Chapter 9: The Aunt Who Was Never My Aunt
Nia called Denise six times.
Every call went straight to voicemail.
On the seventh attempt, someone answered.
“Hello?””
The voice was breathless.
Nia pressed the phone to her ear.
“Denise, where are you?””
A pause.
Then Denise whispered, “Is Maya with you?””
Maya grabbed the phone.
“Yes. I'm here. Who am I?””
The line went silent.
“Denise?””
A shaky breath.
“I'm sorry, sweetheart.””
Maya closed her eyes.
“Don't say that. Everyone says they're sorry, and then they tell me another lie. Just answer the question.””
Denise began to cry.
“I never wanted you to find out this way.””
“Find out what?””
“I can't explain over the phone.””
“Then tell me where you are.””
Another pause.
“Your grandfather's old house.””
Maya stared at Marcus.
“The house was sold.””
“Not the property behind it,” Denise said.
“The small cottage where your grandfather kept his private records. He transferred it into a separate trust before he died.””
Maya's heart hammered.
“Why are you there?””
“Because someone came looking for me.””
“Who?””
Denise lowered her voice.
“Vanessa.””
The call ended.
Maya stared at the phone.
Detective Reynolds immediately dispatched officers to the property. Marcus gave them the address, and within twenty minutes, they were driving through a quiet neighborhood toward a narrow lane lined with overgrown hedges.
The cottage stood behind a rusted iron gate.
Its windows were dark.
The front door was slightly open.
Maya's stomach tightened.
“Denise?””
No answer.
An officer entered first, followed by Detective Reynolds. Nia stayed close to Maya, gripping her hand as they crossed the threshold.
The cottage smelled of dust and damp wood.
A lamp burned in the kitchen.
A cup of tea sat on the table, still warm.
And on the floor beside the fireplace lay a broken picture frame.
Maya picked it up before the detective could stop her.
Inside was a photograph of Denise holding a baby.
The baby wore a yellow blanket.
Maya's hands began to shake.
“That's me.””
Nia looked at the picture.
“I've never seen this.””
Maya turned it over.
The date was written on the back.
July 14, 2009.
Beneath it were five words.
*The night I brought you home.*
Nia covered her mouth.
“No.””
Maya looked at her.
“What does that mean?””
Nia shook her head.
“I don't know.””
But Maya saw the fear in her eyes.
She knew Nia was remembering something.
Something she had tried to bury.
Detective Reynolds called for a search of the cottage.
An officer discovered a locked cabinet in the bedroom containing old medical records, photographs, and a stack of letters addressed to Margaret Price.
Maya opened the first letter.
Margaret,
I have kept the child safe for seventeen years. I know you wanted me to tell the truth sooner, but I couldn't risk Vanessa discovering where she was.
She believes the child is still missing. She doesn't know that Nia has raised her as her own.
I will tell Maya when the time is right.
Maya's fingers went numb.
“Denise knew.””
Nia sat down heavily.
“She's been lying to me too.””
Maya looked at her.
“Mom, you said Denise was your sister.””
“She was adopted by my parents when she was fifteen. She lived with us for three years before moving away.””
“Did she ever tell you why?””
“No.””
Maya stared at the photograph.
“Did you know she was at the hospital the night I was born?””
Nia shook her head.
“I didn't even know she was in the state.””
Detective Reynolds examined the letter.
“This suggests Denise was involved in protecting a child from Vanessa. But we still need to establish the child's identity.””
Maya looked at the photograph again.
The crescent-shaped birthmark beneath the baby's left eye was unmistakable.
It matched hers.
But the picture could have been taken with any child.
She needed proof.
The detective opened another folder.
Inside was a copy of a hospital discharge record.
The patient's name had been blacked out, but the attending nurse's signature was visible.
*DENISE CARTER.*
Maya stared.
“Carter?””
Marcus looked at the document.
“Dr. Evelyn Carter?””
Detective Reynolds nodded.
“It's possible Denise was related to the doctor.””
Nia looked horrified.
“Denise never mentioned having any relatives in medicine.””
Maya opened the next envelope.
A birth certificate lay inside.
The name was partially obscured by a strip of black tape.
The date matched Maya's birthday.
The mother's name had been left visible.
*ELEANOR PRICE.*
Maya's breath caught.
“It's mine.””
Detective Reynolds examined the certificate.
“It may be. But we'll need to verify the document.””
Maya pointed to the bottom.
“Look at the signature.””
The witness signature belonged to Denise Carter.
The physician's signature belonged to Evelyn Carter.
And the third signature belonged to Margaret Price.
Maya looked at Nia.
“Denise was helping my grandmother.””
Nia nodded slowly.
“Maybe she was trying to keep you safe.””
“Then why did she pretend to be your sister?””
Nia had no answer.
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Everyone turned.
A woman stood in the doorway.
Denise.
Her hair was disheveled, her coat torn at the sleeve. She looked exhausted, but her eyes went immediately to Maya.
“Oh, sweetheart.””
Maya stepped toward her.
“Don't.””
Denise stopped.
“I can explain.””
“Then explain.””
Denise looked at Detective Reynolds.
“Please. I need to tell her privately.””
“No,” Maya said.
“You don't get privacy anymore. You get questions.””
Denise's face crumpled.
She looked at the photograph in Maya's hand.
“You found it.””
“You took me home that night?””
Denise nodded.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because your mother asked me to.””
Maya froze.
“Which mother?””
Denise's eyes filled with tears.
“Eleanor.””
Maya's throat tightened.
“Eleanor gave me to you?””
“No. She asked me to keep you safe until she could prove what the hospital had done.””
“Then why didn't she come for me?””
“Because Vanessa had already threatened her. She was afraid that if she tried to claim you, they would make sure you disappeared permanently.””
Maya stared at her.
“So you gave me to Nia?””
Denise shook her head.
“Not exactly.””
Nia stood.
“Denise, what are you saying?””
Denise looked at her.
“I brought the baby to your house because Marcus told me you had lost your son. He said you were desperate for a child and that you would protect her.””
Nia's face went white.
“Marcus knew?””
Denise nodded.
“He knew you were raising a child whose records had been altered. He didn't know whether she was Eleanor's daughter or Vanessa's. But he knew she was in danger.””
Maya turned toward her father.
“You knew I might not be your daughter.””
Marcus lowered his head.
“Yes.””
“And you let me believe I was.””
“I wanted you to have a home.””
“You had a choice. You could have told me the truth.””
“I know.””
Maya's voice rose.
“You could have told Nia!””
Marcus looked at Nia.
“I thought if she knew the adoption wasn't legal, she would be forced to give Maya up.””
Nia stared at him.
“So you let me raise a child under false pretenses because you thought I would love her too much to question it?””
Marcus didn't answer.
Nia slapped him.
The sound echoed through the cottage.
“You don't get to call that love,” she said.
Marcus touched his cheek.
“No. I don't.””
Maya turned back to Denise.
“Then who is Olivia?””
Denise hesitated.
“Olivia is the name Vanessa gave her own daughter.””
“Where is she?””
“I don't know.””
“Did she survive?””
Denise nodded.
“Yes.””
Maya's heart hammered.
“Then why did Vanessa spend seventeen years looking for her?””
“Because Olivia was never meant to inherit the trust. Vanessa wanted to use her identity to claim the money, but the original agreement required a DNA match to the Price family.””
Maya frowned.
“But if Olivia is Vanessa's daughter, how could she claim it?””
“Because Vanessa intended to present Olivia as Eleanor's daughter. The hospital records were altered to make it appear that Olivia was born to Eleanor and that you were Vanessa's child.””
Maya stared.
“So Vanessa wanted to switch our identities?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Denise took a shaky breath.
“Because Vanessa believed the Price family fortune would belong to whichever child could prove direct descent from Eleanor's father.””
Maya thought of the ledger's three accounts.
The two girls.
The unidentified infant.
The money.
“Then why was there a third baby?””
Denise looked at her.
“Because there were three girls.””
Maya felt her blood run cold.
“You told me that already.””
“But you don't understand what it means. The third baby was Vanessa's niece. Her sister died during childbirth, and Vanessa took responsibility for the child.””
Nia covered her mouth.
“That's the child in the sealed account?””
Denise nodded.
“Yes.””
Maya stared at the photograph.
The baby in Denise's arms had the same birthmark.
But if the third baby was Vanessa's niece, then why did the medical report identify her as Olivia Price?
Denise answered before Maya could ask.
“Because Vanessa had the hospital records changed again. She wanted all three children connected to the Price family so she could claim the inheritance through whichever identity proved most useful.””
Detective Reynolds stepped forward.
“Do you have evidence of this?””
Denise pointed toward the cabinet.
“The original records. And a recording of Vanessa discussing the arrangement with Richard Vale.””
The detective opened the cabinet.
Inside was a small tape recorder and a sealed envelope.
Maya reached for the envelope.
Her name was written on the front.
*MAYA — OPEN ONLY WHEN YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.*
She opened it.
Inside was a DNA test report.
Three genetic profiles had been listed.
One matched Eleanor Price.
One matched Vanessa Johnson.
The third matched Nia Johnson.
Maya stared at the page.
“Why is Mom's DNA here?””
Denise looked at her.
“Because Nia wasn't only your adoptive mother.””
Nia shook her head.
“No.””
Denise began to cry.
“I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you both, but Margaret made me promise to wait until we could prove it.””
Maya looked between them.
“What are you saying?””
Denise pointed to the third profile.
“The child recorded as the unidentified infant was biologically related to Nia.””
Maya's knees weakened.
Nia gripped the edge of the table.
“That's impossible. My son died.””
Denise whispered, “Your son didn't die.””
The room fell silent.
Maya looked at Nia.
“Mom?””
Denise continued, her voice shaking.
“The baby boy you delivered was taken from the hospital alive. The death certificate was forged. He was raised under another identity.””
Nia made a strangled sound.
For seventeen years, she had mourned a child she believed had lived for twenty-seven minutes.
Now she was being told that he might still be alive.
Maya looked at the DNA report.
The third profile belonged to a male child.
A name had been written beside it.
*JULIAN CARTER.*
Maya's phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
A young man stood outside a courthouse, wearing a dark suit and holding a folder.
He looked about seventeen.
He had Marcus's eyes.
Nia's chin.
And Maya's exact birthmark beneath his left eye.
The message beneath the photograph read:
*YOUR BROTHER IS ALIVE. AND HE KNOWS WHO ORDERED THE SWITCH.*
Maya stared at the screen.
Then Denise whispered the words that made the room feel suddenly airless.
“Julian isn't just your brother, Maya.””
May you like
She looked toward the door.
“He's the only person who can prove who you really are.””
