Chapter 4: The Brother Nobody Was Allowed to Find
“Your mother had another child before you.””
My father's words echoed inside the storage unit.
I stared at him, waiting for him to explain that he'd misspoken.
He didn't.
“Before me?”” I asked.
Dad nodded slowly.
“Before you were born.””
“How old was he?””
“I don't know.””
“Where is he?””
Dad looked down at the letter.
“I don't know that either.””
I turned toward Uncle Daniel.
“You knew?””
Daniel shook his head.
“Not about another child. Rebecca never told me that.””
“But you knew something was wrong.””
“Yes.””
“What happened to him?””
Daniel took a breath.
“That's what we're going to find out.””
I stepped away from the chest.
My mother had been gone for three years. I had spent those years collecting every memory I could find of her. I knew her favorite song, her favorite restaurant, and the way she always left handwritten notes inside birthday presents.
But apparently, I hadn't known the most important thing about her life.
She had another child.
A son.
And somewhere in the world, that boy might still be alive.
Dad sat on the wooden chest.
“Rebecca never mentioned a pregnancy before me.””
“Maybe she was young,” Daniel suggested.
Dad shook his head.
“She would've told me.””
“Perhaps she couldn't.””
I looked at the letter again.
The final sentence was underlined twice.
I have proof that you were there when my first son disappeared.
“Vanessa was involved,” I said.
Nobody answered.
Then Daniel picked up the envelope and examined the back.
“There's something here.””
He turned it toward us.
A small handwritten number appeared beneath the flap.
*17-09-04.*
Dad frowned.
“What is that?””
“Could be a date,” Daniel said.
I checked the label on the storage chest.
There was another date written beneath Mom's handwriting.
September 17, 2004.
I looked at Dad.
“That's the date?””
He nodded.
“Your mother would've been twenty-three.””
Daniel opened his briefcase and searched through the documents.
“Wait.””
He pulled out a folded sheet.
It was a copy of an old birth certificate application.
The paper had yellowed around the edges.
At the top was Mom's full name.
Rebecca Anne Walker.
Under the section marked Previous Children, there was a handwritten entry.
One child.
Male.
Date of birth: September 17, 2004.
I stared.
My hands began shaking.
“That's him?””
Daniel nodded.
“His date of birth matches the date on the envelope.””
Dad took the document.
“There's no name.””
The space for the child's name had been left blank.
“Why would it be blank?”” I asked.
Daniel examined the bottom.
“Maybe the birth was registered under another name.””
“Why?””
He didn't answer.
Dad stood and began searching through the chest again.
He lifted old photographs, folded papers, and several envelopes.
Then he found a small notebook.
It was Mom's.
The blue leather cover had scratches along the spine.
I recognized it immediately.
She used to carry it everywhere.
Dad opened it carefully.
The first pages contained shopping lists, telephone numbers, and reminders.
Then the handwriting changed.
The entries became longer.
More personal.
Dad read silently.
I watched his expression.
“What's wrong?””
He turned the notebook toward me.
The entry was dated September 18, 2004.
**Yesterday, I held him for the first time. I thought I would never stop crying. He's so small, and he has Marcus's eyes.
I wish I could keep him safe. I wish I knew what to do.**
I looked up.
“Marcus?””
Dad's face had gone white.
Daniel took the notebook.
He read the paragraph twice.
“That's not possible.””
Dad shook his head.
“Rebecca and I didn't meet until 2010.””
I stared at him.
“Then who was Marcus?””
Nobody answered.
I flipped the page.
Another entry.
*She came back today. She says the arrangement is temporary. She says he'll have everything he needs. I don't believe her anymore.*
The next entry was dated three days later.
*I signed nothing. I gave nobody permission to take him. If I cannot find him, I will spend the rest of my life looking.*
My throat tightened.
“Someone took him?””
Dad looked at me.
“I don't know.””
I turned another page.
A name appeared.
*Vanessa Hale.*
Underneath it, Mom had written:
*She knows where he is.*
The room went silent.
Daniel slowly closed the notebook.
“Vanessa's maiden name was Hale.””
Dad stared at him.
“How do you know?””
“I checked her background when you married her. I wanted to make sure everything was legitimate.””
“And?””
“Her previous employment records were incomplete. There were gaps.””
Dad's voice became sharp.
“You knew there were problems and said nothing?””
“I didn't have proof of anything.””
“Then why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I thought Rebecca's concerns were about the financial investigation.””
Dad turned away.
For a moment, I thought he might hit the wall.
Instead, he pressed both hands against his face.
“She's been in my house,” he whispered.
“She's been sitting at our dinner table.””
He looked at me.
“And I let her treat you like that.””
I didn't know what to say.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
Unknown number.
*Stop looking through your mother's things.*
I showed Dad.
His expression hardened.
“Who sent this?””
“I don't know.””
Another message arrived.
*You have no idea what you're getting involved in.*
Daniel took out his phone.
“I'm photographing everything. We need copies before anyone can destroy these documents.””
Dad nodded.
“Do it.””
I walked toward the framed photograph covered by the white sheet.
Something about it bothered me.
The frame was too large for the photograph inside.
I pulled the sheet away.
It showed Mom standing outside a hospital.
She was holding a newborn baby.
Her face was wet with tears.
But she was smiling.
On the back, in blue ink, were four words.
*My first little miracle.*
I turned the frame around.
A folded paper slipped from the wooden backing.
It landed at my feet.
I picked it up.
It was a hospital visitor's record.
The date matched the birth certificate.
And one name appeared under the visitor section.
Vanessa Hale.
I felt cold.
“Dad.””
He took the paper.
His eyes moved over the page.
Then he looked at Daniel.
“Call the police.””
Daniel reached for his phone.
But before he could dial, the storage unit's metal door rattled.
Someone was outside.
A woman's voice came through the narrow gap.
“Marcus?””
Dad froze.
I recognized that voice.
Vanessa.
“Open the door,” she called.
Daniel moved in front of me.
Dad stepped toward the entrance.
“Vanessa, how did you find us?””
Her answer came immediately.
“Because I know exactly what Rebecca left here.””
Then she added something that made my father stop walking.
“And if Ethan has seen the photograph, you need to understand one thing.””
May you like
A pause.
“He isn't the only child Rebecca lost.””
