Chapter 6 - The Child My Mother Never Talked AboutFor several seconds, nobody breathed.
Then Paige laughed.
A nervous, broken sound.
“That's impossible.”
Aunt Denise shook her head.
“It isn't.”
I looked at Mom's old records.
Two birth certificates.
Two dates.
One family.
“Explain.”
Denise swallowed.
“Your mother had a daughter before you.”
“I know.”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“Not Paige.”
I couldn't move.
“Then who?”
Denise pointed to my sister.
“Paige.”
Paige stepped backward.
“What?”
“Eleanor became pregnant young.”
“With me?”
“Yes.”
I stared at her.
“Then where do I fit?”
Denise's eyes filled with tears.
“You were born eight months later.”
That made no sense.
Unless...
Unless my mother had kept two pregnancies secret.
Twins.
My heartbeat accelerated.
“Paige and I are twins?”
Nobody answered.
I looked at the dates again.
The official documents showed a ten-month gap.
The hidden documents showed eight days.
Eight days.
Paige and I had been born eight days apart.
Impossible.
Unless one of us had been registered differently.
Denise finally said:
“You were twins.”
Paige began crying.
“We were?”
I nodded slowly.
Mom had lied about our ages.
Our entire childhood.
Why?
Denise sat down.
“Because your father tried to sell you.”
My blood went cold.
“What?”
“He was in debt.”
“To whom?”
“Marcus."
Ethan's expression hardened.
“Marcus was running money through your father's company.”
Denise nodded.
“Your mother discovered the scheme after you were born.”
“Which one of us?”
“You.”
She pointed at me.
“Clara.”
I felt dizzy.
“You were the younger twin.”
“Why was I hidden?”
“Because your father wanted to use you as leverage.”
I looked at Paige.
“She stayed with him?”
“No.”
“Then why did she know about him?”
“Because she discovered the truth when she was nineteen.”
Suddenly the entire family history seemed to split open.
Paige's resentment.
My mother's secrecy.
Dad's disappearance.
The money.
The forged records.
Seven years of manipulation.
It all connected.
But there was something I still didn't understand.
“Why didn't Mom tell me?”
Denise looked down.
“Because she believed Paige would protect you.”
I looked at my sister.
Paige couldn't meet my eyes.
“What happened?”
Denise took a breath.
“Your mother changed the records. She changed both birthdays. She created a story that made you look like ordinary sisters.”
“So Dad thought I didn't exist?”
“Yes.”
“Until?”
“Until Paige told him.”
Paige covered her mouth.
I turned to her.
“You found out I was his leverage.”
“Yes.”
“And you told him.”
“I was angry.”
“Why?”
“Because Mom always chose you.”
“No.”
“You were the perfect daughter.”
“You thought I was.”
“She trusted you with everything.”
“She trusted you too.”
Paige laughed bitterly.
“She trusted you with the truth.”
I went silent.
Then I understood.
Mom had not hidden the truth because she favored me.
She had hidden it because Paige knew enough to become dangerous.
The realization hurt more than the lie.
Ethan stepped closer.
“There is one thing the documents don't explain.”
“What?”
“The ledger.”
He held up the microfilm.
“There are payments to Marcus for years.”
“From whom?”
He pointed.
The sender was not my father.
Not Paige.
Not Aunt Denise.
It was my mother.
I stared.
“Mom paid Marcus?”
Denise whispered:
“She was buying time.”
“How long?”
“Eighteen years.”
My stomach twisted.
“She paid him to keep Dad away.”
“And to keep you safe.”
Paige looked at me.
“I didn't know.”
“You didn't ask.”
“No.”
“Because you were busy hating me.”
She flinched.
Before she could answer, Ethan's phone rang.
He listened.
His face changed.
“Who is it?”
He lowered the phone.
“The bank.”
“What happened?”
“They found the original safe deposit contract.”
“And?”
He looked at me.
“Your mother opened the box seven years ago.”
I frowned.
“So?”
Ethan stared at the contract.
“She wasn't alone.”
“Who was with her?”
He turned the paper toward me.
The signature next to hers belonged to someone else.
Someone I knew.
May you like
Someone who had hugged me this morning.
Brooke.
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