Chapter 7: The Baby They Tried To Erase
I read the words again.
Then again.
*THAT ISN’T MATEO.*
My fingers tightened around the photograph until the edges bent.
For a few seconds, the hallway disappeared.
The nurses walking past.
The sounds of hospital machines.
The voices behind me.
Everything became distant.
Because the words weren’t just a message.
They were an attack on sixteen years of my life.
Sixteen years of memories.
Sixteen years of love.
I looked at the photograph.
A hospital room.
My mother.
A newborn baby.
A date written in the corner.
The date Mateo was born.
But something was wrong.
Something I hadn’t noticed before.
The baby in the picture was wearing a small white bracelet.
A hospital bracelet.
I zoomed in.
My breathing stopped.
The name printed on it wasn’t Mateo.
It was another name.
A name I had never heard before.
*Lucas.*
“Mom?””
I turned.
Mateo was standing at the end of the hallway.
The nurse must have let him come out.
His face was pale.
He had seen the photo.
I immediately hid it behind my hand.
Not because I wanted to lie.
Because I wanted to protect him.
But he already knew.
“What was that?””
I walked toward him.
“Mateo…”
“What was that picture?””
His voice cracked.
I looked at my son.
The boy who had spent the last few hours discovering that the adults around him had hidden things.
I couldn’t do the same.
“I don’t know yet.””
His eyes filled with fear.
“Is it true?””
I swallowed.
“Is what true?””
“That I’m not…”
He couldn’t finish.
I stepped closer.
“Don’t say it.””
“But what if I’m not your real son?””
The pain in his voice almost destroyed me.
I grabbed his shoulders.
“Listen to me.””
He looked at me.
“You are my son.””
“But—”
“No.””
My voice shook.
“You are the child I raised. The child I held when you had nightmares. The child who used to sleep next to me when thunderstorms scared you.””
His eyes filled with tears.
“But I want to know.””
I closed my eyes.
Because he was right.
He deserved answers.
Before I could respond, Officer Daniels approached.
“Mrs. Martinez.””
I turned.
He looked at the photograph.
“Where did you get that?””
“It was left at the front desk.””
“By who?””
“I don’t know.””
He took the photo carefully.
Then he examined the back.
“Lucas.””
He looked at me.
“Does that name mean anything?””
I shook my head.
“No.””
Camila stepped closer.
But her face had changed.
I noticed immediately.
“Camila?””
She looked at the photo.
“Elena…”
“What?””
Her lips trembled.
“I’ve heard that name before.””
My heart sank.
“Where?””
She looked toward the floor.
“At Mom’s house.””
Nobody spoke.
“When?””
“Years ago.””
I stepped closer.
“What did you hear?””
Camila swallowed.
“Mom was talking to Dad.””
“And?””
“She said, ‘Lucas can never come back.’”
A cold wave moved through me.
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
“You heard this and never told me?””
“I thought it was about someone else.””
“Someone else?””
Camila looked at the photo.
“I didn’t know.””
I turned away.
I wanted to be angry.
I wanted to scream.
But there was too much happening.
Too many secrets.
Too many pieces that didn’t fit.
Officer Daniels looked at the photograph.
“We need to verify this.””
“How?””
“Hospital records.””
My stomach tightened.
“The hospital from sixteen years ago?””
He nodded.
“If someone altered records, there will be a trail.””
I looked at Mateo.
He was quiet.
Too quiet.
That scared me more than anything.
“Mateo?””
He looked up.
“Can I ask something?””
“Anything.””
“If I’m not…”
His voice broke.
“If I’m not your son, then who am I?””
I immediately pulled him into a hug.
“You are you.””
“But everyone keeps talking like I’m a secret.””
I held him tighter.
“I promise you, we’re going to find the truth.””
He whispered:
“What if the truth hurts?””
I closed my eyes.
“Then we face it together.””
Two hours later, Officer Daniels returned.
He looked exhausted.
That told me everything.
“What did you find?””
He placed a folder on the table.
“We accessed archived hospital records.””
My hands went cold.
“And?””
He opened the folder.
“There was an irregularity.””
Camila leaned forward.
“What kind?””
“The birth records from that night were incomplete.””
My heart pounded.
“How?””
“Pages were removed.””
I stared at him.
“Removed?””
“Yes.””
“By who?””
“That’s what we’re investigating.””
I looked at the documents.
“Was there a baby named Lucas?””
Officer Daniels nodded.
“Yes.””
The room became silent.
“What happened to him?””
The officer looked at the paper.
“According to the records…”
He stopped.
“Say it.””
“Lucas Martinez was marked as deceased.””
I felt numb.
“Deceased?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Approximately six hours after birth.””
I looked at Mateo.
He looked confused.
“I don’t understand.””
Neither did I.
“How can there be a photo of a baby who died?””
Nobody answered.
Then Officer Daniels said something that changed everything.
“Because there is no death certificate.””
My head snapped toward him.
“What?””
“There is no burial record.””
“No hospital transfer.””
“No medical report confirming death.””
I stared.
“So what does that mean?””
“It means officially…”
He paused.
“Lucas Martinez disappeared.””
A silence followed.
A terrifying silence.
My phone suddenly vibrated.
A message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
A photo.
This time, it wasn’t old.
It was recent.
A man standing outside a hospital.
Older.
Different.
But familiar.
My heart stopped.
Because I knew that face.
Even after eleven years.
Daniel.
The message underneath said:
*HE KNOWS THE TRUTH. ASK HIM WHY HE LEFT YOU.*
My hands shook.
Camila looked over my shoulder.
“Daniel.””
I nodded.
“He was here.””
Officer Daniels immediately stood.
“Where?””
I showed him the picture.
The timestamp was only thirty minutes old.
“He was inside this hospital.””
The officer grabbed his radio.
“Security team, lock down the east entrance.””
Mateo looked at me.
“Mom.””
I turned.
“What?””
His eyes were filled with confusion.
“If Dad is alive…”
I waited.
“Why did he leave us?””
I had no answer.
Because that was the question I had avoided for eleven years.
The question that hurt too much to ask.
The question everyone seemed determined to keep hidden.
A few minutes later, security reported that Daniel had left through the parking garage.
But he left something behind.
Another envelope.
Officer Daniels handed it to me.
My name was written on it.
Inside was a single page.
A handwritten letter.
I recognized the handwriting immediately.
Daniel’s.
My hands trembled as I read.
*Elena,*
*If you are reading this, then they failed to stop you.*
*I know you hate me. You should. I left you with questions you deserved answers to.*
*But I didn’t leave because I stopped loving you.*
*I left because the night Mateo was born, I discovered something that could destroy our entire family.*
I stopped reading.
My eyes moved to the next line.
And then my heart broke.
Because the next sentence was not about money.
Not about my parents.
Not about the insurance.
It was about my son.
*Mateo was never supposed to come home with us that night.*
I looked at Mateo.
Then back at the letter.
The final line was written underneath.
*Your mother knows where the real Lucas is.*
I dropped the paper.
Because suddenly I understood.
My mother hadn’t been trying to hide a secret.
She had been trying to hide a person.
And somewhere in the world…
May you like
There was another child.
A child who was supposed to be my son.
