CHAPTER 2 — THE FILE THAT WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE FOUND
The woman dragged Lina into a quiet café nearby, ignoring the stares.
Her hands still wouldn’t stop shaking.
She called someone immediately.
A private investigator.
Then a hospital.
Then a name she had not spoken in years.
“Dr. Halverston.”
On the other end of the call, silence lasted too long.
“That file doesn’t exist anymore,” the doctor finally said.
The woman’s grip tightened on the phone. “What do you mean it doesn’t exist?”
A breath.
Then—
“It was sealed. By order of the board. After the accident.”
“What accident?” she snapped.
Another pause.
Then the truth came out slowly, unwillingly.
“There were two babies registered that night.”
The woman froze.
“But only one was recorded as surviving.”
Her eyes shifted to Lina sitting across the table, quietly holding the folded hospital card like it was the only thing anchoring her to the world.
“You’re telling me…” her voice broke, “you lied to me for years?”
The doctor’s answer was colder than anything she expected.
“I’m telling you someone chose which truth you were allowed to keep.”
The line went dead.
Outside the café window, Lina looked up.
May you like
For a moment, she looked less like a stranger.
And more like a memory that had finally come home.
