{"id":11452,"date":"2026-09-16T11:42:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T11:42:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=11452"},"modified":"2026-09-16T11:42:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T11:42:35","slug":"part-12-we-escaped-the-renshaw-house-with-lily-but-martins-last-recording-revealed-the-child-hawthorne-had-planted-closest-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=11452","title":{"rendered":"PART 12 \u2013 We Escaped the Renshaw House With Lily, but Martin\u2019s Last Recording Revealed the Child Hawthorne Had Planted Closest to Me"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Emergency lights came on along the staircase.<\/p>\n<p>Dim amber strips illuminated the hall.<\/p>\n<p>Priya was already moving.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBack exit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ll cover it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou seem familiar with the procedure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI helped design earlier versions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan stared at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUseful time to mention that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel crossed to a cabinet and removed a flashlight.<\/p>\n<p>Julia held Lily close.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere do we go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas pointed toward the basement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a storm tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat storm tunnel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe house was built during Prohibition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew about a tunnel under my house?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI bought the property.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course he had.<\/p>\n<p>We moved downstairs.<\/p>\n<p>A heavy impact sounded against the front door.<\/p>\n<p>Then another.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody announced police.<\/p>\n<p>That told us enough.<\/p>\n<p>The basement smelled of stone and cedar.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas moved a shelving unit aside, revealing an old steel hatch.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have got to be kidding me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas opened it.<\/p>\n<p>Cold air rose from darkness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Priya entered first with the flashlight.<\/p>\n<p>Julia followed carrying Lily.<\/p>\n<p>Megan went immediately behind her.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel entered next.<\/p>\n<p>I stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas remained outside the opening.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou coming?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can delay them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His expression hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Daniel is my son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently people occasionally discover that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He accepted the insult.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I entered.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas closed the hatch above us.<\/p>\n<p>The tunnel was narrow enough that my shoulders nearly touched both walls.<\/p>\n<p>We moved single file.<\/p>\n<p>Behind us, muffled impacts sounded through the house.<\/p>\n<p>Then footsteps.<\/p>\n<p>Julia whispered to Lily.<\/p>\n<p>Megan kept one hand against Julia\u2019s back whenever the floor became uneven.<\/p>\n<p>The sight would have seemed impossible twenty-four hours earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Now survival had stripped away the categories everyone had been fighting over.<\/p>\n<p>Biological mother.<\/p>\n<p>Adoptive mother.<\/p>\n<p>Legal guardian.<\/p>\n<p>Victim.<\/p>\n<p>Participant.<\/p>\n<p>At that moment they were simply two women keeping the same child quiet in the dark.<\/p>\n<p>The tunnel ended near a drainage ditch beyond the property wall.<\/p>\n<p>Priya emerged first.<\/p>\n<p>Her car was too far away.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel pointed toward a neighboring farm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s an equipment shed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We ran.<\/p>\n<p>Halfway across the field, headlights swept behind us.<\/p>\n<p>Megan stumbled.<\/p>\n<p>I caught her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou okay?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeep moving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lily began crying harder.<\/p>\n<p>Julia stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t run holding her like this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan held out her arms.<\/p>\n<p>Julia hesitated only a second.<\/p>\n<p>Then handed Lily over.<\/p>\n<p>Megan tucked the baby against her chest and ran.<\/p>\n<p>The symbolism of that exchange hit me later.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, there was only movement.<\/p>\n<p>We reached the shed.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel found an old utility vehicle with keys hanging from the ignition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople really do this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Priya asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He started it.<\/p>\n<p>We crowded aboard.<\/p>\n<p>The engine sounded offensively loud.<\/p>\n<p>A flashlight beam swept across the field behind us.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel drove toward the tree line.<\/p>\n<p>My prepaid phone vibrated.<\/p>\n<p>A voicemail.<\/p>\n<p>Martin.<\/p>\n<p>Timestamped three minutes earlier.<\/p>\n<p>I played it quietly.<\/p>\n<p>His voice came through beneath traffic noise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRowan, if you get this, I may not be able to reach you again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan looked toward me.<\/p>\n<p>Martin continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAurora was designed to move records and witnesses through private medical transport. Catherine Marlow coordinates it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A horn sounded behind him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m going after Rosa. Do not follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Typical.<\/p>\n<p>Then came the part that changed everything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is something Thomas knows and Evelyn has spent years hiding. Henry discovered Hawthorne placed a child inside the Bellamy family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The utility vehicle bounced over a rut.<\/p>\n<p>I gripped the side.<\/p>\n<p>Martin\u2019s recording continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot Lily. Years earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I held up a hand.<\/p>\n<p>Martin answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe placement occurred after Evelyn\u2019s affair with Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe child was registered as biologically related to Henry even though Henry was not the father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n<p>Megan whispered, \u201cRowan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin\u2019s voice continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHenry discovered it shortly before his death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No.<\/p>\n<p>There were only so many children inside the Bellamy household.<\/p>\n<p>Me.<\/p>\n<p>No siblings.<\/p>\n<p>Unless\u2014<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe ordered private testing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The recording crackled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe results are in his second archive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRowan, Henry Bellamy was not your biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody in the vehicle spoke.<\/p>\n<p>The trees passed around us.<\/p>\n<p>I replayed the sentence in my head.<\/p>\n<p>Henry was not my biological father.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Renshaw was my biological grandfather.<\/p>\n<p>That could only mean\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Martin said it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThomas Renshaw is your biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel nearly drove into a fence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He braked.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone lurched forward.<\/p>\n<p>Julia caught the dashboard.<\/p>\n<p>Megan held Lily tighter.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel turned toward me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I could not answer.<\/p>\n<p>The voicemail continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvelyn became pregnant during her affair with Thomas. Hawthorne altered records. Henry agreed to raise you as his own because exposing the truth would have destroyed several families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My entire childhood rearranged itself.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas at birthdays.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas at school ceremonies.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas always watching from slightly farther away than other family friends.<\/p>\n<p>My father\u2019s occasional hostility toward him.<\/p>\n<p>My mother insisting Thomas remain close to Bellamy business.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Thomas is your father\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word barely came out.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel laughed once in disbelief.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Half brother.<\/p>\n<p>The same relation Martin was to me through Henry, except Martin and I shared no blood at all.<\/p>\n<p>Family had become a diagram drawn by people who lied.<\/p>\n<p>Megan watched my face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou okay?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martin continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHenry did not resent you. Understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My eyes burned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe considered you his son. Always.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked away.<\/p>\n<p>That mattered more than biology.<\/p>\n<p>More than I could explain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut once Henry learned how Hawthorne had falsified your parentage, he realized the network had been manipulating inheritance structures for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The recording paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe decided everything had to come out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then Martin\u2019s voice lowered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is why Evelyn delayed calling the ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The utility vehicle idled.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody moved.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe had scheduled a meeting with federal investigators for the following morning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My father had been hours away from exposing them.<\/p>\n<p>My mother had known.<\/p>\n<p>Martin continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe second archive contains DNA reports, financial ledgers and correspondence between Evelyn and Thomas. If it survives, Hawthorne cannot explain this as administrative mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is it?\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n<p>As though answering me, Martin said, \u201cHenry hid it somewhere connected to you, not him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The recording ended.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s all?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared into the darkness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father is your father.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat means Lily is\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour niece.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Julia closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>The false kinship placement had accidentally contained real kinship.<\/p>\n<p>Not in the way Hawthorne claimed.<\/p>\n<p>But Daniel truly was Lily\u2019s uncle.<\/p>\n<p>He looked toward the baby.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh God.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan\u2019s expression changed too.<\/p>\n<p>The family who had raised Lily was not biologically unrelated.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel was her uncle.<\/p>\n<p>That would complicate everything again.<\/p>\n<p>Priya spoke first.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNone of this changes Megan\u2019s maternity or Rowan\u2019s paternity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it changes the trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Henry\u2019s trust defines descendants biologically rather than legally, Hawthorne may argue Rowan was never eligible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Lily?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer rights could be challenged.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo after stealing her because she could inherit, they may now say she cannot inherit because they lied about Rowan too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExtremely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel restarted the vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need somewhere secure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Priya nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFederal courthouse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Martin is right that Henry planned to contact federal investigators, there may be an old case intake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter six years?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Rosa?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe alert law enforcement immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We reached the main road and found cell service.<\/p>\n<p>Priya called emergency services.<\/p>\n<p>Then federal contacts.<\/p>\n<p>Then the judge\u2019s clerk.<\/p>\n<p>Within thirty minutes, police reached the Renshaw property.<\/p>\n<p>The men who had entered were gone.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas was alive.<\/p>\n<p>Bruised.<\/p>\n<p>Angry.<\/p>\n<p>But alive.<\/p>\n<p>He refused medical treatment until Daniel spoke to him.<\/p>\n<p>We returned under police escort.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas sat at the kitchen table with blood dried beside one eyebrow.<\/p>\n<p>When I entered, he looked at me differently.<\/p>\n<p>Martin\u2019s voicemail had apparently not been meant only for me.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas knew.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou heard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stood beside me.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas looked between us.<\/p>\n<p>For perhaps the first time in decades, the consequences of his choices had faces standing side by side.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you my father?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I asked.<\/p>\n<p>He closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No speech.<\/p>\n<p>No justification.<\/p>\n<p>One word.<\/p>\n<p>I nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Henry know when I was born?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did he learn?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSix years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore he died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDNA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was investigating Hawthorne records. Your file appeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My file.<\/p>\n<p>I had been one of Hawthorne\u2019s manipulated children without ever being removed from my home.<\/p>\n<p>My parentage had been altered to protect reputations and inheritance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he confront you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas looked down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said being your father had never depended on blood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My throat closed.<\/p>\n<p>That sounded like Henry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told me I had spent decades wanting access to you without accepting responsibility for what access required.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I could not process that yet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is the second archive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMartin says you know Henry had one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know he compiled one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHenry stopped trusting me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan entered carrying Lily.<\/p>\n<p>Julia followed.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas\u2019s face softened when he saw the baby.<\/p>\n<p>Megan noticed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you love her too?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thomas looked surprised.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know how she got here?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s your answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan walked past him.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas said, \u201cI believed Evelyn when she said you had consented.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUntil when?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He looked away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUntil Daniel told me you appeared at Hawthorne.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd after that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told myself the adoption had already happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan nodded slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat seems to be how this works.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked around the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone discovers the truth one piece at a time and decides the last piece is too inconvenient to act on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody answered.<\/p>\n<p>Then Julia spoke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happens tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Priya looked at the temporary order.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTechnically Lily remains here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>Julia looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can stay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan blinked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at Julia.<\/p>\n<p>She continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe judge ordered supervised contact. I am a legal guardian until the court says otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan stared.<\/p>\n<p>Julia\u2019s voice trembled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want Lily waking tomorrow and wondering where you went.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That made Megan smile through tears.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I\u2019m trying to stop making decisions because I\u2019m afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That night, Megan slept in the guest room beside Lily\u2019s nursery.<\/p>\n<p>I remained downstairs with Priya, Daniel and Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody trusted anyone enough to leave.<\/p>\n<p>At 3:11 a.m., my prepaid phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>Unknown number.<\/p>\n<p>I answered.<\/p>\n<p>No voice.<\/p>\n<p>Then a recording played.<\/p>\n<p>A woman crying.<\/p>\n<p>Rosa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRowan Bellamy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A different woman spoke.<\/p>\n<p>Calm.<\/p>\n<p>Older.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Catherine Marlow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are searching for Henry\u2019s second archive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My blood went cold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is Rosa?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet me speak to her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe files from the caretaker\u2019s cottage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve already been copied.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen bring the originals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Henry\u2019s second archive contains something you do not want made public.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ll need something better than my parentage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt isn\u2019t about you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt concerns Megan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marlow\u2019s voice remained calm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsk your ex-wife why Hawthorne had a file on her before she ever met you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The line went dead.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the phone.<\/p>\n<p>We already knew my mother had monitored Megan before the divorce.<\/p>\n<p>But Marlow had said before Megan ever met me.<\/p>\n<p>Years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>I went upstairs.<\/p>\n<p>Megan was awake in the hallway.<\/p>\n<p>She had heard me moving.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen did you first hear the name Hawthorne?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her brow furrowed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Lily disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNever before?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then she stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Something changed in her face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I waited.<\/p>\n<p>Megan leaned against the wall.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe used to say Hawthorne.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I was little.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t remember exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Then opened them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe told me that if anyone from Hawthorne ever came looking for me, I was supposed to use my middle name and call my aunt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The hallway seemed to narrow around us.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow old were you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe six.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would Hawthorne be looking for you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her face had gone pale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mother died when I was fourteen. I never asked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is your aunt?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStill alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMargaret Ellis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ellis.<\/p>\n<p>I looked toward the room where our son slept.<\/p>\n<p>Megan had named him after her aunt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere does she live?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVirginia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I took out the prepaid phone.<\/p>\n<p>Megan caught my wrist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She stared toward Lily\u2019s nursery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remembered something else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her voice had changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the night my mother died, she gave Margaret an envelope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you see it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was on it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan looked directly at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The second archive might not have been connected to me at all.<\/p>\n<p>It might have been connected to the woman I married.<\/p>\n<p>And whatever Hawthorne had done to Megan had begun long before either of us knew the other existed.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=11453\">Click here to continue reading: PART 13: Megan\u2019s Aunt Opened the Envelope Her Mother Had Hidden for Twenty Years, and One Birth Record Changed Every Relationship Again<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Emergency lights came on along the staircase. Dim amber strips illuminated the hall. Priya was already moving. \u201cBack exit.\u201d Thomas shook his head. \u201cThey\u2019ll cover it.\u201d \u201cYou seem familiar with &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11452"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11472,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11452\/revisions\/11472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}