Chapter 11 - JuneJune left the room.
She walked until she reached the backyard.
I followed.
She stood beneath an old oak tree with her arms wrapped around herself.
"June."
"Don't."
I stopped.
She looked at me.
"Am I not yours?"
"That doesn't matter."
"It matters to me."
"You are my daughter."
"But maybe I'm not hers either."
She pointed toward the laptop.
"I don't belong anywhere."
I stepped closer.
"You belong with us."
She shook her head.
"What if I'm the baby they switched?"
I didn't know how to answer.
Because she might be right.
Ava and Claire joined us.
Claire grabbed June.
"We're sisters."
June cried.
"What if we're not?"
"You are."
"What if they lied?"
Ava stepped forward.
"Then we'll find the truth."
That was always Ava.
Brave when everyone else was terrified.
We returned inside.
Daniel reopened the files.
There was one final genetic report.
It contained blood-type records.
Ava.
Claire.
June.
And another name.
LUCAS MERCER.
Daniel went pale.
"That's my brother."
I looked at him.
"What brother?"
"My father's other son."
"Where is he?"
Daniel swallowed.
"Dead."
"How long?"
"Twenty-two years."
Ava stared.
"Was he born the same night?"
Daniel nodded.
I suddenly understood.
The fourth baby.
The boy.
The one whose record disappeared.
Lucas Mercer.
Dr. Mercer's son.
My brother's tapes.
The hospital.
Everything connected.
Then we found a security recording.
The night the babies were born.
A hospital hallway.
Four bassinets.
A nurse.
Dr. Mercer.
And Martin.
Martin walked toward the nursery.
He looked terrified.
The recording skipped.
When it resumed, one bassinet was empty.
The nurse picked up another baby.
The screen froze.
There was no audio.
But one thing was obvious.
The babies had been switched.
Not once.
Twice.
June stared at the screen.
"Which baby was moved?"
We zoomed in.
The baby's wristband.
A tiny black mark.
A.
Ava.
My heart sank.
Ava's wristband had been removed.
Then we found a second recording.
Another infant being carried away.
This time the wristband showed:
C.
Claire.
June watched silently.
Then she whispered:
"Where am I?"
We looked at the timestamp.
3:21 a.m.
June had been born at that exact time.
The recording showed a nurse carrying an infant toward a private elevator.
A man's hand reached for the baby.
The camera angle changed.
And there, reflected in the elevator doors, was Dr. Mercer.
Holding June.
He wasn't giving her away.
He was taking her somewhere.
The recording ended.
Daniel whispered:
"He took June."
"No," I said.
"He didn't."
"How do you know?"
"Because June came home."
Then Daniel shook his head.
"Noah..."
He pointed toward the screen.
The child in Mercer's arms had a hospital bracelet.
The bracelet was marked:
A.C.
Not J.
I stared.
The room went silent.
Daniel whispered:
May you like
"June wasn't taken."
"She was the one who replaced someone else."
