Chapter 5: The Sister Who Wanted My Daughter
The words left Daniela’s mouth so quietly that for a second, I wondered if I had misunderstood.
“You were supposed to give me my daughter.””
My entire body went cold.
Not because I was surprised.
Because some part of me had already known.
The strange comments.
The obsession with my pregnancy.
The way she touched my stomach without asking.
The way she cried when we announced the baby.
I had spent months explaining away things that should have terrified me.
I had called it jealousy.
I had called it insecurity.
I had called it sisterly attachment.
But standing there in that hospital room, watching my sister look at my unborn child like she was something stolen from her…
I finally saw the truth.
Daniela didn’t want to be an aunt.
She wanted to replace me.
“What did you just say?”” Andrés asked.
His voice was low.
Dangerously calm.
Daniela looked at him.
“You heard me.””
“Leave.””
She blinked.
“Excuse me?””
“You need to leave this room.””
Her face immediately changed.
There it was.
The expression everyone else fell for.
The wounded little sister.
The person who had been misunderstood.
“I came here because I wanted to apologize.””
I stared at her.
“No, you didn’t.””
She looked at me.
“Yes, I did.””
“You locked the door.””
Her eyes flickered toward it.
Just for a second.
But that second was enough.
“You’re afraid,” I whispered.
Her jaw tightened.
“No.””
“You are.””
I watched her carefully.
“You’re afraid because I know.””
Daniela’s expression hardened.
“Know what?””
“That you wanted my baby.””
Silence.
A normal person would have been shocked.
A normal person would have denied it immediately.
But Daniela didn’t.
She just stared at me.
And that was worse.
Andrés stepped between us.
“I’m calling security.””
“Go ahead.””
Her answer was so calm that it scared me.
“Everyone already thinks I’m the problem.””
She smiled faintly.
“So what difference does it make?””
I looked at her.
“You pushed me down the stairs.””
Her face tightened.
“I didn’t mean for you to fall that far.””
My heart stopped.
Andrés stared at her.
“What?””
Daniela realized what she had said.
Too late.
She quickly shook her head.
“You’re twisting my words.””
“No,” I said.
My voice was quiet.
Clear.
“You just told the truth.””
She looked away.
“You always do this.””
I frowned.
“Do what?””
“Make me look like the villain.””
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“You pushed your pregnant sister down a staircase.””
Her eyes flashed.
“Because you wouldn’t listen.””
The room went silent.
Andrés immediately pulled out his phone.
Daniela saw.
Her expression changed.
“You’re recording me?””
“Yes.””
For the first time, she looked afraid.
“Delete that.””
“No.””
“You can’t do this.””
“You came into a hospital room and admitted you pushed my wife.””
“I didn’t admit anything.””
“You just did.””
She looked at me.
And suddenly, the sadness disappeared.
The mask fell.
“You don’t understand.””
I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“You’re right.””
I looked at her.
“I don’t understand how you could do this.””
Her eyes filled with anger.
“I spent my whole life watching you get everything.””
There it was.
The beginning.
The story she had told herself.
“You had parents who worried about you.””
I stared at her.
“Daniela…”
“You had people protecting you.””
I almost laughed.
Protecting me?
My mother had spent years telling me to be patient with Daniela.
To forgive Daniela.
To understand Daniela.
“You had Andrés.””
Her voice cracked.
“You had a home.””
I looked down at my hospital bracelet.
At the IV attached to my hand.
At the bruises forming across my body.
“And you thought that meant my baby belonged to you?””
Daniela’s eyes became wet.
“I thought you would understand.””
“Understand what?””
“That I deserved something too.””
I stared at her.
“You don’t deserve my child.””
Her face changed.
A dangerous calm settled over her.
“You don’t mean that.””
“Yes, I do.””
“You’re just angry.””
“No.””
I held her gaze.
“I’m finally seeing you clearly.””
The words hit her harder than any scream could have.
She stepped back.
And for the first time, she looked like she was losing control.
“You’ll regret this.””
Andrés immediately moved closer.
“Is that a threat?””
Daniela looked at him.
“No.””
But her voice said yes.
A few seconds later, security arrived.
Daniela didn’t fight.
She didn’t cry.
She just walked out.
But before the door closed, she turned back to me.
“You have no idea what Mom did for you.””
Then she left.
That sentence followed me all night.
What Mom did for you.
Not to you.
For you.
Like she was protecting me.
Like there was something I didn’t know.
And I hated that a part of me still wanted to believe my mother had a reason.
Because mothers were supposed to protect their children.
Even when they made mistakes.
Even when they failed.
There had to be an explanation.
There had to be something.
But every explanation I imagined became worse.
Around midnight, Andrés found me awake.
“You need sleep.””
“I can’t.””
He sat beside me.
“I know.””
I looked at him.
“What if she’s right?””
His face immediately changed.
“About what?””
“What if there’s something I don’t know?””
He shook his head.
“Mariana.””
“I’ve spent my whole life thinking I knew my family.””
My voice became quieter.
“And maybe I didn’t.””
Andrés took my hand.
“You know me.””
I looked at him.
“You know me.””
Those words almost broke me.
Because he was right.
Everyone else had made me question myself.
But Andrés never had.
The next morning, the hospital administrator came to speak with us.
At first, I thought it was about Daniela.
But then she placed a folder on the table.
“I’m sorry to bother you.””
“What is this?”” Andrés asked.
The woman looked uncomfortable.
“There was a concern raised regarding your daughter’s birth plan.””
My heart sank.
“By who?””
She hesitated.
“Your sister.””
Of course.
“What concern?””
She opened the folder.
“She contacted the hospital weeks ago.””
I felt the room tilt.
“Weeks?””
“Yes.””
“What did she say?””
The administrator looked down.
“She claimed she was part of your birth plan.””
I stared.
“She what?””
“She said you had agreed she would be present during delivery.””
My mouth went dry.
“I never agreed.””
“I understand.””
The woman turned the folder around.
“She also submitted documents.””
Andrés picked them up.
His eyes moved quickly across the pages.
Then stopped.
“What is this?””
I looked at him.
“What?””
He handed me the papers.
My fingers shook as I read.
It was a form.
A hospital authorization request.
My name was written at the top.
But the signature…
I froze.
Because it looked like mine.
Almost.
Not exactly.
But close enough.
“She forged my signature.””
The administrator nodded slowly.
“We suspected that.””
I looked up.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?””
“Because we needed to verify first.””
My heart pounded.
Daniela had planned this.
Not emotionally.
Not impulsively.
She had planned it.
The hospital administrator left.
Andrés sat beside me.
“We have to report this.””
I nodded.
“Yes.””
But before we could do anything, my phone rang.
My mother.
I almost didn’t answer.
But I did.
“Hello?””
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then she whispered:
“Mariana.””
I waited.
“I need you to listen to me.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“Where were you when I was bleeding on the floor?””
Silence.
Then:
“I was scared.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“You were cleaning.””
She started crying.
“Please.””
“Tell me the truth.””
Another silence.
Then my mother said the words I never expected to hear.
“Daniela wasn’t the only one who wanted that baby.””
My blood turned cold.
“What does that mean?””
Her voice broke.
“It means you were never supposed to know the whole story.””
I sat frozen.
“Mom…”
Then she whispered:
“Because the baby wasn’t the only thing Daniela was trying to take from you.””
A pause.
May you like
And then:
“She was trying to take your identity.””
