Finding dates should have been simple.<\/p>\n
It was not.<\/p>\n
The St. Agnes records used intake dates, transfer dates, placement dates, and discharge dates, sometimes without distinguishing one from another.<\/p>\n
Arthur became increasingly impatient.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone knew when I was born.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d Rebecca said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why isn\u2019t it here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you\u2019re looking at copies of incomplete records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what I\u2019m looking at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen stop asking me questions you already answered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur gave her an irritated look.<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered to me, \u201cThey already sound related.\u201d<\/p>\n
I tried not to smile.<\/p>\n
Arthur heard him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI assumed you would.\u201d<\/p>\n
We kept searching.<\/p>\n
Eventually Evelyn found a photocopy of a pediatric intake form.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur.\u201d<\/p>\n
He took it.<\/p>\n
At the top:<\/p>\n
Estimated date of birth: January 19, 1968.<\/p>\n
Rebecca grabbed the back of the chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy birthday is January 12.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seven days apart.<\/p>\n
Arthur stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat rules out Anna as my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cBarring an extraordinary documentation error, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca sat.<\/p>\n
Relief moved across her face before guilt replaced it.<\/p>\n
Arthur noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re relieved.\u201d<\/p>\n
She met his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I spent the last hour wondering whether my mother gave birth to you and then spent my entire life pretending you didn\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur considered that.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRelieved too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause being your brother after knowing you for two hours felt aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
A surprised laugh escaped her.<\/p>\n
Daniel laughed too.<\/p>\n
Even Evelyn smiled.<\/p>\n
The humor vanished when Arthur looked back at the form.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if not Anna\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen someone close to her,\u201d Evelyn said.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at Martha\u2019s list.<\/p>\n
\u201cElizabeth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her grandmother.<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was she like?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca took a long time answering.<\/p>\n
\u201cCold.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s broad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe believed there was a correct way to live and that anyone who failed was choosing disgrace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSounds pleasant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe controlled my mother\u2019s money even after Anna was an adult.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould she have hidden a pregnancy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca gave him a bleak look.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf she could hide it from herself, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old was she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 1968?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca calculated.<\/p>\n
\u201cForty-two.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur raised his eyebrows.<\/p>\n
\u201cPossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas she married?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo my grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked toward Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou enjoying this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn found a family tree Martha had drawn.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Lane.<\/p>\n
Husband: Robert Lane.<\/p>\n
Children: Anna and Margaret.<\/p>\n
Then a third line.<\/p>\n
Unknown male infant?<\/p>\n
Arthur stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom suspected it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Evelyn said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on what?\u201d<\/p>\n
A notation directed us to a cassette.<\/p>\n
ELIZABETH \/ ANNA \/ 1968.<\/p>\n
Rebecca went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may have to hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel picked up the cassette recorder but did not insert the tape.<\/p>\n
Rebecca sat beside him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn checked Martha\u2019s index.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot a recorded conversation. Martha dictated notes after interviewing someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA former St. Agnes nurse named Louise Carver.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. She died six years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel inserted the cassette.<\/p>\n
The machine clicked.<\/p>\n
Static.<\/p>\n
Then Martha\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
Older.<\/p>\n
Tired.<\/p>\n
Still unmistakably herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cInterview with Louise Carver, conducted March fourteenth\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur shut his eyes.<\/p>\n
Hearing Martha startled all of us.<\/p>\n
Her voice made the room feel inhabited again.<\/p>\n
She explained that Louise had worked evening shifts at St. Agnes.<\/p>\n
Louise remembered Anna Lane because Anna cried often and repeatedly asked whether anyone had written from Richmond.<\/p>\n
Rebecca covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Martha\u2019s recorded voice continued.<\/p>\n
Louise also remembered Anna\u2019s mother, Elizabeth.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth visited several times.<\/p>\n
At least once, staff believed she was there to see Anna.<\/p>\n
She was not.<\/p>\n
She had come for an appointment with Dr. Keene.<\/p>\n
Arthur opened his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of appointment?\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording answered.<\/p>\n
Louise had later seen Elizabeth in a private maternity room used for women whose identities were intentionally omitted from general ward records.<\/p>\n
Rebecca whispered, \u201cOh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martha paused on the tape.<\/p>\n
Then said:<\/p>\n
Louise believes Elizabeth Lane was pregnant.<\/p>\n
Arthur stared at the recorder.<\/p>\n
The next part came more slowly.<\/p>\n
According to Louise, St. Agnes sometimes accepted women from prominent or socially sensitive families under alternate names.<\/p>\n
Documentation was kept separately.<\/p>\n
Arthur laughed without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo my grandmother\u2014if she is my mother\u2014checked in under another name.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked sick.<\/p>\n
Martha\u2019s recorded voice continued.<\/p>\n
Louise remembered a male infant born in January.<\/p>\n
She could not confirm the date.<\/p>\n
The mother left quickly.<\/p>\n
The baby remained.<\/p>\n
Months later, after attempts to arrange a private placement failed, Helen Price transferred the child into the regular adoption program.<\/p>\n
Arthur whispered, \u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn said, \u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape clicked.<\/p>\n
Martha\u2019s voice returned.<\/p>\n
There was more.<\/p>\n
Louise remembered Anna discovering the situation.<\/p>\n
Rebecca went rigid.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape told us.<\/p>\n
Anna had seen her mother entering a private room during one of her own prenatal appointments.<\/p>\n
She confronted Elizabeth.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth denied everything.<\/p>\n
Later Anna found a hospital bracelet bearing her mother\u2019s legal name.<\/p>\n
She told Martha years afterward that there had been \u201canother baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martha misunderstood.<\/p>\n
She thought Anna meant Rebecca.<\/p>\n
Arthur stopped the tape.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom heard Anna say there was another baby and assumed Rebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the picnic Anna said \u2018the boy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Anna knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew my mother had a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she knew that baby might be me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t she tell Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe could have told her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe came to the house, saw me, accused Mom of breaking a promise, and still didn\u2019t explain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know what happened after the part Martha wrote down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked furious.<\/p>\n
Rebecca did not defend Anna this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel pressed the button.<\/p>\n
Martha\u2019s voice resumed.<\/p>\n
Louise remembered something else.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth\u2019s husband, Robert, visited St. Agnes after the male infant was born.<\/p>\n
He spoke privately with Helen Price and Dr. Keene.<\/p>\n
After that meeting, the record status changed.<\/p>\n
The child was classified for confidential family-connected placement.<\/p>\n
Arthur\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily-connected.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape crackled.<\/p>\n
Martha said Louise believed Robert knew he was not the infant\u2019s father.<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Arthur stood.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at the recorder.<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered, \u201cSo Elizabeth had an affair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe,\u201d Evelyn said.<\/p>\n
Arthur laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr Robert believed she had. We are still relying on memory recorded decades later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re determined to ruin every revelation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m determined not to turn allegations into facts.\u201d<\/p>\n
He exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape continued.<\/p>\n
Louise could not name the biological father.<\/p>\n
But she remembered Robert demanding that the baby never be connected publicly to the Lane family.<\/p>\n
He insisted Anna must never be told the truth.<\/p>\n
Rebecca frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Anna knew there was a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe not who the father was,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n
Martha\u2019s tape ended with a final observation.<\/p>\n
Louise claimed Helen Price initially resisted placing the infant with Martha and Henry because Martha was too closely related to Elizabeth.<\/p>\n
Robert supported the placement anyway.<\/p>\n
His reasoning, according to Louise, was simple.<\/p>\n
If the child had to exist, better he disappear inside the family than outside it.<\/p>\n
Arthur reached forward and stopped the tape.<\/p>\n
No one spoke.<\/p>\n
Finally he said, \u201cThat man might have arranged for his wife\u2019s child to be adopted by her cousin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartha was Elizabeth\u2019s cousin once removed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that supposed to make this less insane?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn sat at the desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need corroboration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur pointed at the recorder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat woman corroborated Margaret Ellis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartially.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRelated placement. Elizabeth. Private maternity room. Male infant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what\u2019s missing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAn actual birth record. A signed surrender. Genetic confirmation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at Rebecca.<\/p>\n
\u201cDNA.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel said, \u201cIf Elizabeth was your mother, Arthur and Mom would have a specific relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca would be Arthur\u2019s niece.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019d be\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis great-nephew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I regret yelling at you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s touching.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca stared at the family tree.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandmother died when I was twenty-seven.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur asked, \u201cDid she ever treat you strangely?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDefine strangely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike you reminded her of something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe hated birthdays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother\u2019s. Mine. Anyone\u2019s. She would send money but rarely attend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could mean nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was obsessed with keeping records though.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat records?\u201d Arthur asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHousehold accounts. Medical papers. Tax receipts. Letters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are they?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Grandma Elizabeth died, Anna inherited everything. Most of it stayed in storage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOhio.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother never threw anything away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel was already reaching for his phone.<\/p>\n
Rebecca stopped him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m calling the storage company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know which company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou asked me to help with Grandma\u2019s automatic payments after she got sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course you know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel found the number.<\/p>\n
Before he called, Evelyn raised a hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca has to authorize access.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at Arthur.<\/p>\n
He said nothing.<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
He did not ask.<\/p>\n
Did not pressure.<\/p>\n
Did not tell her what she owed him.<\/p>\n
After a long silence, she nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel spoke with the facility.<\/p>\n
The unit was still active.<\/p>\n
Paid through the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Access required Rebecca\u2019s identification and the key.<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked down at her ring.<\/p>\n
A small brass key hung beside two ordinary ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother kept this on her keychain for thirty years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stared at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen can we go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOhio is seven hours from here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t ask distance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur nodded immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn intervened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI suggest we also send the formal requests for St. Agnes records today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the DNA test.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at Rebecca.<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel said, \u201cI can order kits.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur gave him a look.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo home test.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel raised both hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cA legal relationship test through an accredited lab will be more useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur said, \u201cSchedule it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow morning if possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve gone from refusing to be evidence to organizing the investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m allowed to panic in stages.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat seems fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
We carried the files downstairs.<\/p>\n
Arthur took Henry\u2019s notebook.<\/p>\n
Rebecca carried Anna\u2019s letters.<\/p>\n
Daniel carried the recorder.<\/p>\n
I remained behind for a moment.<\/p>\n
Martha\u2019s attic room looked almost peaceful once everyone left.<\/p>\n
Then I noticed a small photograph tucked behind the family tree.<\/p>\n
I pulled it free.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Lane stood beside a man.<\/p>\n
Not Robert.<\/p>\n
A younger man.<\/p>\n
The photograph had been taken outside St. Agnes.<\/p>\n
On the back Martha had written:<\/p>\n
January 1968.<\/p>\n
I called for Arthur.<\/p>\n
He returned first.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I handed him the photograph.<\/p>\n
He stared at the man beside Elizabeth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca came back into the room.<\/p>\n
She saw the picture.<\/p>\n
Her face changed immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca took the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Henry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Not Henry Bell.\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned the image over again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Henry Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked toward David\u2019s letter downstairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid Mercer\u2019s older brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finding dates should have been simple. It was not. The St. Agnes records used intake dates, transfer dates, placement dates, and discharge dates, sometimes without distinguishing one from another. Arthur … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31647","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\/31647","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=31647"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31682,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31647\/revisions\/31682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}