changed.
“That's Lena's mother.””
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.””
I looked at Dad.
“You told me Mom was my mother.””
“She raised you.””
“That isn't what I asked.””
Dad couldn't answer.
Maya stepped closer.
“So I'm not your sister?””
Dad looked at her.
“You are.””
“But Devin and I have different mothers.””
“Yes.””
Daniel spoke softly.
“You and Lena shared a mother.””
Maya looked confused.
“Then why was Devin given to Mom?””
Dad closed his eyes.
Daniel answered.
“Because your mother wanted him.””
My stomach tightened.
“Why?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Because you were the heir.””
“To what?””
“Your biological mother's family had money.””
Dad looked at him.
“How much?””
“Enough that your wife spent eleven years trying to control it.””
I felt dizzy.
The pieces were coming together.
My college fund.
Maya's protected trust.
The forged documents.
The photographs.
Lena.
Mom.
None of it had been random.
It had all been built around money.
But there was one thing I couldn't understand.
“Why did Mom need me?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Because your biological grandfather died without leaving a conventional will.””
I frowned.
“What does that have to do with me?””
“You were named as beneficiary.””
Dad stared at Daniel.
“That's impossible. Devin was an infant.””
“Exactly.””
I looked at the birth certificate.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?””
“Because your mother changed the records.””
Dad's face tightened.
“She couldn't change a birth certificate.””
“She didn't change the original.””
Daniel tapped the document.
“She obtained a second one.””
Dad looked sick.
“That's illegal.””
“Yes.””
“Why wasn't she prosecuted?””
Daniel gave him a tired look.
“Because the original records disappeared.””
I felt the room spin.
“Where are they?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Your mother knows.””
Dad's phone buzzed.
A text.
From Mom.
*You finally found out.*
Another appeared.
*Now come home. Alone.*
Dad stared at the screen.
Then another.
*If you bring anyone else, you'll never see the original records.*
Maya grabbed his arm.
“Don't go.””
Dad looked at her.
“I won't.””
His phone buzzed again.
*You have until midnight.*
Then:
*After that, the house burns.*
I stared at the screen.
Dad stood.
“We're calling the police.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Not yet.””
Dad turned.
“What?””
“She'll destroy the records.””
“She just threatened to burn the house.””
“I know.””
“Then we call the police.””
Daniel pointed at the photograph.
“She wants you angry.””
Dad looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because angry people make mistakes.””
Maya stepped forward.
“What do we do?””
Daniel's expression hardened.
“We make her think she's winning.””
We returned to the cabin.
Dad called an attorney he'd worked with for years.
The man answered at 11:43 p.m.
Dad explained everything.
Not every detail.
Just enough.
There was a long silence.
Then the attorney said, “Andre, don't go back to that house.””
“I won't.””
“You need to understand something.””
“What?””
“If the trust documents were altered, this isn't just a family dispute.””
“I know.””
“No. You don't.””
His voice became serious.
“This could involve identity fraud, financial crimes, and potentially criminal conspiracy.””
Dad looked at me.
“What should I do?””
“Get everyone somewhere secure.””
Dad glanced at the windows.
“We are.””
“Then stay there.””
The call ended.
Maya sat beside me on the couch.
“You okay?””
“No.””
“Me neither.””
She leaned her head against my shoulder.
“I always thought you were the lucky one.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
“You got Dad's attention.””
I felt a lump in my throat.
“I thought you were the favorite.””
She laughed sadly.
“Mom made sure we both thought the other one was.””
That sentence stayed with me.
Dad walked into the room.
“I need to tell you something.””
Maya looked up.
“What?””
Dad sat opposite us.
“When you were little, I found you crying outside the garage.””
Maya went still.
“I remember.””
“I thought you were scared of the dark.””
“You asked me why I was crying.””
“Yes.””
“You remember what I said?””
Dad's face tightened.
“You said, ‘Mom doesn't want me here.’”
Maya looked down.
“I was five.””
“I know.””
“And you told me she loved me.””
Dad's eyes filled with tears.
“I was wrong.””
Maya didn't respond.
Dad continued.
“I should have asked why you believed that.””
Silence.
Then Maya reached for his hand.
He took it.
For a moment, we were just three people sitting in a cabin.
Not heirs.
Not victims.
Not pieces in my mother's game.
Just a father and two children trying to understand what had happened to them.
Then someone knocked on the cabin door.
Three slow knocks.
Dad stood immediately.
Daniel reached for the flashlight.
“Stay behind me.””
Dad moved toward the door.
“Who is it?””
No answer.
Another knock.
Maya grabbed my wrist.
Dad looked through the peephole.
He froze.
“Who?””
He didn't answer.
He opened the door.
A woman stood on the porch.
Snow covered her dark coat.
She looked older than the photographs.
But I recognized her instantly.
Maya made a sound I had never heard before.
“Lena.””
The woman looked at her.
Then she smiled through tears.
“Hi, little sister.””
Maya ran.
They collided in the doorway.
Dad stood frozen.
Lena looked over Maya's shoulder at him.
Her smile disappeared.
“Hello, Andre.””
Dad couldn't speak.
Lena's eyes filled.
“You're finally looking at me.””
Then she looked at me.
Her expression changed.
“Devin.””
I stared at her.
“How do you know me?””
She stepped inside.
“Because I held you before your mother ever did.””
And before anyone could respond, Lena reached into her coat and pulled out a small black notebook.
She placed it in Dad's hands.
“The original records aren't at the house.””
Dad frowned.
“Where are they?””
Lena looked toward the windows.
“She never kept anything important where you could find it.””
“Then where?””
Lena's voice dropped.
“Inside the place where she kept you.””
I didn't understand.
May you like
Then Lena looked directly at me.
“Your childhood bedroom.””
