Chapter 15: The Woman Who Stole My Daughter’s Identity
The next morning, I called Lauren.
She answered immediately.
Like she had been waiting.
“Rebecca?””
I didn’t waste time.
“Did you name her Emma?””
Silence.
A long silence.
Then:
“Who told you that?””
My stomach tightened.
“So it’s true.””
Lauren’s voice changed.
“Where did you find out?””
“Someone left the bracelet in my house.””
Her breathing stopped.
“What bracelet?””
“The hospital bracelet.””
A pause.
Then Lauren whispered:
“No.””
“What?””
“They found you.””
The fear in her voice scared me.
“Lauren, explain.””
“When Daisy was born, I named her Emma.””
“Why?””
“Because it was my grandmother’s name.””
“Then why is she Daisy now?””
Lauren didn’t answer.
And that was when I knew.
There was another missing piece.
“Lauren.””
“I didn’t choose Daisy.””
My heart pounded.
“Who did?””
“The people who took her.””
I sat down.
“Who are they?””
“I don’t know.””
“But they changed her name.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Lauren’s voice became quiet.
“Because names matter.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“They weren’t just hiding a baby.””
“What were they hiding?””
“The identity of someone.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Someone?””
“Yes.””
“Lauren, stop speaking in riddles.””
She took a shaky breath.
“Emma wasn’t just my daughter.””
The room felt colder.
“She was evidence.””
“Evidence of what?””
“Your father-in-law’s biggest secret.””
I looked toward the window.
“What secret?””
Lauren whispered:
“He didn’t steal Daisy because he hated me.””
“Then why?””
“Because he needed her to disappear.””
“Why?””
“Because Emma’s birth exposed what he had done.””
I closed my eyes.
Every answer created another question.
“What did he do?””
Lauren was silent.
Then:
“He killed someone.””
My heart stopped.
“Who?””
“Someone who was going to reveal everything.””
“Who?””
Lauren’s voice trembled.
“Your husband’s mother.””
I froze.
“What?””
Christopher’s mother had died before I met him.
A heart condition.
That was what I had always heard.
Everyone knew.
Or thought they knew.
“She died naturally,” I whispered.
“No.””
The certainty in Lauren’s voice terrified me.
“No?””
“Rebecca, Christopher’s father didn’t just hide a child.””
She paused.
“He hid a murder.””
I couldn’t speak.
My entire understanding of Christopher’s family shattered.
“Why would Emma prove that?””
“Because his mother left something behind.””
“What?””
“A recording.””
My heart raced.
“A recording of what?””
“The truth.””
I looked toward the hallway.
Christopher was standing there.
He had heard enough.
“Rebecca.””
I turned.
His face was pale.
“What did she say?””
I didn’t answer.
I didn’t need to.
He already knew.
“Mom.””
The word came out broken.
“My mother?””
I nodded slowly.
Christopher sat down.
“No.””
Lauren was still on the phone.
“Christopher, I’m sorry.””
He grabbed the phone.
“Where is the recording?””
Silence.
“Lauren.””
“I don’t know.””
“You said she left something.””
“She did.””
“Where?””
Lauren whispered:
“Your father found it first.””
Christopher closed his eyes.
Of course.
Another thing his father had taken.
Another truth buried.
Then Lauren said something else.
Something that changed everything.
“But he didn’t destroy it.””
Christopher looked up.
“What?””
“He kept it.””
“Why?””
“Because your father didn’t believe in destroying evidence.””
A pause.
“He believed in controlling it.””
The call ended.
Nobody moved.
Then Christopher whispered:
“My father kept the truth all these years.””
I looked at him.
“Where?””
He stared at the old bracelet.
At the name Emma.
At the past that had finally returned.
And then he said:
“There is only one place he would have hidden something that important.””
“Where?””
Christopher looked terrified.
“His old house.””
The house he inherited after his father died.
The house he refused to sell.
The house he told me was full of painful memories.
The house I had never understood.
Until now.
May you like
Because maybe Christopher’s father had not left behind memories.
Maybe he had left behind evidence.
