Chapter 7: The Baby in the Photograph
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
I stared at the photograph Eleanor had placed on the table.
My mother stood outside a hospital entrance, wearing a cream-colored coat. Her hair was tied back, and one hand rested protectively against her stomach.
Vanessa stood beside her.
She looked younger, but unmistakably herself.
Between them was a newborn baby wrapped in a pale pink blanket.
I recognized the hospital.
It was the same hospital where Vanessa had told me I was born.
But something about the photograph didn't make sense.
"Who are the two girls?"" I asked.
Eleanor pulled out a chair.
"One is you.""
"And the other?""
She looked at Daniel.
"Your father should explain what he knows first.""
Daniel's expression tightened.
"I don't know what you're referring to.""
Eleanor studied him.
"Daniel, you were there.""
"I was at the hospital when Nia was born.""
"Not just then.""
She opened her briefcase and removed a second photograph.
This one showed Daniel standing outside the maternity ward.
He was holding a baby.
A second baby.
My fingers went numb.
"Why are there two babies?""
Daniel slowly sat down.
"Because there were two.""
I looked at him.
"What?""
He pressed his palms against his knees.
"Your mother gave birth to twin girls.""
The room tilted.
I grabbed the edge of the table.
"Twins?""
Daniel nodded.
"Your mother delivered two healthy babies. You were born first. Your sister arrived eleven minutes later.""
I stared at the photograph.
"Where is she?""
Eleanor lowered her eyes.
"That's what we've been trying to establish.""
I turned toward my father.
"You told me I was an only child.""
"I was told your sister died.""
"By whom?""
Daniel looked at Eleanor.
She answered.
"Vanessa.""
I shook my head.
"No. She would have told me. She would have at least...""
My voice disappeared.
I thought of Brianna.
The girl who had grown up beside me.
The girl who had been given everything while I was told to be grateful for scraps.
The girl whose birthday was exactly eleven minutes after mine.
I looked at the photograph again.
"What was my sister's name?""
Daniel's eyes filled.
"Your mother named her Lily.""
I whispered the name.
"Lily.""
Eleanor nodded.
"Your mother chose the name because she loved lilies. She wanted both girls to have names connected to flowers.""
I stared at her.
"Then what happened?""
Eleanor opened another folder.
"According to the hospital records, both babies were discharged with their parents. But three days later, the records were altered.""
"Altered how?""
"One child's identity was changed.""
My father stood.
"That isn't possible.""
Eleanor looked at him.
"I have the original birth register.""
She placed a photocopy on the table.
Two names appeared.
Nia Carter.
Lily Carter.
Both born on the same date.
Both registered under Daniel and Margaret Carter.
Then another document showed a correction.
The second child's name had been crossed out.
In its place was a different name.
Brianna Vanessa Carter.
I stared at it.
"No.""
Eleanor nodded.
"Yes.""
My mouth went dry.
"Brianna is my sister?""
"According to the original hospital records, she is your biological twin.""
I sat down.
The room seemed to grow silent around me.
Every memory of Brianna came rushing back.
The arguments.
The stolen dresses.
The cruel jokes.
The way Vanessa always defended her.
The way she had once told me that I was lucky anyone had bothered to keep me.
I pressed my hands against my face.
"Why would Vanessa separate us?""
Eleanor took a slow breath.
"Because the inheritance agreement was written before you were born.""
She explained that my mother had arranged the family trust while she was pregnant.
Both daughters were supposed to inherit equal protections, but Nia was designated the primary beneficiary of the fashion company because Margaret intended to pass the business to the child who eventually showed an interest in design.
The second child would receive a separate financial trust.
However, the agreement contained an unusual clause.
If either child was unlawfully removed from the family or deliberately deprived of her inheritance, the entire trust would be reviewed by an independent trustee.
"Vanessa knew about the clause," Eleanor continued.
"She also knew that if both children remained together, your mother could eventually discover what she had done.""
I looked at Daniel.
"Did you know Brianna was my sister?""
He shook his head.
"No. I swear to you, Nia. I believed your sister had died.""
"How?""
Daniel's voice cracked.
"Vanessa showed me a hospital certificate. She said the second baby had suffered complications and didn't survive.""
Eleanor placed a finger on the original register.
"This is why I came.""
She pulled out another document.
It was an internal hospital report.
The report stated that both babies had been healthy at discharge.
No complications.
No death certificate.
No medical emergency.
I stared at the paper.
"Then why did Vanessa tell everyone Lily died?""
"Because she wanted to raise one child without anyone questioning her access to the other child's inheritance.""
I shook my head.
"She raised Brianna as her daughter.""
Eleanor nodded.
"She did.""
"And she raised me as the unwanted stepchild.""
"Yes.""
I laughed weakly.
"That's insane.""
Daniel reached for my hand.
I pulled away.
"Don't.""
He stopped.
I looked at Eleanor.
"Does Brianna know?""
"I don't believe she does.""
I thought about the corridor at the competition.
Brianna's furious expression when I won.
The way Vanessa had whispered to her before she destroyed my gown.
Had she known?
Had Vanessa spent years telling her that I was the problem because she feared the truth?
I couldn't make sense of anything anymore.
Then Eleanor said something that made my stomach turn.
"There is another problem.""
I looked up.
"What?""
She placed a final document on the table.
It was a private medical authorization dated ten years earlier.
The signature belonged to Vanessa.
Beside it was a note.
Transfer the second child to the temporary guardian. No contact with the biological father.
I stared.
"Where was Brianna transferred?""
Eleanor looked at Daniel.
"To Vanessa's sister, initially. But the arrangement was reversed within forty-eight hours.""
"Why?""
"Because someone discovered that the two girls had been registered as twins.""
I felt dizzy.
"Who discovered it?""
Eleanor hesitated.
"Your mother.""
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Margaret found out before the accident.""
I turned toward him.
"She knew?""
"Yes.""
"Then why didn't she tell me?""
"She was trying to protect both of you.""
Eleanor reached into her briefcase.
"There's something else.""
She removed a small audio recorder.
"Your mother left this with me. I was instructed to give it to you when you turned twenty-one and recovered the blue ledger.""
My birthday.
The ledger.
The hidden letter.
Everything had been arranged around this moment.
Eleanor pressed play.
A faint crackle filled the room.
Then I heard my mother's voice.
"Nia, my darling.""
I stopped breathing.
It was her.
The voice I had almost forgotten.
The voice I had spent years trying to remember.
"If you're hearing this, then I wasn't able to protect you both the way I wanted.""
I began crying.
My mother continued.
"Your sister is alive. I know where she is. I have tried to bring her home, but someone has been watching us.""
Daniel covered his mouth.
"Margaret...""
The recording continued.
"I made a terrible mistake trusting Vanessa. I thought she was my friend. I thought she loved our family. But she has been hiding something from us since the beginning.""
A pause.
Then my mother's voice became quieter.
"Daniel, if you're listening too, please forgive me. There is something I never told you about Lily's birth.""
The recording stopped.
I stared at the device.
"Why did it stop?""
Eleanor looked confused.
She pressed the button again.
Nothing.
She turned it over.
"There should be another file.""
She searched through the recorder's menu.
Then her face changed.
"Someone deleted it.""
Daniel leaned forward.
"Can you recover it?""
"Possibly.""
I looked at her.
"Who had access to this?""
Eleanor hesitated.
"I left the recorder in my office before coming here.""
"Who knew you had it?""
She didn't answer.
Her phone suddenly rang.
She checked the screen.
Her face went pale.
"Excuse me.""
She walked toward the window.
"Hello?""
I watched her expression.
"What do you mean?""
A pause.
"That's impossible.""
Another pause.
Then she whispered:
"Don't let anyone touch the records.""
She ended the call.
Daniel stood.
"What happened?""
Eleanor looked at me.
"The hospital has just reported that someone broke into their archives.""
My stomach tightened.
"What did they take?""
She swallowed.
"The original birth register.""
I stared at the photograph.
Two babies.
One mother.
One family.
And ten years of lies.
May you like
Then Eleanor said the words that made everything worse.
"They also took the file containing Brianna's original DNA test.""
