Chapter 7: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
My father's phone rang again.
The name on the screen remained unchanged.
*Evelyn Brooks.*
Outside the window, Vanessa stood beside her black sedan, watching the blue bedroom as if she knew exactly what we'd discovered.
Dad answered the call.
"Hello?""
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then an elderly woman's voice came through the speaker.
"Marcus Hale?""
"Yes. Who is this?""
"You don't have much time. Listen carefully. Do not let Vanessa take the photographs, and whatever you do, don't let her reach the hospital records before you do.""
Dad gripped the phone.
"Who are you?""
"My name is Evelyn Brooks. I was a nurse at St. Catherine's sixteen years ago.""
Rachel covered her mouth.
I leaned closer to the phone.
"Your obituary says you're dead," I blurted out.
A brief, humorless laugh came through the speaker.
"That was the point, sweetheart.""
Dad glanced at the window.
"Where are you?""
"Somewhere safe. For now.""
"Why did you call me?""
"Because I heard Denise's letter had been found.""
My stomach tightened.
"How do you know about my mother's letter?""
"Because I helped her write it.""
Rachel sank into the desk chair.
Dad looked as if he'd been struck.
"You knew Denise?""
"I knew her very well. And I know what happened to the two babies born at St. Catherine's that night.""
I felt my legs weaken.
"Which one am I?"" I asked.
The woman went quiet.
Then she said, "I can't tell you that over the telephone.""
"Why not?""
"Because the truth isn't just about which woman gave birth to which child. It's about who changed the records, who authorized the transfers, and who made sure the girls grew up believing they belonged to different families.""
Dad's face hardened.
"Was my signature forged?""
"Yes.""
The answer came without hesitation.
Rachel began to cry.
Dad closed his eyes.
"Who forged it?""
"I have the original paperwork. It wasn't you.""
"Then who?""
Before Evelyn could answer, a loud knock sounded downstairs.
We all turned toward the door.
Vanessa's voice floated up the staircase.
"Marcus? I know you're in there. Open the door.""
Dad looked at the phone.
"She's here.""
"I know," Evelyn replied.
"I can see her car from where I'm standing.""
I stared at the window.
"You can see her?""
"Yes, Maya. And if she's found that house, she's closer to the truth than I ever wanted her to be.""
The knock came again.
"Marcus!"" Vanessa called.
"We need to talk.""
Dad moved toward the door.
Evelyn's voice sharpened.
"Don't let her inside that room.""
He stopped.
"Why?""
"Because there's something in the blue box that belongs to her, and if she takes it, she may be able to destroy the only evidence left.""
I looked at the open metal box.
The photographs lay beside the cassette player. Beneath them was a thick envelope sealed with red wax.
On the front, my mother had written:
*To be opened only in the presence of both daughters.*
I stared at the words.
Both daughters.
Not one.
Two.
I picked up the envelope.
"What's in here?"" I asked.
Evelyn inhaled sharply.
"Denise's final statement.""
"About the babies?""
"About everything.""
Vanessa's footsteps sounded on the stairs.
Rachel hurried toward the doorway and blocked it with her body.
"Vanessa, you cannot come in here.""
Vanessa stopped.
She was breathing hard, her face flushed from the cold.
"Move, Rachel.""
"No.""
"I have every right to be here.""
"You have no right to touch anything in this room.""
Vanessa looked past her at the box.
Then she saw the envelope in my hands.
Her expression collapsed.
"Oh, God.""
She reached toward me.
"Give that to me, Maya.""
I stepped back.
"No.""
"Please. You don't understand what that document could do.""
"Then explain it.""
She shook her head.
"I can't.""
"You keep saying that. You keep telling me what I can't understand, what I can't know, what I can't read. I'm tired of it.""
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
"I know.""
"Then stop trying to control everything!""
She looked at Dad.
"Marcus, please. You have to believe me. I never wanted any of this to happen.""
He stared at her.
"Did you know about the two babies?""
Vanessa lowered her head.
"Yes.""
The room went silent.
Dad took a step toward her.
"From the beginning?""
"Not from the beginning.""
"Then when?""
She wiped her cheeks.
"My mother told me when I was twenty-four. She said there had been a mistake at the hospital. She said one of the babies had been transferred to the wrong family.""
Rachel's voice was bitter.
"And you believed her?""
"I didn't want to believe her. But she showed me a document.""
"What document?""
Vanessa looked at the envelope in my hands.
"The original transfer authorization.""
Dad's face turned white.
"Who signed it?""
Vanessa didn't answer.
He stepped closer.
"Who signed it, Vanessa?""
She whispered, "My mother.""
Rachel stumbled backward.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Dad asked, "Why would your mother do that?""
Vanessa shook her head.
"She said she was correcting a mistake. She said the babies had been placed with the wrong families, and that she was making sure they went where they belonged.""
I looked down at the photograph of the two newborns.
"Then why did she hide the truth?""
Vanessa looked at me.
"Because the transfer wasn't authorized by the parents.""
Evelyn's voice came through the phone.
"That's right.""
We had nearly forgotten the call was still connected.
"Mrs. Cole's mother arranged the transfer without the consent of either family. She changed the records afterward and pressured hospital staff to keep quiet.""
Dad gripped the phone.
"Why?""
"She believed one of the babies would have a better life with a different family.""
"She decided that herself?""
"Yes.""
Rachel covered her mouth.
I stared at Vanessa.
"Which baby was supposed to go where?""
Vanessa looked as though she were drowning.
"My daughter was supposed to be adopted by a family who couldn't have children. Denise's daughter was supposed to stay with Denise and Marcus.""
I swallowed.
"But that's not what happened.""
"No.""
"Why?""
Vanessa looked at the floor.
"Because my mother changed her mind.""
The words came out so softly that I almost missed them.
"She decided she wanted to keep her granddaughter close. She thought she could arrange things so the child would eventually come back to her.""
Rachel shook her head.
"That's monstrous.""
Vanessa flinched.
"She was my mother.""
"And you let her do it.""
"I was twenty-four. I was terrified. She told me that if I spoke up, the baby would be taken away from both of us.""
I stared at her.
"Both of us?""
Vanessa's eyes filled again.
"I didn't know what to believe. I was told my daughter had been placed with another family. I thought the child in Denise's arms was hers.""
I felt a coldness spread through my chest.
"You're saying you thought I was your daughter?""
Vanessa looked at me for a long time.
"Yes.""
I couldn't speak.
All those years, she'd resented me for wearing my mother's sweater, for talking about Denise, for refusing to let Vanessa rewrite my past.
And now she was telling me that she'd once believed I was her own child.
"Then why didn't you love me?"" I whispered.
Vanessa made a broken sound.
"I tried.""
"No, you didn't.""
She covered her face.
"I saw Denise every time I looked at you. I saw the woman who had everything I wanted. A husband.
A home. A child. And I hated her for it.""
"So you punished me?""
"Yes.""
The admission was almost inaudible.
I stared at her.
"You knew I might be your daughter, and you still treated me like that?""
Vanessa nodded.
"I was ashamed. And I was angry. I thought if I could make you stop talking about Denise, I could finally live with what had happened.""
I shook my head.
"You don't get to use me to fix what your mother did.""
"I know.""
"No, you don't. Because if you did, you wouldn't be trying to take that envelope.""
Vanessa's eyes flicked toward the red wax seal.
Then she looked away.
For a moment, she seemed ready to say something else.
Instead, she whispered, "Maya, there's something you need to know about the girl in the photograph.""
My heart pounded.
"Who is she?""
Vanessa swallowed.
"Her name is Olivia.""
The name sounded strangely familiar.
"Olivia what?""
"Olivia Brooks.""
Rachel gasped.
Dad turned toward the phone.
"Brooks? Evelyn, is she related to you?""
Evelyn's voice trembled.
"She's my granddaughter.""
I stared at the photograph.
The girl wearing the blue bracelet.
The girl with my mother's eyes.
The girl Vanessa had been searching for.
"Then how does she know about the bracelet?"" I asked.
Evelyn was silent.
Finally, she said, "Because Olivia has been looking for her birth mother, too.""
My fingers tightened around the envelope.
"Does she know about me?""
"Not yet.""
"Then she needs to.""
"She will. But first, you need to hear the rest of Denise's statement.""
Vanessa stepped toward me.
"Please, Maya. Let me explain.""
I held the envelope against my chest.
"No. Not until I know who I am.""
Evelyn's voice became firm.
"Then listen carefully. The truth is in that envelope, but there is one thing Denise never wrote down because she was afraid it would put both girls in danger.""
"What?""
"Your mother didn't just discover the switch. She discovered that someone had deliberately arranged it years before either baby was born.""
Dad stared at the phone.
"Who?""
Evelyn paused.
Then she said, "The person who ordered the transfer was not Vanessa's mother.""
Vanessa's face went completely white.
Evelyn continued.
"It was someone in Denise's own family.""
Rachel stumbled backward.
I looked at the old photographs, at the hospital documents, at the sealed envelope my mother had left for me.
Then I heard Vanessa whisper a name.
A name I had heard only in stories about my mother's childhood.
"Grandmother Eleanor.""
May you like
And for the first time, I understood that the secret buried at St. Catherine's was older than my parents' marriage.
It had begun long before I was born.
