Chapter 4: The Secret Written In Our Blood
I read the words again.
*Separate them before they discover.*
Five words.
Five words written by my grandfather the night my brother disappeared.
My hands felt numb.
“Discover what?”” I asked again.
This time, my voice was barely above a whisper.
Nobody answered.
Not my mother.
Not Lucas.
Not William.
That silence was worse than any explanation.
Because it meant the truth was something everyone had been afraid to say.
I looked at Lucas.
“You know.””
He looked away.
“I know pieces.””
“Then tell me.””
He swallowed.
“When I was younger, I always felt like something about my life was wrong.””
I listened.
“My adoptive parents loved me. They weren’t cruel. They didn’t hurt me. But there was always a sadness around them.””
He sat down slowly.
“They had a locked box in their closet. Every year on my birthday, my adoptive mother would cry after looking at it.””
“What was in it?””
“The hospital bracelet.””
I looked down at the two bracelets sitting side by side.
Two babies.
One night.
Two lives.
“One day when I was eighteen, she finally gave it to me.””
Lucas rubbed his hands together.
“She told me, ‘You deserve to know where you came from.’”
My mother closed her eyes.
Lucas continued.
“She told me I was brought to them through a private arrangement. Not a normal adoption.””
William frowned.
“Private arrangement?””
Lucas nodded.
“She said an older man paid for everything.””
My stomach tightened.
“Edward.””
Lucas looked at me.
“Yes.””
My grandfather.
The man who taught me how to tie my shoes.
The man who brought me ice cream after school.
The man who smiled for every family picture.
The man who erased my brother.
I felt sick.
“Why would he do that?””
Lucas looked at the DNA report.
“Because of this.””
William placed the report on the table.
“I need to explain something.””
His professional voice returned, but his eyes were still troubled.
“This test was done when you were both newborns.””
“Why?””
William looked at my mother.
She answered quietly.
“Because my father demanded it.””
I turned toward her.
“Grandpa tested us?””
She nodded.
“Your grandfather was obsessed with family history. Bloodlines. Genetics. Legacy.””
“That sounds like him,” William said.
My mother looked ashamed.
“He believed our family carried something special.””
I frowned.
“Special how?””
She didn’t answer.
Instead, Lucas pointed at the report.
“The test showed something.””
I picked up the paper.
At the top were medical terms I didn’t fully understand.
Genetic markers.
Inherited traits.
Probability results.
Then I saw a highlighted section.
A sentence.
*Both infants display a rare inherited genetic pattern.*
I looked at Lucas.
“So?””
He took a breath.
“My grandfather thought it made us valuable.””
The room became cold.
“Valuable?””
Lucas nodded.
“He wasn’t afraid of us being sick.””
William’s expression darkened.
“He was afraid of what people would do with that information.””
I looked between them.
“Stop talking like I already know something.””
Nobody responded.
I stood up.
“No more secrets.””
My voice shook.
“But I deserve the truth.””
My mother stared at me.
Then she finally broke.
“Your grandfather believed you and Lucas had inherited a rare genetic ability.””
I blinked.
“What ability?””
She looked down.
“An unusually strong resistance to certain inherited diseases.””
I waited.
“That’s it?””
Lucas shook his head.
“No.””
He looked at William.
“Tell her.””
William hesitated.
Then he opened another file.
“Your grandfather was contacted by a private research group.””
My stomach tightened.
“What kind of research group?””
“One interested in studying families with rare genetic patterns.””
My mother whispered:
“He thought Lucas could become part of something bigger.””
I stared at her.
“He sold my brother?””
Her face crumpled.
“I didn’t know.””
“You didn’t stop him.””
“I was recovering. I was barely conscious. When I found out…”
She stopped.
“When you found out what?””
She wiped her tears.
“Your father wanted to expose him.””
Lucas looked at me.
“But Edward threatened him.””
William nodded.
“Thomas spent years collecting evidence.””
I thought about my father’s locked drawer.
The bracelet.
The letter.
The hidden documents.
“He knew everything.””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t he tell me?””
William looked away.
“Because he was afraid.””
“Of what?””
The lawyer’s answer was quiet.
“He believed the people who took Lucas were still watching.””
A chill ran through me.
I looked toward the windows.
The street outside.
The neighbors.
The normal world.
Suddenly everything felt different.
“Are they?””
Nobody answered.
Then Lucas spoke.
“Yes.””
I turned toward him.
“What?””
He looked uncomfortable.
“For the last few months, someone has been following me.””
My heart dropped.
“Why didn’t you call the police?””
“Because I didn’t know who to trust.””
William frowned.
“Did your adoptive parents know?””
Lucas shook his head.
“My adoptive mother died two years ago.””
His voice softened.
“She was the only person who knew everything.””
I felt a strange sadness.
A woman who had raised my brother.
A woman I had never met.
“She left me one more thing.””
“What?””
Lucas reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a small key.
A tiny metal key attached to a piece of string.
“She told me this opened a safety deposit box.””
“Where?””
“At St. Catherine Medical Center.””
My eyes widened.
“The hospital?””
He nodded.
“She said if I ever found Lena, we needed to open it together.””
William immediately stood.
“No.””
Everyone looked at him.
He looked frightened.
“Why?””
“Because if Edward left something there…”
He stopped.
I noticed something.
William wasn’t afraid of the box.
He was afraid of what was inside.
“What are you hiding?””
He looked at me.
“Nothing.””
“Then why are you scared?””
Before he could answer, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone went silent.
I stared at the screen.
Lucas moved closer.
“Don’t answer.””
“Why?””
His expression changed.
“Because they might know you found me.””
The phone kept ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Finally, I answered.
“Hello?””
At first, there was only silence.
Then a voice.
An older man.
Calm.
Controlled.
A voice I had heard before.
But not in years.
My grandfather’s closest friend.
Richard Vaughn.
“Lena Hale?””
My blood ran cold.
“Yes?””
“I’m sorry you had to find out this way.””
I looked at William.
He recognized the name.
“What do you want?””
The man sighed.
“You opened your father’s drawer.””
I froze.
“How do you know that?””
“Because Thomas made the same mistake years ago.””
Lucas stepped closer.
The voice continued.
“You need to understand something, Lena.””
“What?””
A pause.
Then:
“Your brother was not taken because of what he inherited.””
I gripped the phone.
“Then why?””
The man lowered his voice.
“He was taken because of what happened when you were both born.””
I felt my heart pounding.
“What happened?””
Silence.
Then the final words:
“Ask your mother why only one of the twins was supposed to survive.””
The call ended.
I slowly lowered the phone.
Everyone was staring at me.
My mother looked like she had seen a ghost.
Lucas whispered:
“What did he say?””
I looked at Rebecca.
At the woman who had raised me.
The woman who had hidden my brother.
And for the first time in my life…
I wondered if she had been protecting me.
Or protecting the truth.
“Mom,” I said.
May you like
My voice broke.
“What happened the night we were born?””
