Chapter 6: The Other Daughter
Nobody moved.
The old house seemed to hold its breath around us.
Maya stared at the letter.
“My twin?””
Her voice was so quiet I almost didn't hear it.
I looked at Daniel.
“Is this true?””
He nodded.
“Yes.””
Claire shook her head.
“No.””
Daniel turned toward her.
“You knew.””
“I didn't.””
“You signed the records.””
“I didn't know about the second child.””
“You knew there were two babies.””
Claire's face twisted.
“I knew there was another baby.””
Maya stepped forward.
“Where is she?””
Claire looked at her.
“I don't know.””
“Who does?””
Silence.
I turned toward my mother.
She was crying again.
“Mom.””
She wouldn't look at me.
“Mom, where is my daughter's sister?””
She whispered,
“I don't know.””
I slammed the folder onto the desk.
“Someone knows.””
Daniel spoke quietly.
“Your father knew.””
I stared at him.
“My father is dead.””
“I know.””
“Then how do we find her?””
Daniel looked at the envelope.
“Your father left a trail.””
“Where?””
“In places you wouldn't think to look.””
I picked up the original file.
“What places?””
“Charities.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“Your father made payments every year.””
“To whom?””
Daniel hesitated.
“An organization called Haven House.””
My mother looked up sharply.
I noticed.
“You know it?””
She nodded.
“Your father donated there.””
“How much?””
“Thousands.””
“Every year?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
She looked at Maya.
“Because he was paying for something.””
Claire whispered, “Stop.””
I turned toward her.
“Paying for what?””
Claire stepped backward.
“I don't know.””
Daniel laughed without humor.
“You've been lying so long you don't know which version you're supposed to remember.””
Claire's eyes flashed.
“You have no idea what happened.””
“Then tell us.””
“I can't.””
“You can.””
“I said I can't!””
Her voice cracked.
Maya flinched.
I stepped between them.
“Don't yell at her.””
Claire looked at me.
“She doesn't understand.””
“Then explain it.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“You erased her.””
“I raised her!””
“You made her believe she wasn't wanted.””
Claire's eyes filled.
“I loved her.””
Maya whispered,
“Then why didn't you ever love me like a daughter?””
Claire froze.
Maya continued.
“Why did you always make me sit in the back?””
“Because—”
“Why did you tell everyone I was difficult?””
“I never—”
“Why did you leave me off the vacation?””
Claire couldn't answer.
Maya wiped her face.
“You didn't want me.””
Claire's voice broke.
“That isn't true.””
“It is.””
“No.””
“Then why?””
Claire looked at me.
And finally, she said the words.
“Because you reminded me of Elena.””
The room went still.
Maya stared at her.
“What?””
Claire covered her mouth.
“I couldn't look at you without seeing her.””
“That isn't an answer.””
“It was never supposed to be like this.””
“Then what was it supposed to be?””
Claire sank into a chair.
“When I first held you, I thought I could pretend.””
“Pretend what?””
“That you were mine.””
Maya's eyes filled with tears.
“But I wasn't.””
Claire shook her head.
“No.””
I closed my eyes.
The truth was becoming uglier with every breath.
Daniel stepped forward.
“There's more.””
I opened my eyes.
“What?””
He reached into his coat and pulled out another photograph.
This one showed two newborn babies.
Side by side.
Two tiny faces.
Two hospital bracelets.
Maya took the photograph.
Her hands shook.
“They look the same.””
Daniel nodded.
“They were identical.””
I looked at the bracelets.
One read:
*Baby A — Female*
The other:
*Baby B — Female*
“Which one is Maya?””
Daniel pointed.
“Baby A.””
“And Baby B?””
“Her sister.””
“Name?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Lena.””
Maya whispered the name.
“Lena.””
I studied the photograph.
“Where did she go?””
Daniel's expression darkened.
“That is the part your father spent seventeen years hiding.””
I looked at my mother.
She shook her head.
“Don't.””
“Mom, I'm done protecting everyone.””
“You don't understand what Thomas did.””
“Then tell me.””
She began crying.
“He didn't give Lena away.””
I felt my stomach drop.
“Then where is she?””
My mother looked directly at Maya.
“She was taken.””
“By who?””
My mother couldn't speak.
Claire did.
“The hospital.””
I turned.
“What?””
“The hospital claimed Baby B had complications.””
Daniel shook his head.
“That was a lie.””
“What happened?””
“Her records disappeared.””
“And?””
Daniel's voice lowered.
“We found one later.””
“Where?””
“In a private adoption archive.””
My pulse accelerated.
“What did it say?””
Daniel looked at Maya.
“It said Lena was adopted forty-eight hours after birth.””
“By whom?””
He hesitated.
Then handed me a photocopy.
I read the name.
My heart stopped.
It was not a stranger.
It was not a distant family.
It was someone I knew.
Someone who had attended birthdays.
Christmas dinners.
School events.
Someone who had stood in our kitchen and called Maya “the difficult one.””
Someone who had helped Claire exclude her from the family vacation.
I looked up.
Maya watched my face.
“Dad?””
I couldn't speak.
Daniel said quietly,
“The adoption papers were signed by Patricia Davis.””
Claire's mother.
Maya's grandmother.
I looked at Claire.
She was crying.
“You knew,” I said.
Claire shook her head.
“I knew Patricia had taken her.””
“Taken who?””
“Lena.””
“Where is she?””
Claire's eyes met mine.
“I don't know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I swear.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“She knows.””
Claire looked at him.
“You're wrong.””
“Then why did Patricia pay Haven House for seventeen years?””
Claire's face went white.
I turned toward my mother.
“Where is Patricia now?””
My mother looked terrified.
“She left the state.””
“When?””
“Yesterday.””
I pulled out my phone.
A message had just arrived.
Unknown number.
One photograph.
A woman standing outside a coffee shop.
Older now.
Dark hair.
A familiar face.
I stared at it.
Maya leaned over.
“Who is that?””
I zoomed in.
The woman was smiling.
And beside her stood Patricia.
But the woman wasn't a stranger.
I knew her.
I had seen her face every morning for years.
She was the woman who worked at Maya's high school.
The guidance counselor.
Mrs. Lena Carter.
My phone buzzed again.
This time, the message contained only six words:
*She knows you're looking for her.*
May you like
Then another message appeared.
*And she wants to meet Maya alone.*
