Chapter 4: The Name on the Original Birth Record
For several seconds, nobody in the hospital room spoke.
Rebecca was crying.
My father was staring at the photograph Caleb had sent.
And I was trying to understand how a name could destroy everything I thought I knew about myself.
Elena Reed.
My mother's name.
The woman who had raised me.
The woman who had taught me to ride a bicycle, braided my hair before school, and kissed my forehead every night until she died.
Why was her name on a hospital document identifying one of the newborn twins?
Dad zoomed in on the photograph.
“Caleb, where did you get this?””
Another message appeared.
From Mom's locked cabinet. There's more.
Then Caleb sent a second photograph.
It showed an original hospital record with two columns.
*BABY A: SKY COLLINS.*
*BABY B: MAYA COLLINS.*
Below the names were two sets of fingerprints.
Someone had crossed out both surnames.
Beside Baby B, someone had handwritten:
Placement authorized to Elena Reed.
Dad stared at the screen.
“Rebecca, what does this mean?””
She wiped her tears.
“It means Elena was supposed to raise Maya. Vanessa was never supposed to have custody of either child.””
I shook my head.
“But Vanessa raised me.””
Rebecca nodded slowly.
“Yes. And that was never part of the agreement.””
Dad stood and walked toward the window.
“Why would Elena's name appear on a document that Vanessa controlled?””
Rebecca took a deep breath.
“Because Elena signed the original adoption agreement. She was going to become Maya's legal mother. She and Marcus were going to raise her together.””
Dad turned.
“Why didn't she tell me?””
“She wanted to surprise you. She had arranged everything before the delivery. She was afraid that if the adoption failed, it would hurt you.””
I felt tears running down my cheeks.
“So my mother knew I was coming?””
Rebecca smiled sadly.
“She bought your first crib. She picked your name. She knitted a little yellow blanket with your initials.””
I covered my mouth.
“I remember that blanket.””
Rebecca nodded.
“She gave it to me before the birth. She said she wanted you to have something from your real family.””
I looked at Dad.
He was crying silently.
Then his phone rang again.
Caleb.
Dad answered immediately.
“Where are you?””
“At home.””
“Don't go anywhere.””
“Dad, you need to come back. Mom is destroying everything.””
“What is she doing?””
Caleb lowered his voice.
“She found out I sent you the documents. She locked herself in the study, and I heard her talking to someone.””
“Who?””
“I don't know. But she said the original file was still at the old house.””
Dad frowned.
“What old house?””
“The house where Elena used to live.””
My father went completely still.
“Your mother has been keeping documents there?””
“I think so.””
“Caleb, listen carefully. Don't confront her.””
There was a pause.
Then Caleb whispered:
“Dad, I think she's leaving.””
The call ended.
Dad grabbed his coat.
“We're going home.””
I looked at Rebecca.
“Are you coming?””
She hesitated.
Then she reached for my hand.
“If you want me there, I'll come.””
I looked at the woman who had carried me for nine months and spent eighteen years searching for me.
“I don't know what I want yet.””
She nodded.
“That's fair.””
Dad arranged for a nurse to check on Rebecca while we drove back.
The entire journey, he barely spoke.
At a red light, he finally turned toward me.
“Maya, there's something I need you to understand.””
I looked at him.
“Your mother was Elena. Whatever those documents say, she was your mother in every way that mattered.””
I stared through the window.
“Then why did she let me live with Vanessa?””
“She didn't.””
His voice broke.
“She never agreed to that.””
When we arrived home, the front door was open.
A suitcase stood beside the stairs.
Caleb was sitting on the bottom step, his face buried in his hands.
Vanessa's car was gone.
Dad rushed inside.
“Caleb!””
Caleb stood.
“She's gone.””
“Where?””
“I don't know.””
Dad looked around.
The study door was open.
Drawers had been pulled out. Papers covered the carpet. The safe behind the bookshelf stood open.
Someone had taken almost everything.
I noticed a photograph lying beneath the desk.
It showed my mother holding a newborn baby.
I picked it up.
On the back, in her handwriting, were the words:
My Maya. October 17. The beginning of everything I prayed for.
I pressed the photograph against my chest.
Dad found a small black notebook inside the overturned desk drawer.
“Caleb, what is this?””
Caleb looked at it.
“Mom's private journal.””
Dad opened it.
The first several pages contained ordinary notes about bills, appointments, and household expenses.
Then he reached an entry dated eighteen years earlier.
His expression changed.
He began reading aloud.
October 18. Rebecca has agreed to the arrangement. Elena still believes she will receive Maya. I have made sure that will not happen.
Dad stopped.
I took the notebook.
The next paragraph was worse.
Marcus must never discover that the original adoption was approved for Elena. If he finds out, he will choose her over me. I cannot allow that.
Caleb sat down.
“There's more.””
He pointed to another entry.
The second baby is still with Rebecca. She wants to keep both girls together, but that cannot happen. I have already found a family willing to take Sky. They will be told the mother abandoned her.
My father slammed the notebook shut.
“Who took Sky?””
Caleb shook his head.
“I don't know.””
I turned another page.
A name appeared beneath a date.
*THE HARRISON FAMILY.*
And beside it was an address.
Dad immediately photographed the page.
Then he looked at Caleb.
“Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?””
Caleb lowered his head.
“Because Mom told me something.””
“What?””
“She said Rebecca was trying to destroy our family because she blamed me for what happened to Sky.””
Dad frowned.
“What does that have to do with you?””
Caleb's eyes filled.
“I was the one who took Sky from the hospital.””
The room went silent.
“What?”” I whispered.
Caleb began shaking.
“I was sixteen. Mom told me Rebecca had agreed to let another family raise Sky. She said she needed me to take a bag of baby clothes and a hospital carrier to a social worker waiting outside.””
Dad stared at him.
“You were involved in moving a newborn?””
“I didn't know what she was doing!””
“Did you see the baby?””
Caleb nodded.
“I held her.””
His voice cracked.
“She was crying. I remember she had a little pink blanket. I asked Mom why Rebecca wasn't coming with us, and she told me the baby was going to a better home.””
I felt sick.
“Did you ever see her again?””
“No.””
Caleb covered his face.
“Mom told me never to talk about it.””
Dad looked at the notebook.
“Then we're finding the Harrisons.””
A sudden noise came from the front porch.
Three sharp knocks.
Caleb jumped.
Dad moved toward the door.
A woman stood outside holding a large brown envelope.
She looked to be in her early sixties.
“Marcus Reed?””
“Yes.””
“My name is Patricia Harrison.””
Dad froze.
The woman looked past him.
Her eyes landed on me.
Then she whispered:
“I'm sorry. I think I know who you are.””
She held out the envelope.
“Your stepmother contacted me this morning. She told me to destroy these papers.””
Dad took the envelope.
Patricia's hands were trembling.
“But before I could, I found something she didn't know I had.””
She looked at Caleb.
Then at me.
“It's the original photograph of the baby we adopted.””
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph of a newborn girl wrapped in a pink blanket.
On the back was a hospital bracelet.
The name printed on it was Sky Collins.
But underneath the photograph was another document.
An adoption certificate.
And the adoptive parents' names were not Patricia and her husband.
They were Vanessa and Marcus Reed.
Dad stared at it.
“That makes no sense.””
Patricia shook her head.
“Because we weren't the family who adopted her.””
She took a breath.
“We were only asked to care for her temporarily.””
My fingers went numb.
“Then where is she?””
Patricia looked directly at me.
“She's been living with someone you've known your entire life.””
And before she could reveal the name, a car screeched to a stop outside.
May you like
Vanessa had returned.
This time, she wasn't alone.
