Chapter 8 - The CarBrandon had left behind more than a passport.Police found the car abandoned outside a storage facility.
The trunk was empty.
The back seat wasn't.
There was a baby blanket.
A bottle.
And a small pink bracelet.
The bracelet had a name engraved on it.
LILY.
My heart stopped.
One of my twins was named Lily.
The other was Emma.
I called my sister immediately.
Both babies were safe.
Asleep.
Exactly where I had left them.
Then who was Lily?
The detective handed me a photograph.
A baby.
Not mine.
Daniel's daughter.
I stared at the image.
“Why was she in Brandon's car?”
“We don't know.”
“Where is Brandon?”
“We don't know.”
“What about the baby?”
“Found safe.”
Relief hit me so hard my knees almost gave out.
Then the detective said,
“She was left outside the storage facility.”
“Left?”
“Yes.”
With a note.
He handed it to me.
The note contained five words.
THE WRONG GIRL WAS TAKEN.
I looked at Claire.
“What does that mean?”
Nobody answered.
Then Daniel stepped closer.
“Someone intended to take one of your daughters.”
I felt cold.
“But they took Lily.”
“They made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“Your babies were wearing matching blankets that day.”
I remembered.
When Brandon left for the fishing trip, he had kissed both girls goodbye.
He had packed one blanket into the diaper bag.
That same blanket had been missing.
My blood froze.
“He knew.”
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“He knew which baby was mine.”
“He knew because of the DNA.”
“Yes.”
I looked toward the detective.
“So why was Lily left behind?”
The detective sighed.
“There was another person in the car.”
“Who?”
“We found fingerprints.”
“Whose?”
He looked at me.
“Your mother-in-law.”
Evelyn.
Again.
Everything returned to her.
The money.
The altered records.
The hidden company.
The insurance.
The recordings.
The missing child.
My chest tightened.
“Where is she?”
“Gone.”
“Gone where?”
“We don't know.”
Then my phone rang.
Brandon.
I answered.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then he said,
“Listen carefully.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“You have to get the girls out of the house.”
“Why?”
“Because Mom has gone too far.”
I froze.
“What did she do?”
“I tried to stop her.”
“You helped her.”
“I didn't know what she was planning.”
“You knew about the DNA.”
“I knew about the money.”
“And the insurance?”
Silence.
“That wasn't supposed to happen.”
“So you knew.”
“I didn't sign anything.”
“Your name is on it.”
“I was told it was for protection.”
I closed my eyes.
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“Where?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Then tell me why the girls aren't safe.”
He swallowed.
“She isn't trying to take the baby anymore.”
“Who?”
“My mother.”
“What does she want?”
He whispered,
“She wants you.”
I felt my blood run cold.
“Why?”
“Because you're the only person who can prove what she did.”
Then he hung up.
A moment later, my sister screamed from upstairs.
I ran.
One of the nursery windows was open.
The twins were still in their cribs.
But on the floor beside them was a single white envelope.
Inside was a photograph of me sleeping.
Taken inside my own house.
May you like
And written across the bottom were four words.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT.
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