Chapter 9: The Last Person My Mother Trusted
I couldn't stop staring at the photograph.
My mother was sitting in a hospital bed, looking thinner than I remembered, but her eyes were still bright.
Denise stood beside her.
The third person was barely visible behind the doorway.
Only part of his face could be seen.
I looked at Daniel.
"Do you recognize him?""
The attorney leaned closer.
His expression changed immediately.
"That's impossible.""
Dad turned.
"Who is it?""
Daniel didn't answer.
He took the photograph and examined it under the living room light.
Then he looked at Anthony.
"Where did you get this?""
"From the original files.""
"Who was in the room?""
Anthony smiled without warmth.
"You should know.""
Daniel looked genuinely unsettled.
Dad grabbed his shoulder.
"Daniel. Who is that man?""
The attorney finally answered.
"Your wife's doctor.""
Dad frowned.
"Dr. Samuel Hayes?""
Daniel nodded.
I remembered the name.
Dr. Hayes had treated my mother during the final months of her illness. I remembered him visiting our house once after she came home from the hospital.
He had been kind to me.
He had even brought me a small stuffed bear when I was eight.
"Why would Mom be hiding him?"" I asked.
Anthony leaned against the wall.
"Because he knew what happened.""
Dad turned toward him.
"What happened?""
Anthony looked at Denise.
She shook her head.
"Don't.""
Anthony ignored her.
"Your wife didn't die from the illness everyone believed she had.""
The room became silent.
My father stared at him.
"Watch your mouth.""
"I'm telling you the truth.""
Daniel stepped forward.
"Anthony, you have no medical evidence to support that statement.""
Anthony pulled a folded document from his coat.
"Then perhaps this will help.""
He placed it on the table.
Dad opened it.
It was a medical report bearing my mother's name.
The date was from the week before her death.
Dad read the first paragraph.
Then he stopped.
"What's this?""
Daniel took the document.
He examined the medical terminology.
"This isn't a complete medical record.""
Anthony shrugged.
"It's enough to show that her treatment was changed.""
Dad looked at him.
"Who changed it?""
Anthony's eyes moved toward Denise.
She began shaking her head.
"I didn't do anything.""
Dad turned toward her.
"Nobody asked you.""
I felt sick.
My mother had been ill for months. I remembered the hospital visits, the medication bottles, and the nights Dad slept in a chair beside her bed.
I remembered her telling me that she would get better.
I had believed her.
"Did someone hurt my mother?"" I whispered.
Dad immediately turned toward me.
"No, sweetheart. We don't know that.""
Anthony interrupted.
"Your mother discovered that someone had been using the trust to pay for medical expenses that weren't hers.""
Daniel looked at him sharply.
"That's not what the records show.""
Anthony continued.
"She questioned the payments. Then she discovered that certain medical documents had been altered.""
Dad's voice rose.
"Who altered them?""
Anthony pointed toward Daniel.
The attorney froze.
My father looked at him.
"Is that true?""
Daniel placed the report down.
"Marcus, I need you to understand something. I handled the legal estate. I did not control her medical care.""
"Then why is your name on these documents?""
"Because I was asked to obtain copies for the trust records.""
Anthony laughed.
"Convenient.""
Daniel turned toward him.
"You've been hiding for twenty years. You don't get to accuse everyone else of dishonesty.""
Anthony stepped closer.
"And you don't get to pretend you were innocent.""
Dad raised his hand.
"Both of you stop.""
He looked at Daniel.
"I trusted you with my wife's affairs.""
"I know.""
"And now I find out you've been keeping secrets from me.""
Daniel lowered his eyes.
"Your wife asked me to.""
Dad stared at him.
"Why?""
Daniel opened his briefcase and removed a sealed envelope.
"Because she believed someone was trying to obtain the medical and financial records connected to her final treatment.""
He placed the envelope in front of Dad.
"This was written by your wife. She asked me to deliver it only if the trust was compromised and the original medical records were recovered.""
Dad opened it.
Inside was a letter addressed to him.
He began reading.
I watched his eyes move across the page.
Then his lips started trembling.
"What does it say?"" I asked.
He looked at me.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Finally, he read one sentence aloud.
Marcus, if you're reading this, then the person I feared has finally gained access to the documents I tried to protect.
He continued.
I need you to know that I never wanted you to believe I was hiding anything from you. I was trying to protect Maya from a secret that could destroy everything she thought she knew about our family.
Dad stopped.
I reached for his hand.
"Keep reading.""
He turned the page.
The money, the house, and the property trust are only part of the truth. The most important document is the original birth and guardianship record that I placed with Dr. Hayes.
My heart began pounding.
Birth record?
Guardianship?
Dad looked toward Daniel.
"What does that mean?""
Daniel shook his head.
"I don't know.""
Anthony gave a quiet laugh.
"Of course you don't.""
Dad turned toward him.
"Then tell us.""
Anthony looked at me.
"Ask your father why your mother went to the hospital without him the day she gave birth.""
I stared at Dad.
He looked confused.
"What?""
Anthony continued.
"Ask him why the hospital records show a second child.""
The room seemed to disappear around me.
"A second child?""
Dad slowly sat down.
"That's impossible.""
Anthony took another document from his coat.
It was an old hospital record.
My name was printed at the top.
Maya Elizabeth Carter.
Below it was another line.
*Second infant: Female.*
I looked at my father.
"Was I a twin?""
He didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed on the document.
Denise suddenly began crying.
Brianna looked at her mother.
"Mom?""
Dad stood.
"Denise, what does this mean?""
She shook her head.
"I don't know.""
But her reaction told me she knew more than she was admitting.
Anthony placed both hands on the table.
"Your mother gave birth to two girls, Marcus.""
My knees weakened.
"Where is she?""
Nobody answered.
Anthony looked directly at me.
"That's the secret your mother spent her final months trying to protect.""
Dad grabbed the hospital record.
"Where is the other child?""
Anthony's voice dropped.
"She's been closer to Maya than anyone realized.""
I looked around the room.
At Brianna.
At Denise.
At Daniel.
Then my eyes returned to the hospital document.
The second infant's name had been written in a different ink.
Someone had crossed it out.
But the original letters were still faintly visible beneath the black line.
I leaned closer.
And when I finally recognized the name, my entire body went cold.
*Brianna Carter.*
My stepsister wasn't simply the daughter Denise had brought into our family.
According to the hospital record, she had been born on the same day as me.
I looked at her.
She was staring at the document, crying.
"Why didn't you tell me?"" I whispered.
Brianna shook her head.
"I didn't know.""
But Anthony suddenly laughed.
"She doesn't know because Denise made sure neither of you would ever find out.""
Dad turned toward him.
"Explain yourself.""
Anthony reached into his coat one final time.
He pulled out a second hospital record.
This one contained a handwritten correction and an official stamp.
He placed it beside the first.
"Because one of those girls was never supposed to leave the hospital with the woman who raised her.""
My father picked up the paper.
His eyes moved to the bottom.
Then he looked at Denise.
May you like
And the next words he spoke made her collapse into the nearest chair.
"Denise... which one of these girls is actually your daughter?""
