Chapter 11: The Baby Switch
I stared at Daniel.
His face had gone completely white.
“My phone never rang.”
I looked at the call log.
The number was already gone.
No missed call.
No incoming call.
Nothing.
It was as if the call had never happened.
“You heard him,” I whispered.
Daniel nodded.
“He sounded like me.”
“Because he was using your voice.”
“How?”
Michael stepped forward.
“Voice cloning.”
I turned toward him.
“You're telling me someone can imitate Daniel's voice?”
“Yes.”
“Then who called me?”
“I don't know.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Do you?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“Then prove it.”
He stared at me.
“How?”
“Tell me what happened at the hospital five years ago.”
Daniel swallowed.
“I already told you.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You told me the baby wasn't the baby who was born.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because there was a switch.”
“Who switched the babies?”
He hesitated.
I felt my anger rising.
“Daniel.”
“I don't know.”
“Who brought Emma home?”
“I did.”
“Who handed her to you?”
“A nurse.”
“What nurse?”
“I don't remember.”
“You don't remember the person who handed you your newborn daughter?”
His eyes filled with fear.
“It was five years ago.”
“You remember the room.”
“Yes.”
“The doctor.”
“Yes.”
“The nurses.”
“Some of them.”
“But not the one who gave you the baby.”
He looked down.
“No.”
I stepped back.
“You're lying.”
“I'm not.”
“Then why is there no record of her?”
Daniel looked at Michael.
Michael's expression changed.
“There should be.”
“Exactly.”
I turned toward him.
“Then find it.”
Michael pulled out his phone.
“I'll try.”
My mother approached.
“Sarah…”
I turned.
“Don't.”
She stopped.
“You lied to me my entire life.”
“I know.”
“You let me believe you died.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“You let me believe I gave birth to a child who may not even be mine.”
My mother's eyes filled with tears.
“I never meant for this to happen.”
“But it did.”
She lowered her head.
I looked at Emma.
She was sitting beside Thomas.
She looked frightened.
I walked toward her.
“Baby.”
She looked up.
“Am I your daughter?”
She stared at me.
“Of course.”
I hugged her.
“Then no matter what anyone says, that will never change.”
She buried her face against me.
“Mommy, am I bad?”
“No.”
“Then why does everybody want me?”
I closed my eyes.
“Because adults are very good at ruining things they don't understand.”
Thomas looked away.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed instantly.
“Where?”
He listened.
Then hung up.
I looked at him.
“What happened?”
“They found the hospital records.”
“Where?”
“An old storage facility.”
“When?”
“Five years ago.”
I frowned.
“Why weren't they found before?”
“Because someone sealed them.”
“Who?”
Thomas looked at Michael.
Michael didn't respond.
“Who sealed them?”
Thomas whispered,
“Daniel.”
I turned toward my husband.
“What?”
Daniel looked horrified.
“I never saw them.”
Thomas shook his head.
“Your signature is on the file.”
Daniel stepped backward.
“No.”
I grabbed his arm.
“Take me there.”
“Sarah…”
“Now.”
We drove to the storage facility.
The building was abandoned.
Dust covered everything.
A security guard unlocked the door.
“Unit 17.”
We entered.
Rows of boxes filled the room.
Thomas found the hospital archive.
I tore it open.
There were birth records.
Admission forms.
Medical reports.
I searched for my name.
Nothing.
I searched for Emma.
Nothing.
Then I found a file labeled:
MATERNITY WARD INCIDENT, JULY 14.
My hands shook.
July 14.
Emma's birth date.
I opened it.
The first page listed three babies.
Baby A.
Baby B.
Baby C.
I frowned.
“Three?”
Michael leaned over.
“Keep reading.”
Baby A:
Female.
Mother: Sarah Hayes.
Status: Delivered.
Baby B:
Female.
Mother: Unknown.
Status: Delivered.
Baby C:
Male.
Mother: Unknown.
Status: Transferred.
I stared at the page.
“There were three babies.”
Michael nodded.
“Apparently.”
“Where are they?”
The records had been blacked out.
I turned the page.
A handwritten note:
BABY A TRANSFERRED TO CARTER FAMILY.
My heart stopped.
“That's Emma.”
Michael shook his head.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“Then who is Baby A?”
“Your biological daughter.”
I felt dizzy.
“So Emma wasn't Baby A.”
“No.”
“Then where is Baby A?”
He pointed toward another line.
TRANSFERRED TO PRIVATE ADOPTION.
I couldn't breathe.
“She was given away.”
My mother was right.
But why?
I turned the page.
Baby B:
TRANSFERRED TO CARTER FAMILY.
I looked at Michael.
“Baby B is Emma.”
He nodded.
“Then Baby A…”
“Is your biological daughter.”
I felt tears fill my eyes.
“Where?”
The file was missing.
I searched through every document.
Nothing.
Then I found a photograph.
Three newborn babies lying beside each other.
The hospital bracelets were visible.
I zoomed in.
Baby A.
Baby B.
Baby C.
The photograph had been taken the day they were born.
I looked at Baby B.
She had a tiny birthmark on her wrist.
I remembered Emma had the same birthmark.
I looked at Baby A.
She had a small scar beneath her left ear.
I had one too.
I touched my own skin.
My heart began racing.
“That's my daughter.”
Nobody answered.
Then I noticed something.
Baby C.
The boy had the same birthmark as Daniel.
I stared at him.
“Daniel.”
He looked at the photograph.
His face collapsed.
“That can't be me.”
Thomas stepped closer.
“It is.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Thomas pointed to the hospital bracelet.
“Your birth date.”
Daniel looked at it.
Then at Thomas.
“I'm Baby C?”
“Yes.”
“But my mother…”
“Wasn't Margaret.”
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“Who was she?”
Thomas looked at Michael.
Michael answered quietly.
“Elizabeth.”
I turned toward my mother.
“You gave birth to Daniel?”
She nodded.
“And me?”
“You were born eleven months earlier.”
I froze.
“Then why does the hospital record say we were born on the same day?”
My mother started crying.
“Because they changed the dates.”
I felt sick.
“Why?”
“To hide the switches.”
I stared at the three babies.
Three children.
Three identities.
One family.
And decades of lies.
Then I saw something written on the back of the photograph.
Baby A must never return.
I turned the photograph over.
Underneath was another sentence.
If she returns, Richard will lose everything.
I looked at Michael.
“Who wrote this?”
He whispered:
“Richard.”
“Why?”
“Because Baby A wasn't just your daughter.”
I stared at him.
“What else was she?”
Michael took a breath.
“She was the heir to the original Carter estate.”
I frowned.
“That doesn't explain why he was afraid.”
“It does if you understand the will.”
“What will?”
“The original Carter will stated that the estate could only pass through the first biological daughter.”
My heart stopped.
“So my daughter inherits everything?”
“Yes.”
“And Richard wanted her gone.”
“Yes.”
“That's why he switched the babies.”
“Yes.”
“That's why he wanted Emma.”
“Yes.”
I looked toward Daniel.
“Then why did he make me believe Emma was mine?”
Daniel answered.
“To keep the real heir hidden.”
I felt tears spill down my face.
“Where is she?”
Nobody answered.
Then Michael pulled out his phone.
“I found something.”
“What?”
He showed me an old adoption record.
A child's name.
Lily Hayes.
My heart stopped.
Lily.
The girl Rachel had been holding.
The girl who looked exactly like Emma.
I looked at Michael.
“Lily is my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Then who is Emma?”
He shook his head.
“We don't know.”
I stared at the name.
Lily Hayes.
My biological daughter.
The heir.
And suddenly Rachel's behavior made sense.
She hadn't stolen Lily.
She had been protecting her.
But then why had Emma been raised as my daughter?
I looked at Daniel.
He whispered,
“Because Richard needed a replacement.”
My blood froze.
“A replacement for what?”
“For the child he couldn't control.”
I stared at him.
“What child?”
He looked at the photograph.
“Baby A.”
My biological daughter.
Lily.
The one Richard had spent five years trying to find.
Then the storage facility lights suddenly went out.
Someone locked the door.
A voice came through the speakers.
“Congratulations, Sarah.”
I froze.
Richard.
“You finally found your daughter.”
I screamed,
“Where is Lily?”
He laughed.
“You've already met her.”
I looked at Daniel.
Then at the photograph.
Then at the darkness.
Richard continued:
“She has been beside you this entire time.”
My blood turned to ice.
I looked toward Emma.
She was gone.
The chair where she had been sitting was empty.
I screamed her name.
“EMMA!”
No answer.
Then a small voice came from the darkness.
“Mommy?”
I turned.
Emma stood at the far end of the storage room.
Beside her was a woman.
Rachel.
Rachel held Emma's hand.
And behind Rachel stood Lily.
My real daughter.
The two girls looked identical.
Rachel smiled sadly.
“You finally found them.”
May you like
Then she whispered:
“But you still don't know which one is yours.”
