Chapter 3: The Dead Man's Instructions
Nobody spoke.
The stranger held the envelope between two fingers.
It was cream-colored, sealed with dark red wax, and stamped with the Callaway family crest.
Nathaniel approached him slowly.
"Who are you?""
"Thomas Hale. I served your father for twenty-six years.""
Marcus moved closer.
"You're not on the security list.""
"I was instructed to attend the wedding.""
"By whom?""
Thomas looked at Nathaniel.
"Your father.""
Nathaniel let out a humorless laugh.
"You're either insane or trying very hard to get arrested.""
Thomas didn't react.
He placed the envelope on a nearby table.
"Your father anticipated that reaction.""
Nathaniel looked at the seal.
"Open it.""
Thomas shook his head.
"His instructions were specific. You must open it in the presence of your mother and your sister.""
My stomach tightened.
The word sister sounded strange coming from a stranger.
Nathaniel looked at me.
"Do you want to see it?""
I stared at the envelope.
Part of me wanted to walk away. I had spent seventeen years believing my mother had died in an accidental house fire. I had built my entire adult life around that loss.
Now, in less than an hour, I had learned that she had hidden a twin brother, that a billionaire had attempted to take me away, and that the woman who had just tried to kill her future mother-in-law knew more about my mother's death than she was willing to admit.
I nodded.
"Open it.""
Nathaniel broke the seal.
Inside was a handwritten letter and a small brass key.
He unfolded the letter.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then he read aloud.
To my son, Nathaniel.
If you are reading this, Eleanor has finally broken her promise.
I know she will tell you about the twins. I know she will tell you that I wanted one child and ordered the other removed.
She will not tell you the entire truth.
Nathaniel paused.
Eleanor gripped the edge of the table.
"Keep reading.""
Nathaniel continued.
The child who disappeared was not the child I intended to keep.
My breath caught.
"What?""
Nathaniel looked at the next line.
The records were changed. The names were switched before the transfer. The child raised as Rose Carter was not the child Grace Carter gave birth to.
I felt the floor disappear beneath my feet.
"That's impossible.""
Nathaniel lowered the letter.
Eleanor shook her head violently.
"No. He's lying.""
Thomas finally spoke.
"Your father did not lie in writing, Mrs. Callaway.""
Eleanor turned toward him.
"You were there. You know what happened.""
Thomas looked away.
Nathaniel grabbed the letter.
"Explain.""
Thomas took a breath.
"On the night of the delivery, there were complications. One of the infants was very sick. The doctors believed she would not survive.""
"Which baby?"" I asked.
Thomas looked at me.
"Your sister.""
My throat tightened.
"Sister?""
Nathaniel went still.
Thomas continued.
"Your mother gave birth to a boy and a girl. The girl was weaker. Your father believed she would die within days. He decided the boy should be the heir.""
Eleanor struck the table with her cane.
"Richard didn't know which child was which!""
Thomas looked at her.
"Not at first.""
Nathaniel stepped closer.
"What are you saying?""
Thomas pointed toward the photograph in my hand.
"That photograph was taken three hours after the delivery. The baby Grace was holding was the boy.""
I looked down at it.
My mother was smiling.
She looked exhausted, but happy.
The child in her arms wore a small hospital bracelet.
I turned the photograph over.
The writing was still there.
Rose Carter.
Nathaniel Callaway.
"Then who am I?"" I whispered.
Thomas hesitated.
"That is what your father wanted you to discover.""
Nathaniel stared at him.
"You're telling me Rose isn't my twin?""
"No. I'm telling you the names may have been switched.""
Eleanor looked like she might faint.
"Richard had the records changed after Grace left the hospital," she whispered.
"But I never knew he had gone this far.""
Nathaniel turned toward her.
"Mother, did you know?""
"No.""
"Did you know Rose might not be my sister?""
"I knew she was Grace's daughter. I knew Grace had two children. But I never knew what Richard did afterward.""
Thomas pointed to the brass key.
"Your father left something else. The key opens a private storage room beneath the old Callaway estate. Inside are the original hospital records, along with documents proving what happened to both children.""
Nathaniel picked up the key.
"Why didn't you bring them here?""
"Because your father ordered that the room could only be opened by his direct heir.""
"That's me.""
Thomas shook his head.
"Not necessarily.""
The words hung in the air.
Nathaniel looked at him.
"What does that mean?""
Thomas's expression remained unreadable.
"Your father left a second condition. The room will only open when both children are present.""
I felt a chill move down my spine.
"Both children?""
Thomas nodded.
"You and Rose.""
Victoria suddenly clapped.
Once.
Twice.
The sound was sharp against the silence.
"How convenient.""
Nathaniel turned.
"Stay out of this.""
Victoria approached, lifting the hem of her wedding dress slightly to avoid the broken glass.
"You've spent thirty years believing your father built an empire for you. Now you're willing to hand everything to a woman who walked into your wedding carrying a champagne tray?""
I stared at her.
"Nobody asked for your opinion.""
Victoria's eyes narrowed.
"Do you know what happens when someone with nothing discovers they might be entitled to billions? They stop caring who gets hurt.""
I took a step toward her.
"My mother died in a fire. If you know something about it, tell me.""
Victoria's expression changed.
For a brief second, I saw fear.
Then she laughed.
"Your mother was a thief.""
Eleanor stood.
"Don't you dare.""
"She stole a child from the Callaway family.""
"Grace saved that child!""
"She stole the wrong one.""
Nathaniel grabbed Victoria's arm.
"Enough.""
She jerked free.
"Ask Thomas. Ask him who carried the baby out of that hospital. Ask him what happened to the child who was supposed to become the Callaway heir.""
Thomas looked at Victoria.
"Mrs. Sterling, I suggest you stop speaking.""
Victoria smiled.
"Why? Afraid they'll discover you were paid to switch the bracelets?""
Thomas went pale.
Nathaniel turned toward him.
"Is that true?""
Thomas said nothing.
Marcus moved behind the stranger.
"Sir, I'm going to need you to come with us.""
Thomas raised both hands.
"I never touched the babies.""
Victoria laughed.
"But you arranged everything.""
Eleanor reached for Nathaniel.
"Don't listen to her. She's trying to confuse you.""
I looked at Thomas.
"Did you change the hospital bracelets?""
He stared at the floor.
"Yes.""
The admission landed like a physical blow.
Nathaniel stepped backward.
"Why?""
"Your father ordered me to.""
"Which child did you take?""
Thomas swallowed.
"The girl.""
Eleanor made a strangled sound.
"No.""
Thomas looked at me.
"I carried the girl out of the hospital. Grace was supposed to take her.""
I felt my knees weaken.
"Then who did my mother raise?""
Thomas closed his eyes.
"That is the question your father spent thirty years trying to answer.""
Nathaniel's face hardened.
"You're not making any sense.""
Thomas looked at him.
"Because the child who was supposed to be raised by Grace was never delivered to her.""
I stared at the photograph again.
My mother holding a newborn.
Two names written on the back.
But if Thomas was telling the truth, the baby in her arms wasn't me.
I looked at Eleanor.
"Who am I?""
She reached for my face.
"You're Rose. You're Grace's daughter.""
"That's not what I asked.""
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"I don't know.""
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
Then Nathaniel's phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
An unknown number.
He answered.
"Who is this?""
A woman's voice came through the speaker.
"Mr. Callaway, my name is Dr. Helen Brooks. I was your mother's physician thirty years ago.""
Nathaniel straightened.
"How did you get this number?""
"I've been trying to contact your mother for weeks. I heard about the incident at the wedding.""
Eleanor reached for the phone.
"Helen?""
"Mrs. Callaway, thank God you're alive.""
Nathaniel put the call on speaker.
"What do you know about the twins?""
There was a pause.
Then Dr. Brooks spoke.
"Everything.""
I moved closer.
"Did you deliver me?""
Another pause.
"Yes, Rose.""
My heart began pounding.
"Then tell me the truth. Who was the baby my mother took home?""
Dr. Brooks inhaled sharply.
"The baby Grace Carter took home was not the child registered under her name.""
"Then who was she?""
"I can't explain this over the phone. You need to come to my office.""
Nathaniel looked at Eleanor.
"Can you tell us whether Rose is my twin?""
Dr. Brooks was silent for several seconds.
Then she said something that made the entire rooftop go still.
"Mr. Callaway, Rose is not your twin sister.""
Nathaniel closed his eyes.
Eleanor gripped the table.
Dr. Brooks continued.
"She is your biological sister, but she was born eleven minutes before you. And there is something else.""
I leaned toward the phone.
"What?""
"Your father didn't switch the babies to protect the Callaway inheritance.""
I looked at the photograph.
"Then why?""
Dr. Brooks lowered her voice.
"Because one of those babies wasn't supposed to survive.""
The call ended.
Nathaniel stared at his phone.
Then Thomas suddenly lunged toward the brass key.
Marcus caught him, slamming him against the table.
A small folded paper slipped from Thomas's jacket.
It landed at my feet.
I picked it up.
There was only one sentence written on it.
If Rose Carter ever discovers who she really is, the woman who raised her must never be allowed to speak.
I read it twice.
Then I looked at Eleanor.
"Who raised me?""
She stared at the paper.
And whispered a name I had never heard before.
"Not Grace.""
At that exact moment, the elevator doors opened.
A woman stepped onto the rooftop.
She was in her late fifties, wearing a simple navy coat and carrying a leather handbag.
She looked directly at me.
Then she began to cry.
"Rose?""
I turned.
She took one trembling step forward.
"My God. You look exactly like her.""
Nathaniel moved in front of me.
"Who are you?""
The woman ignored him.
She looked at the photograph in my hand.
May you like
Then she whispered:
"I'm the woman who took you home from the hospital.""
