Chapter 4: The Hospital Bracelet
Darius stared at Evelyn.
For several seconds, he couldn't find his voice.
“Brittany was at the hospital the night Kayla was born?””
Evelyn nodded slowly.
“Yes, sir.””
“Why?””
“I don't know. That's what Mrs. Renee spent months trying to understand.””
Darius gripped the back of a chair.
“Start from the beginning. Don't leave anything out.””
Evelyn wiped her cheeks.
“It was six years ago. Mrs. Renee had just given birth to Kayla.
You were still at the hospital with her, but you had to leave briefly because your father had suffered a medical emergency. You asked me to bring some things from home.””
Darius remembered that night.
His father had collapsed at a family dinner. Darius had rushed to the hospital after Renee insisted she was comfortable and had Evelyn stay with her.
“I remember,” he said.
“When I returned, Mrs. Renee was asleep. A nurse had placed Kayla in her bassinet. I noticed a bracelet tangled inside her blanket.””
“What did it say?””
Evelyn looked down.
“It had Brittany's full name and a different hospital identification number.””
Darius shook his head.
“Maybe another baby's bracelet got mixed up.””
“That was what I thought. But Mrs. Renee didn't.””
“Why not?””
“Because the bracelet had been cut deliberately. And there was a handwritten note folded inside the blanket.””
Darius felt his chest tighten.
“What note?””
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“It said, 'The child is not supposed to be here.''”
Darius stepped backward.
“What?””
“Mrs. Renee found it the next morning. She asked me whether anyone had entered the room while she was sleeping.””
“Did you see anyone?””
“I told her I had seen a woman near the nursery entrance. I couldn't identify her clearly because she was wearing a surgical mask.””
“Was it Brittany?””
“I don't know. But Mrs. Renee later showed me a photograph.””
Darius stared at her.
“A photograph of Brittany?””
Evelyn nodded.
“She had found it among some papers in her hospital records.””
Darius reached for his phone.
“Where is that photograph?””
“I don't know, sir. Mrs. Renee kept it in a small wooden box in her bedroom.””
Darius immediately called Marcus.
“Come upstairs. We're going through Renee's old belongings.””
Marcus arrived within minutes.
When Darius explained what Evelyn had told him, his brother looked stunned.
“This is getting worse by the minute.””
Darius turned to Evelyn.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
Evelyn lowered her head.
“Mrs. Renee asked me not to.””
“Why?””
“She said she needed time to investigate. She was afraid that if she accused someone without proof, that person might try something worse.””
Darius rubbed his face.
“And then she got sick.””
Evelyn nodded.
“She made me promise to protect Kayla. She said if anything happened to her, I should never let anyone make the little girl feel unwanted.””
Darius looked toward the guest bedroom.
His daughter was sleeping peacefully, unaware that the woman who had just shaved her head might have been connected to something that happened on the night she was born.
He turned back to Evelyn.
“Did Renee ever tell you what she discovered?””
Evelyn hesitated.
“Yes.””
“What?””
“She believed Brittany had been trying to find a way into your family for years.””
Marcus frowned.
“But Brittany only met Darius three years ago.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“That's what everyone believed.””
Darius went still.
“What do you mean?””
Evelyn walked toward the staircase.
“Mrs. Renee showed me something shortly before she died. A photograph taken at a charity event almost seven years ago.””
She turned toward Darius.
“Brittany was standing behind you.””
Darius's memory suddenly stirred.
Seven years earlier, he had attended a business charity dinner with Renee. Hundreds of people had been there.
He had no recollection of Brittany.
But Renee might have.
“Where's the wooden box?”” he asked.
“Her bedroom. Inside the bottom drawer of the dresser.””
Darius hurried upstairs.
Renee's bedroom had remained almost untouched since her death.
He rarely entered it.
Her perfume still sat on the dressing table. Her favorite blue cardigan hung behind the closet door. A framed photograph of her and Kayla stood beside the bed.
Darius opened the bottom drawer.
Inside were old letters, photographs, and several envelopes.
At the very back sat a small wooden box.
He removed it.
Marcus stood beside him.
“Open it.””
Darius lifted the lid.
Inside was a hospital bracelet, a folded newspaper clipping, and a photograph.
The photograph showed Brittany.
She was standing outside a hospital entrance, wearing a dark coat.
On the back, Renee had written:
October 14. She came back.
Darius checked the date.
It was the day Kayla had been born.
Marcus took the photograph.
“That's definitely Brittany.””
Darius examined the hospital bracelet.
The name was printed clearly.
*BRITTANY COLLINS.*
But beneath it was another line.
*MATERNITY WARD — PATIENT TRANSFER.*
Marcus frowned.
“Why would Brittany have a maternity bracelet?””
Darius felt a terrible possibility forming.
“Find the hospital name.””
The bracelet carried the logo of the same hospital where Renee had delivered Kayla.
Darius immediately called James.
“James, I need you to obtain Renee's complete maternity records.””
“Is something wrong?””
“I think someone may have tampered with the records.””
There was a pause.
“Darius, what have you found?””
“Enough to make me question everything.””
James agreed to investigate.
Before Darius could put the phone away, another message appeared.
This time, it came from Brittany.
*We need to talk. I know Evelyn has been telling you lies.*
A second message followed.
*If you want to know the truth about Kayla, ask your brother what happened before she was born.*
Darius looked at Marcus.
His brother's expression changed.
“What?”” Darius asked.
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he stared at the phone.
“Darius…”
“What happened before Kayla was born?””
Marcus swallowed.
“There's something Renee asked me to keep private.””
Darius's stomach dropped.
“What?””
Marcus looked toward the photograph.
“Three weeks before Kayla was born, Renee called me crying. She said someone had contacted her claiming that you had another child.””
Darius stared at him.
“Another child?””
Marcus nodded.
“She didn't believe it. But she asked me to investigate.””
“And?””
Marcus's voice dropped.
“I found a woman who said she had been involved with you.””
Darius's face went pale.
“Who?””
May you like
Marcus looked at the photograph again.
“Brittany Collins.””
