The monitor beside Rachel's bed began beeping faster.<\/p>\n
I watched the numbers climb.<\/p>\n
\u201cElaine had your phone?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile I was in surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the wedding?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did. Before they admitted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I called you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never received anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened my call history even though two weeks had passed and the evidence proved nothing by itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel, I called until your voicemail filled.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Elaine blocked me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know she could have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel pressed her lips together.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
The chair legs scraped across the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else did she do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDanny.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
A nurse entered and checked the monitor.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to keep her calm.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Rachel.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has spent three years lying to me because she thought she was protecting me. Her sister may have spent the last two weeks making sure neither of us could change that decision. Calm is going to have to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel's voice was weak but firm.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked Elaine to keep you away originally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginally?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes closed.<\/p>\n
The nurse adjusted the intravenous line.<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
When Rachel opened her eyes again, she said, \u201cAfter the wedding, I changed my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat down slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn't do it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPretend I didn't need you.\u201d<\/p>\n
She swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe doctor called during the night. The latest scan was worse. He wanted me admitted immediately. I left before you woke because I was terrified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI sat outside your house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pictured her alone in the car before sunrise while I slept upstairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept looking at the door,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought maybe you would wake up and see the ring was gone from my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expected me to chase you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hoped you would.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel, I'm not psychic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you come back inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause every time I reached for the door handle, I remembered why I left you in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI drove away. Halfway to Austin, I changed my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou called.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy phone never rang.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried again that afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I woke after surgery, Elaine had my phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shape of the problem was becoming visible.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the message?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never wrote it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Elaine now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she know I'm here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Fear moved across Rachel's face.<\/p>\n
Not irritation.<\/p>\n
Not embarrassment.<\/p>\n
Fear.<\/p>\n
I leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you afraid of your sister?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel's fingers tightened around the sheet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's another lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDanny.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you mean in the letter?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing doctors found during your first surgery. You said it reopened something from our past.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel became still.<\/p>\n
The change was immediate.<\/p>\n
I knew then that the cancer was not the only secret she had been protecting.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward the nurse.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I don't know where Elaine is.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Elaine have to do with something doctors found inside your body?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel's breathing quickened.<\/p>\n
The nurse stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel, I need you to back off.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ignored her.<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her hand reached for mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are things you don't know about Elaine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe blamed you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked at me for several seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what happened to the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every sound in the room seemed to move farther away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat baby?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel's face changed.<\/p>\n
She had not meant to say it.<\/p>\n
I pulled my hand from hers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never had a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her mouth opened.<\/p>\n
My phone rang.<\/p>\n
The sudden sound made all three of us jump.<\/p>\n
I looked at the screen.<\/p>\n
RACHEL WHITMORE.<\/p>\n
For a moment my mind refused to process what I was seeing.<\/p>\n
Rachel lay three feet away from me.<\/p>\n
Her phone was supposedly somewhere with Elaine.<\/p>\n
Yet her name glowed on my screen.<\/p>\n
Rachel saw it.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDanny, please.\u201d<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Then breathing.<\/p>\n
A woman's breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cElaine?\u201d<\/p>\n
A voice came through the speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have stayed away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sent the message.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou blocked my calls.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elaine laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou and Rachel have always been very good at blaming everyone except yourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk her what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy she really left you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know about the cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
When Elaine spoke again, her voice had changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she finally told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn't. The hospital did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should go home, Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't understand what you're walking into.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen explain it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel shook her head at me.<\/p>\n
I ignored her.<\/p>\n
Elaine said, \u201cRachel has been lying to you much longer than three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk her why there was never a funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n
My grip tightened around the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat funeral?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cElaine, don't.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman on the line heard her.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you're awake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeave him alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElaine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried for twenty-six years.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened twenty-six years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cElaine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice came quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe funeral for your daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
Then the line disconnected.<\/p>\n
I stared at Rachel.<\/p>\n
She looked exhausted, frightened, and suddenly much older than she had two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never had a daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
I stood so quickly the chair toppled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
The monitor alarm began.<\/p>\n
The nurse moved toward Rachel.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel, step outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn't move.<\/p>\n
Rachel opened her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Danny.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
The monitor screamed.<\/p>\n
Several nurses rushed through the door.<\/p>\n
Someone pushed me backward.<\/p>\n
\u201cSir, out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel!\u201d<\/p>\n
Her body jerked beneath the blanket.<\/p>\n
Grace appeared in the doorway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The medical team surrounded the bed.<\/p>\n
I found myself in the hallway with Grace gripping my arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace's face went blank.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew about the child.\u201d<\/p>\n
She released me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Rachel should\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word came out louder than I intended.<\/p>\n
People at the nurses' station looked toward us.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo more of that. No more waiting for Rachel. No more waiting for Elaine. Someone tells me what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace glanced toward the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can't tell you everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I don't know everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you know something.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sat in one of the plastic chairs.<\/p>\n
After a moment, I sat opposite her.<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel came here four years ago for surgery,\u201d Grace said. \u201cDuring imaging, doctors noticed old surgical scarring.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConsistent with a complicated delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands went numb.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me she had never carried a pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I asked her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would a nurse ask a patient about something twenty-six years old?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace did not answer.<\/p>\n
A terrible thought surfaced.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long have you known Rachel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFour years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you've worked here almost three.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew her before I worked here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace folded her hands tightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe found me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hallway suddenly felt too narrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cFound you where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough a genetic registry.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace looked toward Rachel's room.<\/p>\n
Then she looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy adoptive parents were Thomas and Linda Bennett.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always knew I was adopted,\u201d she continued. \u201cThey never hid that. After my mother died, I submitted my DNA because I wanted medical history.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart began beating painfully.<\/p>\n
\u201cFour years ago, I got a match.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow close?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cParent and child.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
The movement was instinctive.<\/p>\n
Grace stood too.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-six.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her face.<\/p>\n
Until that moment, I had seen only a nurse.<\/p>\n
Now I saw details.<\/p>\n
Rachel's eyes.<\/p>\n
The slight bend in her nose.<\/p>\n
The way she pressed her lips together when she was frightened.<\/p>\n
My knees weakened.<\/p>\n
I sat again.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Rachel believe you're her daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI've seen the DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n
I covered my face.<\/p>\n
For several seconds I could not speak.<\/p>\n
When I finally lowered my hands, Grace was crying silently.<\/p>\n
\u201cAm I your father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer hurt differently.<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel never tested you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said you didn't know I existed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone keeps being afraid on my behalf.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace wiped her cheek.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe thought bringing you into this would destroy whatever life you had built.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe divorced me because of cancer. She hid a daughter because she thought the truth would upset me. Is there anything in my life people haven't decided for me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The anger left me for a moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn't supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was tired of watching her say your name whenever she was sick enough to forget she wasn't supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked through the glass.<\/p>\n
The doctors were still around Rachel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to you after you were born?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents adopted me through a private clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOutside Tulsa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho arranged it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA doctor named Harlan Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name meant nothing to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel remembers giving birth?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPieces.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe remembers labor. She remembers being frightened. She remembers Elaine. Then medication.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd after?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe woke up and was told the baby died.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe believed you were dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor twenty-two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how did she find you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cancer surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace looked toward Rachel's room.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the doctors mentioned the old scarring, she began asking questions. She requested records from the clinic where she'd delivered. Most were missing. Elaine told her to stop digging.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut she didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe used the registry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd found you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't she tell me then?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace's eyes lowered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cancer had returned.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Rachel had found the daughter she believed dead at almost the same moment she decided I deserved to remain ignorant.<\/p>\n
I rubbed my forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cElaine said there was no funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere wasn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you weren't dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho told Rachel you were?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElaine says the doctor did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you believe her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The door to Rachel's room opened.<\/p>\n
A physician stepped out.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe's stable.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I see her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace asked, \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCardiac rhythm disturbance triggered by stress. We need to keep stimulation to a minimum.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed at the absurdity.<\/p>\n
Somewhere in the building, my former wife was fighting cancer.<\/p>\n
A daughter I had never known existed stood beside me.<\/p>\n
And Elaine was calling from Rachel's phone telling me to stay away.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do I prove I'm Grace's father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cA DNA test.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel, you don't have to decide now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
I held out my arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake whatever you need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace's expression broke.<\/p>\n
Not because she was frightened.<\/p>\n
Because she had been waiting.<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'll arrange it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then a hospital security guard approached the nurses' station.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace?\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a woman asking for Rachel Whitmore.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cElaine?\u201d<\/p>\n
The guard shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says her name is Leah.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace went completely still.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is Leah?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face had drained of color.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The security guard held out a folded note.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said to give this to Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened it.<\/p>\n
There were only six words.<\/p>\n
ASK ELAINE ABOUT THE SECOND BABY.<\/p>\n
The monitor beside Rachel's bed began beeping faster. I watched the numbers climb. \u201cElaine had your phone?\u201d Rachel nodded. \u201cWhile I was in surgery.\u201d \u201cAfter the wedding?\u201d \u201cYes.\u201d \u201cYou said … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19917","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\/19917","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=19917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19995,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19917\/revisions\/19995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}