Chapter 9: The Night That Changed My Name
My grandfather didn’t answer his phone.
That terrified me more than anything else.
Barnaby always answered.
Even if he was angry.
Even if he was busy.
Even if he didn’t know what to say.
He answered.
I called again.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
Daniel watched me pace the living room.
“Sabine.””
“He knows.””
“Who?””
“My grandfather.””
Daniel stood.
“What does he know?””
I looked at him.
“The truth.””
I drove to my grandfather’s house alone.
I don’t know what I expected.
Maybe answers.
Maybe another document.
Maybe another hidden piece of my life waiting inside a drawer.
What I found was my grandfather sitting in the dark.
The lights were off.
The curtains were closed.
“Grandpa?””
He looked up.
For a second, he looked relieved.
Then afraid.
“You know.””
I closed the door.
“Yes.””
He nodded slowly.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t have to.””
I stared.
“That’s not your decision anymore.””
He looked down.
“I know.””
I sat across from him.
“Tell me.””
He was quiet for a long time.
Then he said:
“Your father never wanted Elise involved.””
“Why?””
“Because Elise knew something.””
“What?””
My grandfather looked at me.
“He knew you weren’t the child he told people you were.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
He took a folder from the table.
Inside were hospital records.
Again.
But this time, something was different.
My name.
My birthday.
The details.
Then I saw it.
A different last name.
Not my father’s.
Not my mother’s.
Another name.
“What is this?””
My grandfather looked devastated.
“When you were born, Rosalind wasn’t the only person in that hospital hiding something.””
My hands shook.
“Who else?””
He whispered:
“Arthur.””
My father.
“He changed the paperwork.””
“Why?””
My grandfather looked away.
“Because the truth would destroy him.””
“What truth?””
He didn’t answer.
Not immediately.
And that terrified me.
Finally, he said:
“Sabine, your father wasn’t just afraid of losing his reputation.””
I waited.
“He was afraid of losing everything.””
I looked at the documents.
The unfamiliar name.
The altered records.
The missing information.
“What did he do?””
My grandfather closed his eyes.
“The night you were born, there was another baby.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
“A baby born the same night.””
The room seemed to tilt.
“No.””
“Yes.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Sabine…”
“No.””
Because suddenly I understood.
The missing photographs.
The secrecy.
The documents.
The way my father had always looked at me like I reminded him of something.
“What are you saying?””
My grandfather’s eyes filled with tears.
“I’m saying the story you were told about your birth was never true.””
I whispered:
“Then whose child am I?””
He pushed the final document toward me.
At the top was a name.
A name I had never heard.
But underneath it was something that made my entire body go cold.
A DNA test.
My father’s signature.
And one sentence:
*“Confirmation of biological parentage.””*
I looked at the date.
It was taken twenty years ago.
Not recently.
Twenty years ago.
Meaning someone had known the truth long before I ever asked.
I looked at my grandfather.
“Who ordered this?””
He didn’t answer.
I already knew.
My father.
But why?
Why would he secretly test whether I was his daughter?
Unless…
Unless he already suspected I wasn’t.
My phone rang.
I looked down.
The name on the screen made my blood freeze.
Arthur.
My father.
I answered.
Neither of us spoke for several seconds.
Then he said:
“Sabine, whatever your grandfather told you, you need to forget it.””
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Why?””
His voice became colder.
“Because if you keep digging, you’re going to find out why Elise really disappeared.””
I stood.
“What did you do to her?””
Silence.
May you like
Then my father whispered:
“Ask your mother why she never told you who your real father was.””
