Chapter 6: The Child Who Was Never Supposed to Exist
For a long moment, I couldn't understand the words.
A twin.
I had a twin?
I looked at the medical report again.
The page was old, yellowed at the edges, but the details were clear.
My mother's name.
The hospital.
The date.
And a reference to two male infants.
One listed as transferred.
The other listed as deceased.
I looked at Margaret.
“Where is my twin?””
She shook her head.
“Ethan, please.””
“Where is he?””
Daniel took the report from my hand.
“That's what we've been trying to find out.””
I turned toward him.
“You knew?””
“I suspected.””
“How long?””
“Since I found the hospital records six years ago.””
I felt anger rising in my chest.
“Six years? You've known I might have another brother for six years, and you never told me?””
Daniel looked down.
“I didn't know whether he was alive.””
My mother suddenly spoke.
“He isn't.””
I turned toward her.
“How can you know that?””
“Because I was told he died.””
“By whom?””
She hesitated.
Then she looked at the cellar floor.
“By the hospital.””
Daniel shook his head.
“The hospital record says he was transferred to a private clinic. There is no death certificate.””
Mom's face tightened.
“That clinic closed.””
“Exactly.””
I stared at the documents.
My entire life had suddenly become a collection of lies.
First Daniel.
Then my father's death.
Then Emily.
Now a twin brother whose existence had been erased before I could even speak.
The officer approached my mother.
“Margaret Wilson, we're going to need you to accompany us.””
She barely seemed to hear him.
Instead, she looked at Noah.
“Ethan, please don't let them take me away from my grandson.””
I stepped in front of my son.
“You don't get to use him.””
“I raised you!””
“You locked his mother underground.””
“I fed her!””
Emily let out a broken laugh.
“You fed me through a hole in the wall.””
My mother looked at her.
“You should be grateful you're alive.””
The officer immediately pulled Margaret away.
“That's enough.””
As they led her toward the stairs, she suddenly turned.
“Ethan! Ask Daniel why he came back now!””
I looked at my brother.
“What does she mean?””
Daniel didn't answer.
Mom continued shouting.
“Ask him why he waited until Emily was free! Ask him what he wants from you!””
The officers disappeared upstairs with her.
A few seconds later, we heard the garden gate slam.
I turned toward Daniel.
“What does she mean?””
He sighed.
“I didn't come back for the money.””
“Then why?””
He looked at Noah.
“Because someone contacted me three months ago.””
“Who?””
“Your father.””
I stared at him.
“That's impossible.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Not your father. Someone claiming to have information about him.””
He reached into his coat and pulled out a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
A man stood outside a hospital entrance, holding a newborn baby.
The photograph was grainy, but the man's face was unmistakable.
My father.
I looked at the date.
It was taken two days after his supposed death.
My knees weakened.
“That's not possible.””
Daniel nodded.
“I thought so too.””
“Where did you get this?””
“A woman mailed it to me. No return address. Just a note.””
He handed me the note.
It contained a single sentence.
Your father knew where the second boy went.
I stared at the photograph.
“Who was the woman?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you contact her?””
“I tried. The phone number was disconnected.””
I turned the photograph over.
There was handwriting on the back.
St. Agnes. Room 214. Ask for the boy without a name.
I looked up.
“What's St. Agnes?””
“An old private hospital about forty miles from here. It closed years ago.””
Emily suddenly sat forward.
“Wait.””
We turned toward her.
“I know that name.””
Daniel frowned.
“How?””
“Margaret used to leave the cellar every Thursday morning. She'd say she was going to the grocery store, but sometimes she'd be gone for hours.””
I looked at my mother, who was already outside.
“Did you ever follow her?””
Emily shook her head.
“No. But one time, she left a receipt in the kitchen.””
“For what?””
“A storage locker. The address was near St. Agnes.””
Daniel went still.
“Do you remember the number?””
Emily closed her eyes, trying to concentrate.
“Locker 214.””
I stared at him.
The photograph.
The hospital room.
The storage locker.
All carrying the same number.
It couldn't be a coincidence.
“Did you tell anyone?”” I asked.
Emily shook her head.
“I couldn't. Margaret found the receipt before I had a chance.””
Daniel took out his phone.
“I'm calling someone.””
“Who?””
“A lawyer. Someone my father trusted.””
He walked toward the staircase, speaking quietly.
I stayed with Emily and Noah.
My son had climbed onto the bottom step beside her. He was holding her hand with both of his.
“Mommy?””
Emily smiled weakly.
“I'm here, sweetheart.””
“Are you going away again?””
Her smile disappeared.
She kissed his forehead.
“No, baby. Not if I can help it.””
I knelt beside them.
“I promise we'll never let anyone hurt you again.””
Emily looked at me.
“Ethan, I need you to know something.””
“What?””
“Margaret wasn't the only person who came to see me.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Who else?””
She looked toward the stairs.
“Claire.””
I stared at her.
“Claire said she only found out six months ago.””
Emily shook her head.
“She lied.””
I slowly stood.
“What do you mean?””
“She came down here the week after our wedding.””
My heart stopped.
“That was seventeen months ago.””
Emily nodded.
“She told me she was your new wife. She showed me photographs of you and Noah together.””
I couldn't speak.
“She said you were happy. She said Noah was calling her Mommy. She told me you had both forgotten me.””
I felt my throat close.
“Why would she do that?””
Emily looked at Noah.
“Because she wanted me to sign something.””
“What?””
“A document giving up my rights as Noah's mother.””
I stared at her.
“Did you sign it?””
“No.””
“Then what happened?””
Emily lowered her voice.
“She told me that if I didn't sign, she'd make sure you never found me.””
I turned toward the staircase.
Claire was still upstairs.
The police had not taken her away.
I had allowed her to remain in the garden because I thought she might be another victim.
But Emily had just told me that Claire had known about the cellar almost from the beginning of our marriage.
I walked toward the stairs.
“Ethan,” Emily called.
I stopped.
“Be careful.””
I climbed into the garden.
The birthday decorations were still hanging between the trees. The champagne glasses remained scattered across the patio. A half-eaten cake sat on the table.
But Claire was gone.
My phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
I opened the message.
You should have listened to your mother.
A second message arrived.
If you want to see Claire again, bring the hospital report to St. Agnes. Come alone.
I looked toward the garden gate.
A black car was disappearing down the road.
Then I noticed something on the patio.
Claire's wedding ring.
She had left it beside my mother's broken champagne glass.
I picked it up.
Inside the band, where our wedding date should have been engraved, I found another inscription.
Four words.
For Daniel's other brother.
I stared at the ring.
Then my phone vibrated again.
This time, the message included a photograph.
It showed Claire standing beside a hospital bed.
And lying in that bed was a man whose face looked almost exactly like mine.
May you like
At the bottom of the photograph were six words.
Your twin has been waiting, Ethan.
