Chapter 10 - The CousinHer name was Natalie.
She disappeared before the police arrived.
But she left something behind.
A USB drive.
We found it hidden beneath the windshield wiper.
Inside were videos.
Hundreds of them.
Maisie walking.
Maisie sleeping.
Maisie playing.
Maisie at daycare.
Someone had been filming her for months.
I couldn't breathe.
The oldest video was dated eight months before Margaret slapped her.
Before the birthday dinner.
Before I even suspected anything.
Then we found the first video.
It showed Margaret talking to Natalie.
Margaret said:
“She has to be kept close.”
Natalie asked:
“What if Claire refuses?”
Margaret replied:
“Then we take the child.”
I felt my entire body go cold.
The next video showed Margaret meeting a lawyer.
The lawyer said:
“Once the guardianship petition is approved, the mother will have very little leverage.”
Margaret smiled.
“And Evan?”
“He'll cooperate.”
My husband looked devastated.
“I never agreed to this.”
I stared at him.
“You signed the documents.”
“I didn't know what they were.”
“You didn't know what your mother was doing with our daughter.”
“No.”
“You never asked.”
He couldn't answer.
The final video was different.
Margaret was alone.
She was speaking directly to the camera.
“If you're watching this, Claire, you already know enough.”
She smiled.
“You think this is about money.”
She leaned closer.
“It isn't.”
I stared at the screen.
“What does she mean?”
The video continued.
“Your daughter wasn't chosen because of the trust.”
Margaret's eyes were cold.
“She was chosen because of who her father is.”
Evan froze.
“What?”
Margaret continued.
“Evan doesn't know the truth about his own birth.”
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
I turned slowly toward my husband.
“Evan.”
He looked terrified.
“My mother told me I was her biological son.”
Lily suddenly whispered:
“She lied.”
I looked at her.
“How do you know?”
Lily stared at Evan.
“Because I remember the night she brought him home.”
Evan's face drained of color.
“What?”
Lily shook her head.
“You weren't her first child.”
She looked at me.
“Evan was adopted too.”
My world tilted.
Evan wasn't Margaret's biological son.
Which meant his entire identity was a lie.
And if Margaret had been lying about Evan…
May you like
then the question became terrifying.
Who were his real parents?
