Chapter 7: The Father of the Other Twin
I spent the night sitting between my sons' cribs, listening to them breathe.
I had never been afraid of silence before. Now every quiet moment seemed to contain another question I wasn't ready to ask.
Which one was mine?
The thought made me feel sick.
I loved Noah and Liam equally. I had held them when they cried, changed their diapers at three in the morning, and walked the hallway with them against my chest until their tiny bodies relaxed.
They were my sons in every way that mattered to me.
But someone had changed their identities, and someone had deliberately kept the truth from me.
At 5:17 a.m., I called Daniel Price again.
He answered immediately.
"James, I'm sorry about last night.""
"You said the DNA report names the biological father of the other twin.""
"Yes.""
"Tell me who it is.""
"I can't do that over the phone.""
I closed my eyes.
"Daniel, I've spent the last twenty-four hours discovering that my wife helped conceal the identity of my children's mother, that my dead father financed the arrangement, and that a fertility doctor may have falsified hospital records. You don't get to tell me to be patient.""
He was silent for a moment.
Then he said, "The report identifies a man named Michael Bennett.""
I frowned.
"Who is Michael Bennett?""
"He's a former business partner of your father.""
I knew the name.
Michael Bennett had built a construction company with my father thirty years earlier. They had been close friends until a bitter dispute over a commercial property ended their partnership. After that, Bennett moved to Houston, and I rarely heard his name again.
"He was married to Laura Bennett," I said.
"They had a daughter, didn't they?""
"Yes.""
"Why would he have anything to do with my children?""
"I don't know. But there's something else in the report.""
"What?""
"The sample was collected from a child identified as Baby B. The records don't say whether Baby B was Noah or Liam.""
I rubbed my forehead.
"How did you get this report?""
"It was in the sealed envelope your father left me. I haven't given it to the police yet because I wanted to verify the chain of custody.""
"Send me a copy.""
"I will. But there's a reason I think you should speak to Sarah before confronting Michael Bennett.""
"Why?""
"Because Sarah believes the second twin was conceived through a fertility procedure. She says she never had a relationship with Michael Bennett.""
I stared at the nursery wall.
"Then how can he be the father?""
"That's what we need to find out.""
At seven o'clock, I left the house with the twins, accompanied by a family attorney I had called before dawn. Victoria remained under investigation, and the police had instructed us not to discuss the case with her privately.
She had watched me pack the diaper bag from the living room.
"James," she called as I reached the front door.
I stopped but didn't turn around.
"Please don't let strangers take my babies.""
I looked back at her.
"They've already been taken from someone who never consented.""
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
"You're going to destroy us.""
"No, Victoria. I'm trying to find out who did.""
I left before she could answer.
Sarah Whitmore lived in a modest brick house on a quiet street outside Fort Worth. A faded blue bicycle rested beside her porch, and a wind chime rattled softly in the morning breeze.
Daniel was waiting beside his car.
When he saw me, he approached cautiously.
"I should have told you about my earlier investigation.""
"Yes, you should have.""
"I was trying to follow your father's instructions.""
"And now?""
"Now I'm trying to make sure the truth doesn't get buried again.""
I adjusted Liam's blanket.
"Let's go.""
Sarah opened the door before we could knock.
She was in her late thirties, with dark hair pulled into a loose bun and shadows beneath her eyes. She wore a gray sweater and held a photograph against her chest.
When she saw the twins, she stopped breathing.
For several seconds, she didn't move.
Then her knees weakened.
"Oh, God.""
I reached out instinctively, but she steadied herself against the doorframe.
"Those are my babies," she whispered.
Her voice wasn't angry.
It was broken.
I stepped inside.
The living room was filled with photographs of a little boy. Some showed him playing soccer. Others showed him on a beach, grinning with missing front teeth.
A framed picture of a woman and two newborns sat on the mantel.
Sarah followed my gaze.
"That was taken the day before everything happened.""
I looked at the photograph.
She was holding two babies wrapped in hospital blankets. Her eyes were bright, her smile exhausted but genuine.
"Would you like to hold them?"" I asked.
She pressed her hand against her mouth.
"May I?""
I nodded.
She sat down on the sofa, and I carefully placed Noah in her arms.
The moment she felt his weight, she began to cry.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to him.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't there.""
Noah stirred and opened his mouth in a small yawn.
Sarah touched his cheek with one trembling finger.
"I used to dream about what you would look like when you got older. I wondered whether you'd have my eyes or your father's nose.""
She looked up at me.
"I was told you were dead.""
I swallowed.
"I'm sorry.""
She shook her head.
"You didn't know.""
Then she looked at Liam.
"Can I hold him, too?""
I handed him over.
Sarah held both boys against her chest, rocking them gently.
For a few minutes, nobody spoke.
There was only the sound of the wind chime outside and the soft breathing of two babies meeting the woman who had been told they no longer existed.
Eventually, Sarah wiped her cheeks.
"I need to tell you what happened.""
I sat opposite her.
"Please.""
She took a breath.
"Michael Bennett was a donor at the fertility clinic where I received treatment. I was told the clinic used anonymous donors, and I signed consent forms for one of my embryos to be fertilized using donor material.""
"One of your embryos?""
She nodded.
"I had fertility problems. My doctor told me the procedure might result in twins, but he couldn't guarantee anything.""
I looked at the boys.
"So both babies were conceived through the procedure?""
"That's what I believed. Dr. Reed told me the genetic screening showed both embryos were viable.""
"And Michael Bennett?""
"He was listed as the donor for one of the samples. I never met him. I never knew his name until Daniel showed me the report.""
I leaned forward.
"Then why would he be the biological father of one of the twins?""
Sarah shook her head.
"I don't know. The clinic told me the donor material had been screened and assigned correctly. If the records are accurate, he may have been the biological father of one child. But I don't understand why the other child's records were changed.""
Daniel spoke from the doorway.
"That's what the original DNA report suggests. But we still need independent testing.""
Sarah looked down at the twins.
"I remember the morning I was told they had died. I was recovering from surgery when Dr. Reed came into my room. He said there had been a complication.""
Her fingers tightened around Liam's blanket.
"He told me the babies couldn't be saved. He said I was too weak to see them, and that the hospital had already handled everything.""
I felt a wave of nausea.
"Did you see death certificates?""
"No. He said the paperwork would be sent to me. When I asked to see my boys, he told me it would only make my recovery harder.""
She paused.
"Three days later, I was discharged. I went home with an empty nursery and two tiny blankets I'd knitted myself.""
Her voice cracked.
"I kept those blankets for years.""
I couldn't speak.
Sarah looked toward the window.
"Eventually, I started asking questions. I contacted the clinic, the hospital, and the doctor. Every time, someone told me the records were missing or inaccessible. Then a nurse called me anonymously and said my babies hadn't died.""
"Who was the nurse?""
"She wouldn't give me her name. She said she was afraid.""
Sarah turned back to me.
"She told me two newborn boys had been transferred to another hospital under different identification numbers. She said a wealthy man had paid for the arrangement.""
"My father.""
Sarah nodded.
"I didn't know his name at first. I only knew someone had taken my children and given them to another family.""
I looked at Noah and Liam.
"What do you want now?""
She held them closer.
"I want the truth. I want the records corrected. And I want the chance to know my sons.""
"You can know them," I said quietly.
"Whatever the tests show, I'm not going to punish these children for what adults did.""
Sarah's eyes filled again.
"Thank you.""
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He listened for several seconds before looking at me.
"It's Michael Bennett.""
My stomach tightened.
"What does he want?""
Daniel ended the call.
"He says he's willing to meet us. But he has one condition.""
"What?""
"He wants to see the original DNA report before he answers any questions.""
Sarah's expression changed.
"Don't let him near the boys.""
I looked at her.
"Why?""
She lowered her voice.
"Because when I first began investigating the clinic, I received a letter from him.""
"What did it say?""
Sarah walked to a drawer and removed a folded sheet of paper.
She handed it to me.
The letter was brief.
Stop investigating the twins. You don't understand what happened, and you won't like what you find.
There was no signature, but the return address belonged to Michael Bennett's company.
I stared at the words.
Then I noticed something at the bottom of the page.
A handwritten date.
It was the day before my father died.
I looked at Daniel.
"Did my father know Michael was involved?""
Daniel nodded slowly.
"According to the correspondence in the envelope, your father met with him twice in the month before he died.""
Sarah held the twins close.
"Then your father wasn't the only person who knew.""
I looked at the letter again.
Someone had helped my father arrange the transfer.
Someone had helped Dr. Reed conceal the identities.
And someone had threatened the children's biological mother into silence.
I folded the letter and placed it in my pocket.
"Then we're going to find out who.""
But as we prepared to leave, Sarah stopped me at the door.
"James, there's one more thing.""
I turned.
She looked at Noah and Liam.
"The nurse who contacted me said there were originally three babies involved in the procedure.""
My blood ran cold.
"Three?""
Sarah nodded.
"She said one of them disappeared before the transfer.""
May you like
And suddenly, the question wasn't just which twin was biologically mine.
It was what had happened to the third child.
