Chapter 8: The Truth About the Little Girl I Raised
I drove back to the hospital with my hands shaking against the steering wheel.
Emma wasn't my biological daughter?
The little girl who called me Daddy every morning.
The child whose first steps I'd recorded.
The child I'd carried through fevers, nightmares, and preschool performances.
The child who had held my hand while we discovered Lily behind the wall.
I couldn't accept it.
I wouldn't.
When I arrived, Detective Harris was waiting outside a private room.
"How is Melissa?""
"Stable. She's being monitored.""
"Why did she say that about Emma?""
"She claims she has information about the second child mentioned in your father's documents.""
I stared at him.
"Is Emma involved?""
"We don't know.""
I walked into the room.
Melissa was sitting upright in bed.
Her face was pale. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun, and a hospital blanket covered her legs.
When she saw me, she started crying.
"Ryan.""
I remained near the door.
"What did you do?""
She looked down.
"I never wanted this to happen.""
"That's what you've said about everything.""
"I know.""
"Then stop talking about what you wanted and tell me the truth.""
She wiped her cheeks.
"Emma is your daughter.""
I stared at her.
"Then why did you tell the detective she wasn't?""
"Because she isn't biologically mine.""
I frowned.
"Explain.""
Melissa took a deep breath.
"Emma was born through a surrogacy arrangement.""
I shook my head.
"That's impossible. Melissa, you were pregnant.""
She nodded.
"Yes. I carried her. But the embryo wasn't mine.""
My heart began pounding.
"Whose embryo?""
She looked directly at me.
"Claire's.""
I couldn't move.
"What?""
Melissa started crying.
"Before Claire died, she had fertility problems. She had frozen embryos from an earlier treatment. She wanted another child, but she couldn't carry a pregnancy safely after Lily.""
I remembered Claire mentioning fertility treatment once.
I'd assumed it had been unsuccessful.
Melissa continued.
"She asked me to become a gestational carrier. She wanted Lily to have a sibling. She wanted you to have another child.""
I felt dizzy.
"So Emma...""
"Is biologically yours and Claire's.""
The room seemed to tilt.
I sat down.
For five years, I'd believed Emma was Melissa's biological daughter and mine.
But Emma was actually Claire's child.
Claire's daughter.
The second little girl she had wanted so desperately.
Melissa nodded.
"Your father arranged the medical process. He said it would protect the family if Claire died. He promised he would tell you everything when the time was right.""
I looked at her.
"Why didn't you tell me when Emma was born?""
"Because Richard threatened me.""
"What did he say?""
"He told me if I revealed the truth, he would make sure I lost both children.""
I stared at her.
"Both?""
"Yes.""
"Why would he have control over Lily and Emma?""
Melissa closed her eyes.
"Because he controlled the trust. He had the legal documents. And he knew I had been involved in Claire's death.""
I felt sick.
"Did you know Grant was going to hurt Claire?""
She shook her head.
"Not at first.""
"Not at first?""
"Ryan, I was young. I was frightened. Grant had been manipulating me for months. He told me Claire was going to expose my pregnancy and take Lily away forever.""
"She was raising Lily because you asked her to!""
Melissa began sobbing.
"I know.""
"She loved that little girl.""
"I know!""
I stood.
"Then why did you betray her?""
Melissa looked at me with red eyes.
"Because I was jealous.""
The admission was so quiet that I almost missed it.
She continued.
"Claire had everything. She had you. She had Lily.
She had a life I couldn't have. And when I found out she was carrying another embryo, I couldn't stand it.""
I stared at her.
"So you agreed to carry her baby, then helped the people who killed her?""
Melissa covered her face.
"I didn't know how to stop.""
"You could have walked away.""
"I was afraid.""
"You could have told me.""
"I was afraid.""
"You could have opened the bedroom wall!""
She began shaking.
"I know!""
I stepped back.
For the first time, I understood something about Melissa.
She hadn't simply been trapped in a situation she couldn't control.
She had repeatedly chosen the easiest option for herself, even when those choices destroyed innocent children.
I looked toward the door.
"Why did you keep Emma?""
Melissa lifted her head.
"Because she was my baby.""
I turned.
"She's not biologically yours.""
"I carried her. I raised her. I loved her.""
I looked at her for a long moment.
"Then you should understand why I will never let you hurt her again.""
Detective Harris arranged DNA testing for both children.
The results would take several days.
Meanwhile, the doctors allowed Lily to have supervised visits with Emma.
I spent most of my time moving between their rooms.
Emma had started asking questions.
"Daddy, why is Lily's hair darker than mine?""
"People in the same family can look different.""
"Does that mean we're sisters?""
I smiled.
"Yes.""
She seemed satisfied.
Then she asked:
"Will she come home with us?""
I looked at Lily.
She was carefully coloring a picture.
"That's what I'm hoping.""
Emma grinned.
"I'll share my toys.""
Lily looked up.
"All of them?""
Emma nodded.
"Except my pink rabbit.""
Lily giggled.
It was the first time I'd heard her laugh.
I felt tears sting my eyes.
For a moment, the hospital room felt like a normal family room.
Then Daniel entered.
He was holding a brown envelope.
"Ryan, the detective found something in Richard's old office.""
I stood.
"What?""
Daniel handed me the envelope.
Inside were several photographs.
The first showed my father holding newborn Emma.
The second showed Melissa standing beside him.
The third made my stomach drop.
Grant was there too.
And he was holding a baby.
Another baby.
A boy.
The photograph had been taken in the same hospital where Lily and Emma were born.
On the back, someone had written:
Child three — transferred to Parker residence.
I stared at the words.
"Child three?""
Daniel nodded.
"Ryan, I think there was another baby.""
I looked toward Melissa's room.
"She said there were twins.""
"She lied.""
My blood ran cold.
"How many children were born?""
Daniel opened the envelope.
There was a birth record.
Three infant identification numbers.
Three names.
One belonged to Lily.
One belonged to Emma.
The third was blank.
I sat down.
"Where is the boy?""
Daniel shook his head.
"That's what we're trying to find out.""
My phone rang.
Detective Harris.
"Ryan, we received the DNA results.""
I stood immediately.
"Tell me.""
"The test confirms Emma is your biological daughter. Her maternal DNA matches Claire's.""
I closed my eyes.
A wave of relief washed over me.
"And Lily?""
"Her biological mother is Melissa. Her biological father is you.""
I frowned.
"How is that possible?""
Harris explained that Claire had legally adopted Lily after Melissa gave birth. Claire had raised her as her own, and I had been listed as the father from the beginning.
I looked toward Daniel.
"So the records were true about me.""
"Yes.""
I swallowed.
"What about the third baby?""
Harris paused.
"We've identified the child.""
My heart began pounding.
"Who?""
"The boy was registered under a different name and adopted through a private arrangement. His current name is Noah Parker.""
I looked at the photograph.
"Grant's son?""
"That's what the records indicate.""
I closed my eyes.
Grant had taken one child and kept him.
Melissa had hidden another.
And Claire had tried to protect all of them.
"Where is Noah now?""
Harris took a breath.
"At the moment, he's living with Grant's sister.""
"How old?""
"Five.""
I stared at the photograph.
Five years old.
The same age as Lily.
Then the detective added something that made me feel sick.
"There's one more complication. Grant has been trying to obtain custody of Lily through the courts.""
"How?""
"He claims Melissa was mentally unstable and that he is the child's biological father.""
I looked at the DNA results.
"That's impossible. The test proves I'm her father.""
"Yes. But Grant has submitted another document.""
"What document?""
"A paternity report dated five years ago.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Is it real?""
Harris hesitated.
"We don't know yet.""
I looked toward Lily.
She was smiling at Emma.
Two little girls who had already lost too much.
I wasn't going to let anyone take them.
"Detective, I want every document Grant has ever filed.""
"We're working on it.""
"Then work faster.""
I ended the call.
Daniel looked at me.
"Ryan, there's something else I found.""
He placed a small photograph on the bed.
It showed Grant standing beside a woman holding a young boy.
The boy had dark brown eyes.
My eyes.
And beneath his left ear was a tiny crescent-shaped birthmark.
I looked at Daniel.
"That's impossible.""
Daniel shook his head.
"Look at the date.""
The photograph had been taken six months ago.
Then my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A message appeared.
Mr. Mitchell, if you want to see your son, come alone.
May you like
A second message followed.
And don't tell Detective Harris.
