Anna did not tell Daniel about the box.
She put the papers back exactly as she had found them, tied the blue thread around the envelopes, and returned everything to the cabinet. The key went into her pocket.
Claire watched her silently.
“What are you going to do?”
“Ask him.”
“About the baby?”
“About everything.”
Claire nodded.
“He'll know I'm the one who told you.”
“Maybe.”
“He'll be angry.”
Anna looked at her.
“I don't care.”
The words surprised even Anna.
For six years, she had known Daniel as the steady one. He paid bills on time, remembered birthdays, fixed leaking faucets, and rarely raised his voice. When Noah was born, Daniel had been the person who held Anna's hand through every contraction and cried when their son finally arrived.
But now one sentence from an old record had made those memories feel unstable.
She checked Noah again.
The red mark around his ankle had faded.
He was sleeping.
Claire stood near the window.
“There's something else.”
Anna turned.
“Of course there is.”
Claire winced.
“I didn't tell you because I was afraid.”
“Afraid of Daniel?”
Claire shook her head.
“Afraid of what the truth would do to you.”
Anna folded her arms.
“Tell me.”
“When you were pregnant, Daniel asked me to watch you.”
Anna stared.
“What?”
“He called me several times.”
“Why?”
“He said you were asking too many questions.”
“What questions?”
“About your medical records.”
Anna's face hardened.
“I don't remember that.”
“You didn't know he was changing them.”
“Changing what?”
“Your prenatal records.”
Anna sat down.
“What did he change?”
Claire looked at Noah.
“Your blood type.”
Anna's heart seemed to stop.
“That makes no sense.”
“I know.”
“Why would anyone change that?”
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
Claire looked away.
“I know what Daniel told me.”
“What?”
“He said your original records belonged to someone else.”
Anna stared.
“Someone else?”
Claire nodded.
“A woman named Elise.”
The name meant nothing.
Anna shook her head.
“I've never heard of her.”
“You weren't supposed to.”
The front door opened.
Both women froze.
Daniel called from the hallway.
“Anna?”
She stood.
Claire whispered, “Don't tell him yet.”
Anna looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because we don't know who he is working with.”
Footsteps approached.
Daniel entered the kitchen carrying a grocery bag.
He smiled automatically.
“Hey.”
Anna said nothing.
His smile disappeared.
“What happened?”
“Where were you on the night Noah was born?”
Daniel stared.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
Claire moved toward the laundry room.
Daniel noticed.
“Why is Claire here?”
Anna stepped between them.
“Answer me.”
“I was at the hospital.”
“Which hospital?”
Daniel's expression changed.
“The one where Noah was born.”
Anna reached into her pocket.
She held up the copied record.
Daniel's face went pale.
Claire closed her eyes.
Daniel whispered, “Where did you get that?”
Anna felt the answer before he spoke.
“You know what it is.”
Daniel looked at Claire.
“You opened it.”
“No.”
“You moved it.”
Claire said nothing.
Anna stepped closer.
“Who is Elise?”
Daniel sat down slowly.
“Anna, you don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“From people who were looking for the child.”
Anna's eyes narrowed.
“Our child?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
The room became silent.
Anna felt her stomach drop.
“Then whose child?”
Daniel looked toward Noah's crib.
“That depends on which record you're reading.”
Anna backed away.
“You've been lying to me.”
“I never wanted to.”
“You lied anyway.”
Daniel rubbed his face.
“When Noah was born, the hospital made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“There were two babies.”
Anna stared.
“Twins?”
Daniel nodded.
“But I only had one baby.”
“Yes.”
“Where was the other?”
Daniel looked at Claire.
“She knows.”
Claire's eyes filled.
“Daniel…”
“You promised.”
Anna turned toward Claire.
“What promise?”
Claire began crying.
“I promised your sister.”
Anna went still.
“I don't have a sister.”
Claire looked at her.
“You did.”
Daniel whispered, “Anna, you were one of the twins.”
The sentence made no sense.
Anna shook her head.
“No.”
“You were separated when you were infants.”
“No.”
“Your parents were told one child had died.”
“My parents never had twins.”
“They were told that.”
Anna felt dizzy.
“Then where is the other child?”
Daniel hesitated.
Claire answered.
“Alive.”
Anna looked at her.
“Where?”
“We don't know.”
Anna turned toward Daniel.
“Why is Noah's birth date on the old record?”
Daniel said nothing.
“Why?”
“Because the records were reused.”
“For whom?”
Daniel's voice dropped.
“For your sister.”
Anna stared.
“So Noah's identity is connected to mine?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then explain it.”
Daniel looked toward the hallway.
“Someone has been searching for your sister for twenty-two years.”
Anna's voice became quiet.
“Why?”
“Because she was taken from the hospital.”
“Taken by whom?”
Daniel looked at Claire.
Claire whispered, “Your father.”
Anna's face changed.
“My father?”
“He believed he was protecting her.”
“From who?”
Daniel said, “A doctor.”
“What doctor?”
“Dr. Samuel Reed.”
Anna recognized the name from the old hospital paperwork.
“What did he do?”
Daniel swallowed.
“He sold medical records.”
Anna looked at Noah.
“And babies?”
Daniel didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the back door.
Three slow knocks.
Everyone froze.
Daniel whispered, “Don't move.”
Another knock.
Anna grabbed Noah.
Claire turned off the kitchen light.
The third knock was followed by a man's voice.
“Anna, I know you're inside.”
Daniel's face went white.
Anna whispered, “Who is that?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Thomas.”
“Who is Thomas?”
“Your brother.”
Anna stared.
“I don't have a brother.”
Daniel's expression was full of dread.
“You did.”
The doorknob began to turn.
Click Here to continue read next: PART3: The Man Outside Claimed to Know Anna’s Missing Family, but the Photograph He Slipped Through the Door Raised an Impossible Question
The Water in the Laundry Sink Wasn’t Dirty From Clothes, and One Small Discovery Made Anna Realize Someone Had Been Hiding Something
Part 2 of 8
