{"id":5044,"date":"2026-08-29T12:46:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T12:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=5044"},"modified":"2026-08-29T12:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T12:46:14","slug":"part-5-after-mamas-funeral-i-found-18940-hidden-in-flour-and-a-note-my-brother-dismissed-instantly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=5044","title":{"rendered":"PART 5 \u2013 After Mama\u2019s funeral, I found $18,940 hidden in flour\u2014and a note my brother dismissed instantly."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
PART 5 \u2014 THE SECOND BABY<\/h5>\n

For several seconds, I could not understand Margaret\u2019s words.
\n\u201cBut she wasn\u2019t the only baby girl born to you.\u201d
\nRebecca\u2019s fingers slowly slipped from Margaret\u2019s arm.
\nI stared at the elderly woman.
\n\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d
\nMargaret covered her mouth.
\nWayne stood near the doorway, surrounded by the papers that had spilled from the red envelope.
\nDeputy Blake was already coming up the porch steps.
\nThomas stood between Wayne and the door.
\nNobody moved.
\nI heard the wall clock ticking.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

I heard Rebecca breathing.
\nI heard my own pulse thundering inside my ears.
\nThen I asked again.
\n\u201cHow many babies did I have?\u201d
\nMargaret whispered, \u201cTwo.\u201d
\nThe room tilted.
\n\u201cTwins?\u201d
\nShe nodded.
\nI grabbed the back of the chair.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cLinda\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI was there.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cYou delivered two girls.\u201d
\nRebecca stared at me.
\nI stared at her.
\nTwo.
\nTwo daughters.
\nMy hand moved to my stomach again.
\nForty-one years.
\nForty-one years believing I had never given birth.
\nThen one daughter.
\nNow two.
\n\u201cWhat happened to the other baby?\u201d
\nMargaret looked at Wayne.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

His smile had disappeared.
\nThat terrified me more than anything.
\n\u201cMargaret.\u201d
\nShe did not answer.
\nI stepped closer.
\n\u201cWhere is my other daughter?\u201d
\nWayne spoke before she could.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s the question your mother spent the rest of her life trying to answer.\u201d
\nDeputy Blake entered the house.
\n\u201cWayne Callahan, keep your hands where I can see them.\u201d
\nWayne slowly raised them.
\nBlake\u2019s partner moved behind him.
\nNobody else seemed to notice.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rebecca was staring at Margaret.
\n\u201cYou raised me.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhich baby was I?\u201d
\nMargaret\u2019s face crumpled.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\nRebecca recoiled.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cI never knew.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019re my mother and you don\u2019t know?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m not your biological mother.\u201d
\n\u201cYou know what I mean!\u201d
\nMargaret started sobbing.
\n\u201cI was given one baby.\u201d
\n\u201cWhich one?\u201d
\n\u201cThey had no names.\u201d
\n\u201cBut there were bracelets.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cThen which bracelet was mine?\u201d
\nMargaret looked toward the two hospital bands still in my hand.
\n\u201cThe bracelet that said BABY GIRL MERCER belonged to one of you.\u201d
\n\u201cOne of us?\u201d
\nRebecca whispered.
\n\u201cWhat did the other bracelet say?\u201d
\nMargaret closed her eyes.
\n\u201cBaby B.\u201d
\nMy heart stopped.
\n\u201cWhere is it?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t have it.\u201d
\n\u201cWho does?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\nWayne laughed softly.
\nDeputy Blake pushed him toward the wall.
\n\u201cSomething funny?\u201d
\nWayne shook his head.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nI turned on him.
\n\u201cYou know where she is.\u201d
\nHis eyes met mine.
\n\u201cI know where she was taken.\u201d
\nI crossed the room before anyone could stop me.
\n\u201cTell me.\u201d
\n\u201cLinda\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cTELL ME.\u201d
\nBlake stepped between us.
\n\u201cLet him answer.\u201d
\nWayne looked at the deputy.
\nThen at me.
\n\u201cYou want the truth?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cYou won\u2019t like it.\u201d
\n\u201cI have not liked a single thing I\u2019ve heard today.\u201d
\nHe nodded.
\n\u201cFair enough.\u201d
\nHe looked toward Margaret.
\n\u201cTell them about the basement.\u201d
\nMargaret went white.
\nRebecca stared at her.
\n\u201cWhat basement?\u201d
\nMargaret shook her head.
\n\u201cWayne, don\u2019t.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy not? You wanted truth. Let\u2019s have all of it.\u201d
\nI looked at Margaret.
\n\u201cWhat basement?\u201d
\n\u201cSt. Anne\u2019s.\u201d
\nHer voice was barely audible.
\n\u201cThe hospital had an old records basement.\u201d
\n\u201cSo?\u201d
\n\u201cThere was another nursery room downstairs.\u201d
\n\u201cFor sick babies?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cFor what?\u201d
\nMargaret hesitated.
\n\u201cFor babies whose placements were being handled privately.\u201d
\nDeputy Blake frowned.
\n\u201cPrivately?\u201d
\nMargaret nodded.
\n\u201cBack then, some doctors and attorneys arranged adoptions outside normal county channels.\u201d
\n\u201cIllegal adoptions?\u201d
\nShe did not answer.
\nThat was answer enough.
\nRebecca whispered, \u201cBaby selling.\u201d
\nMargaret started crying harder.
\n\u201cNot always.\u201d
\n\u201cBut sometimes.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nI felt sick.
\n\u201cMy daughters were put into that system?\u201d
\n\u201cOne was.\u201d
\n\u201cWhich one?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\n\u201cRebecca?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nMargaret shook her head.
\n\u201cRebecca never went downstairs.\u201d
\nI looked at her.
\n\u201cYou took Rebecca directly?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cThen the other baby went downstairs.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat happened to her?\u201d
\nMargaret stared at Wayne.
\n\u201cHe knows.\u201d
\nDeputy Blake turned.
\n\u201cCallahan?\u201d
\nWayne leaned against the wall.
\n\u201cI know what Pierce told me.\u201d
\n\u201cWhich was?\u201d
\n\u201cThat Baby B was transferred.\u201d
\n\u201cTo where?\u201d
\n\u201cA private family.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat family?\u201d
\n\u201cI never got the name.\u201d
\nI stared at him.
\n\u201cYou expect me to believe that?\u201d
\n\u201cI did not arrange that placement.\u201d
\n\u201cWho did?\u201d
\nWayne looked at the papers on the floor.
\n\u201cJudge Warren.\u201d
\nThe name hung between us.
\nI remembered Mama\u2019s note.
\nWayne says Linda cannot remember.
\nPierce says records can be changed.
\nI looked at Wayne.
\n\u201cYou said Warren wasn\u2019t Rebecca\u2019s father.\u201d
\n\u201cHe wasn\u2019t.\u201d
\n\u201cWas he the father of the other baby?\u201d
\nWayne\u2019s expression shifted.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cThen why was he involved?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause he was protecting someone.\u201d
\n\u201cWho?\u201d
\nWayne smiled without humor.
\n\u201cDavid.\u201d
\nMy stomach twisted.
\n\u201cDavid Mercer?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cThe man Mama told me was her brother.\u201d
\nWayne nodded.
\n\u201cThe man listed as my father on that birth certificate?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nI pointed at the document.
\n\u201cSo which is it? My uncle or my father?\u201d
\n\u201cNeither.\u201d
\nEverything stopped again.
\nI stared at him.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nWayne looked at Margaret.
\nShe said nothing.
\n\u201cWhat do you mean neither?\u201d
\nHe nodded toward the birth certificate.
\n\u201cThat document is fake.\u201d
\nI grabbed it from the floor.
\n\u201cMama kept a fake birth certificate?\u201d
\n\u201cShe kept proof that someone created one.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\n\u201cTo show how far Warren was willing to go.\u201d
\nI looked at the name again.
\nDAVID ANTHONY MERCER.
\n\u201cThen who was David?\u201d
\nWayne exhaled.
\n\u201cYour mother\u2019s cousin.\u201d
\nI stared.
\n\u201cNot her brother?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy did we call him Uncle David?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause families call cousins uncles all the time when kids are young.\u201d
\nPieces shifted inside my head.
\nDavid coming to Christmas.
\nDavid fixing Mama\u2019s car.
\nDavid lifting me onto his shoulders when I was little.
\nI had always assumed he was Mama\u2019s younger brother because nobody ever corrected me.
\n\u201cWhy put his name on my birth certificate?\u201d
\n\u201cTo create leverage.\u201d
\n\u201cAgainst who?\u201d
\n\u201cYour mother.\u201d
\nI could feel my patience cracking.
\n\u201cStop giving me half-answers.\u201d
\nWayne looked at the deputy.
\n\u201cI want a lawyer.\u201d
\nI lunged toward him.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t get to do this.\u201d
\nBlake stopped me.
\n\u201cLinda.\u201d
\n\u201cHe knows where my daughter went.\u201d
\n\u201cWe\u2019ll question him.\u201d
\n\u201cHe\u2019ll lie.\u201d
\nWayne looked at me over Blake\u2019s shoulder.
\n\u201cYou still don\u2019t understand what Evelyn did.\u201d
\nI stopped struggling.
\n\u201cWhat did she do?\u201d
\nHe smiled faintly.
\n\u201cShe switched the bracelets.\u201d
\nMargaret gasped.
\n\u201cThat is a lie.\u201d
\nWayne turned toward her.
\n\u201cYou saw her do it.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cYou helped.\u201d
\nMargaret shook her head violently.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nRebecca looked between them.
\n\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d
\nWayne continued.
\n\u201cEvelyn knew someone was coming for one of the babies.\u201d
\n\u201cWho?\u201d
\nI asked.
\n\u201cShe didn\u2019t know.\u201d
\n\u201cSo she switched them?\u201d
\n\u201cShe moved the identification bands.\u201d
\nMargaret stepped forward.
\n\u201cThat is not what happened.\u201d
\n\u201cThen tell Linda what did.\u201d
\nMargaret\u2019s mouth trembled.
\nI looked at her.
\n\u201cTell me.\u201d
\nShe closed her eyes.
\n\u201cYour mother came into the nursery after midnight.\u201d
\n\u201cHow?\u201d
\n\u201cShe had been crying for hours. She said Wayne and Warren were planning something.\u201d
\nWayne scoffed.
\nMargaret ignored him.
\n\u201cShe begged me to take both babies.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you?\u201d
\n\u201cI couldn\u2019t.\u201d
\n\u201cCouldn\u2019t or wouldn\u2019t?\u201d
\nHer eyes filled.
\n\u201cBoth.\u201d
\nI swallowed my anger.
\n\u201cContinue.\u201d
\n\u201cShe said if I couldn\u2019t take both, I had to make sure the men could not identify the baby they wanted.\u201d
\nRebecca whispered, \u201cThe baby they wanted?\u201d
\nMargaret nodded.
\n\u201cEvelyn believed they were looking for a specific child.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\n\u201cShe never told me.\u201d
\nI looked at Wayne.
\nHe looked away.
\nMargaret continued.
\n\u201cEvelyn removed the Baby A and Baby B ankle bands.\u201d
\nMy heart pounded.
\n\u201cAnd?\u201d
\n\u201cShe swapped them.\u201d
\nRebecca slowly sat down.
\n\u201cSo nobody knows which twin I am.\u201d
\nMargaret shook her head.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat about footprints?\u201d
\nI asked.
\n\u201cHospital records?\u201d
\n\u201cPierce altered them.\u201d
\n\u201cDNA?\u201d
\nNobody answered.
\nThen Thomas spoke for the first time in several minutes.
\n\u201cDNA can answer whether Rebecca is Linda\u2019s daughter.\u201d
\n\u201cYes,\u201d Margaret said.
\n\u201cBut not which twin she was.\u201d
\nUnless we found the other one.
\nI looked toward Wayne.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s why Mama kept searching.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nMargaret nodded.
\n\u201cShe knew one daughter was with me.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd the other?\u201d
\n\u201cShe searched for decades.\u201d
\n\u201cDid she ever find her?\u201d
\nMargaret looked toward the red envelope.
\n\u201cI thought not.\u201d
\nMy eyes followed hers.
\nThere were still papers on the floor.
\nPhotographs.
\nReceipts.
\nCopies of old hospital documents.
\nI dropped to my knees and began sorting.
\nRebecca joined me.
\nNeither of us spoke.
\nThen she picked up a photograph.
\n\u201cWho is this?\u201d
\nI looked.
\nA girl.
\nMaybe eight years old.
\nBrown hair cut at the shoulders.
\nStanding beside a yellow school bus.
\nMy breath caught.
\nShe looked like me.
\nNot a little.
\nA lot.
\nSame eyes.
\nSame chin.
\nSame crooked smile.
\nOn the back Mama had written:
\n1986? No. Approx. 1993. Possible match. Nashville.
\nI grabbed another photograph.
\nSame girl at what looked like a school field day.
\nAnother note.
\nSt. Catherine Academy.
\nName may be Emily.
\nRebecca whispered, \u201cMama found her.\u201d
\n\u201cMaybe.\u201d
\nI flipped through more.
\nPhotographs across years.
\nAge nine.
\nEleven.
\nThirteen.
\nA teenage girl at a track meet.
\nThen an older photograph.
\nA woman in her twenties.
\nSame face.
\nSame eyes.
\nMama had followed her life.
\nOr at least pieces of it.
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s her full name?\u201d
\nRebecca asked.
\nI searched.
\nNothing.
\nThen I found an envelope inside the torn red envelope.
\nNASHVILLE.
\nInside were photocopies.
\nSchool registration.
\nA church bulletin.
\nA newspaper clipping.
\nThe clipping showed a young woman receiving a college scholarship.
\nEMILY ROSE CARTER.
\nI stopped breathing at the middle name.
\nRose.
\nRosie.
\nThe name I had supposedly called my baby in the hospital.
\nRebecca saw it too.
\n\u201cRose.\u201d
\nI nodded.
\n\u201cMama knew.\u201d
\nWayne spoke behind us.
\n\u201cShe suspected.\u201d
\nI turned.
\n\u201cDid you?\u201d
\nHe did not answer.
\nBlake said, \u201cAnswer.\u201d
\nWayne sighed.
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nMy heart hammered.
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\n\u201cYears ago.\u201d
\n\u201cYou knew where she was?\u201d
\n\u201cI knew where Evelyn believed she was.\u201d
\n\u201cDid you contact her?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\nHe laughed bitterly.
\n\u201cWhat would I say? Hello, I helped destroy your biological mother\u2019s life?\u201d
\nAt least he understood one thing.
\nRebecca held up the clipping.
\n\u201cWhere is Emily now?\u201d
\nI checked the date.
\nThe article was from 2002.
\nNothing newer.
\nThen Rebecca found another piece of paper.
\nA printed email.
\nDated only four months ago.
\nFrom an address beginning with emily.carter.
\nTo Mama.
\nMy hands started shaking.
\nRebecca read the first line aloud.
\n\u201cMrs. Mercer, I received your letter.\u201d
\nWe looked at each other.
\nMama had contacted her.
\nI grabbed the email.
\nMrs. Mercer,
\nI received your letter. I don\u2019t know what to believe. The people who raised me told me my biological mother died shortly after childbirth. I have no reason to doubt them, but some of the things you included are difficult to explain.
\nI am willing to meet once.
\nPlease do not contact my parents.
\nEmily.
\nI turned the page.
\nNothing.
\n\u201cDid they meet?\u201d
\nRebecca asked.
\nI looked at Margaret.
\n\u201cDid Mama tell you about Emily?\u201d
\nMargaret shook her head.
\n\u201cNot by name.\u201d
\n\u201cBut she visited you six days before she died.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d
\nMargaret closed her eyes, trying to remember.
\n\u201cShe said, \u2018I found the second rose.\u2019\u201d
\nMy heart stopped.
\n\u201cThe second rose?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nRebecca covered her mouth.
\nI looked again at the email.
\nEmily Rose Carter.
\nMama had found her.
\n\u201cWhere was the meeting?\u201d
\nI searched the paperwork.
\nThen Thomas bent down and picked up a small receipt from beneath the coffee table.
\n\u201cLinda.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nHe held it out.
\nCoffee.
\nTwo drinks.
\nSix days before Mama died.
\nExactly the day she had visited Margaret.
\nThe location was a cafe in Jackson, Tennessee.
\nAnd on the back Mama had written:
\nEmily came.
\nShe has Linda\u2019s hands.
\nI sank back onto my heels.
\nMama had met my daughter.
\nThe second one.
\nShe had been close enough to see her hands.
\nClose enough to hear her voice.
\nAnd then Mama died less than a week later.
\nDeputy Blake took the receipt carefully.
\n\u201cDid Wayne know about this?\u201d
\nRussell had said Wayne discovered Mama was asking questions.
\nI looked at him.
\n\u201cDid you know?\u201d
\nWayne did not answer.
\n\u201cDid you know Mama met Emily?\u201d
\nHis silence told me everything.
\n\u201cDid you follow her?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cDid Russell?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cThen how did you know?\u201d
\nWayne looked toward the floor.
\nBlake stepped closer.
\n\u201cHow?\u201d
\nWayne\u2019s jaw tightened.
\n\u201cEvelyn called me.\u201d
\nThat surprised me.
\n\u201cMama called you?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\n\u201cThe night after she met Emily.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\nWayne swallowed.
\n\u201cTo tell me it was over.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat was over?\u201d
\n\u201cThe secret.\u201d
\nI stared at him.
\n\u201cShe said she was telling both girls.\u201d
\nRebecca whispered, \u201cBoth?\u201d
\nWayne nodded.
\n\u201cShe planned to bring Linda, Rebecca, and Emily together.\u201d
\nMy chest tightened.
\nMama had finally chosen truth.
\nFar too late.
\nBut she had chosen it.
\n\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d
\n\u201cI told her she was making a mistake.\u201d
\n\u201cThen?\u201d
\n\u201cShe hung up.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd the next morning?\u201d
\n\u201cI went to her house.\u201d
\nMargaret gasped.
\nRussell had told me he arrived first.
\nWayne had said Russell called him.
\nI looked at Blake.
\n\u201cHe just changed his story.\u201d
\nBlake\u2019s expression hardened.
\n\u201cYes, he did.\u201d
\nWayne immediately realized what he had done.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nI stood.
\n\u201cYou were there before Russell.\u201d
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t say that.\u201d
\n\u201cYou said you went to Mama\u2019s house the next morning.\u201d
\n\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cWhat time?\u201d
\nHe stopped.
\n\u201cWhat time, Wayne?\u201d
\nBlake moved closer.
\n\u201cAnswer.\u201d
\nWayne looked cornered.
\n\u201cSix-thirty.\u201d
\nMy blood went cold.
\nRussell said he arrived around seven.
\nWayne had already been there.
\n\u201cWhat happened at six-thirty?\u201d
\n\u201cI knocked.\u201d
\n\u201cDid she answer?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cSo Mama was alive and awake.\u201d
\nWayne said nothing.
\nI stepped closer.
\n\u201cShe let you inside?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat did you argue about?\u201d
\n\u201cEmily.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat else?\u201d
\n\u201cThe land.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat else?\u201d
\n\u201cThe hospital records.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat else?\u201d
\nHe looked at me.
\n\u201cYou.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat did Mama say?\u201d
\nWayne\u2019s voice dropped.
\n\u201cShe said she was going to spend whatever time she had left fixing what we did to you.\u201d
\n\u201cWe?\u201d
\nHe closed his eyes.
\nThere it was.
\nNot they.
\nWe.
\n\u201cYou admitted it.\u201d
\n\u201cI admitted nothing.\u201d
\n\u201cYou said what we did.\u201d
\nHe looked toward Blake.
\n\u201cI want my lawyer.\u201d
\nBlake nodded to his partner.
\n\u201cTake him outside.\u201d
\nWayne was handcuffed.
\nAs they led him toward the porch, he twisted around.
\n\u201cLinda.\u201d
\nI ignored him.
\n\u201cLINDA.\u201d
\nI looked.
\nHis face had changed.
\nThe arrogance was gone.
\n\u201cEmily isn\u2019t safe.\u201d
\nMy heart stopped.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nBlake grabbed Wayne\u2019s arm.
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\nWayne looked straight at me.
\n\u201cBecause if Evelyn found her, somebody else could too.\u201d
\n\u201cWho?\u201d
\nHe shook his head.
\n\u201cYou still think Warren was the worst man involved.\u201d
\nMy stomach twisted.
\n\u201cWho else was involved?\u201d
\nBut Blake\u2019s partner pulled him outside.
\nI ran to the porch.
\n\u201cWAYNE!\u201d
\nHe looked back as they placed him beside the cruiser.
\n\u201cWho?\u201d
\n\u201cFind the delivery log.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cThe original one.\u201d
\n\u201cMargaret said Mama put it in box 419.\u201d
\nWayne laughed.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nMargaret stepped onto the porch behind me.
\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d
\n\u201cThe blue envelope does not contain the delivery log.\u201d
\nShe went pale.
\n\u201cHow do you know?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause Pierce kept the original.\u201d
\nMy hands clenched.
\n\u201cWhere?\u201d
\nWayne looked at me.
\n\u201cAsk his widow.\u201d
\nThen the deputy placed him inside the cruiser.
\nI turned to Margaret.
\n\u201cPierce was married?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cIs his wife alive?\u201d
\n\u201cI think so.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere?\u201d
\n\u201cLast I heard, she was living in Memphis.\u201d
\nRebecca stepped onto the porch.
\n\u201cI\u2019m coming.\u201d
\nI looked at her.
\nShe looked overwhelmed.
\nTerrified.
\nAngry.
\nAnd somehow still strong.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t have to.\u201d
\n\u201cYes, I do.\u201d
\n\u201cRebecca\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cI found out twenty minutes ago that my mother is alive.\u201d
\nHer voice shook.
\n\u201cThen I found out I may have a twin sister.\u201d
\nShe held up Emily\u2019s photograph.
\n\u201cI am not going home to make dinner and pretend today didn\u2019t happen.\u201d
\nDespite everything, something inside me warmed.
\nShe sounded like me.
\nExactly like me.
\nMargaret whispered, \u201cWe should open box 419 first.\u201d
\nThomas nodded.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s right.\u201d
\nWe returned to the bank with Deputy Blake following.
\nWayne was taken separately for questioning.
\nRussell remained at the station.
\nBy the time we reached First County, the sun was nearly down.
\nMargaret produced identification.
\nThomas verified her access.
\nThen the three of us stood in front of box 419.
\nMargaret inserted her key.
\nThomas inserted the bank key.
\nThe lock clicked.
\nShe pulled out the box.
\nWe carried it into the private room.
\nInside was one blue envelope.
\nNothing else.
\nMy name was written across it.
\nLINDA \u2014 IF I FAIL AGAIN.
\nMy hands shook.
\nI opened it.
\nThe first page was Mama\u2019s handwriting.
\nLinda,
\nIf you are reading this, then I either found the courage to tell you, or I ran out of time.
\nI am sorry does not cover what I did.
\nI allowed fear to make decisions that belonged to you.
\nYou had two daughters.
\nI held both.
\nYou held both.
\nYou named them Rebecca and Rose.
\nTears blurred the words.
\nRebecca squeezed my hand.
\nI kept reading.
\nWayne wanted you to forget because the truth about their father would destroy several men who believed themselves untouchable.
\nI stopped.
\nTheir father.
\nSingular.
\nSame father.
\nRebecca and Emily were twins.
\nI continued.
\nJudge Warren was not the father.
\nDavid was not the father.
\nThe birth certificates were altered to create confusion if anyone ever investigated.
\nThe truth is in the original delivery log, but Pierce took it.
\nI tried for years to recover it.
\nI failed.
\nHowever, there is one person who knows the father\u2019s identity.
\nMargaret leaned closer.
\nRebecca whispered, \u201cWho?\u201d
\nI turned the page.
\nMama had written a name.
\nI stared at it.
\nNo.
\nI read it again.
\nStill no.
\nThomas saw my face.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nI could not speak.
\nRebecca took the letter from my shaking hands.
\nHer eyes moved to the final line.
\nThen she looked at me.
\n\u201cDo you know him?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWho is he?\u201d
\nI swallowed.
\nThe name Mama had written belonged to someone I had trusted more than anyone as a teenager.
\nSomeone who had visited me in the hospital.
\nSomeone who had cried beside Mama at David\u2019s funeral.
\nSomeone who was still alive.
\nSomeone who had been at Mama\u2019s funeral three days earlier.
\nReverend James Coleman.
\nMy high school youth pastor.
\nRebecca looked confused.
\n\u201cA pastor?\u201d
\nI could barely breathe.
\n\u201cHe was twenty-nine when I was seventeen.\u201d
\nMargaret whispered, \u201cOh God.\u201d
\nThen my phone rang.
\nUnknown number.
\nI answered.
\n\u201cHello?\u201d
\nA woman\u2019s voice.
\n\u201cIs this Linda Mercer?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cMy name is Emily Carter.\u201d
\nEverything inside me stopped.
\nRebecca\u2019s eyes widened.
\nI put the phone on speaker.
\nEmily continued.
\n\u201cI found your number in Evelyn\u2019s papers.\u201d
\nMy throat closed.
\n\u201cYou knew Mama?\u201d
\n\u201cShe came to see me last week.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to call you.\u201d
\nMy eyes filled.
\n\u201cBut something happened.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nThere was a long silence.
\nThen Emily whispered, \u201cA man came to my house this morning asking whether Evelyn told me who my biological mother was.\u201d
\nRebecca grabbed my hand.
\n\u201cWho was he?\u201d
\nEmily\u2019s breathing became shaky.
\n\u201cHe said his name was Reverend James Coleman.\u201d
\nMy blood turned cold.
\n\u201cWhat did he want?\u201d
\n\u201cHe wanted the letter Evelyn gave me.\u201d
\n\u201cDid you give it to him?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere are you now?\u201d
\nAnother silence.
\n\u201cLinda\u2026\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cHe came back tonight.\u201d
\nI stood.
\n\u201cAre you safe?\u201d
\n\u201cI locked myself in my bedroom.\u201d
\n\u201cCall the police.\u201d
\n\u201cI did.\u201d
\n\u201cGood.\u201d
\n\u201cI think he\u2019s still downstairs.\u201d
\nRebecca covered her mouth.
\nI could hear something through the phone.
\nA crash.
\nThen footsteps.
\nEmily whispered, \u201cOh my God.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cHe got inside.\u201d
\n\u201cEmily, stay on the phone.\u201d
\nThe line crackled.
\nThen I heard a man\u2019s voice in the distance.
\n\u201cEmily?\u201d
\nMy whole body froze.
\nI knew that voice.
\nOlder now.
\nDeeper.
\nBut I knew it.
\nReverend Coleman.
\nThe same voice that had prayed over Mama\u2019s coffin.
\nThe same man who had hugged me at the funeral and whispered, \u201cYour mother carried many burdens.\u201d
\nEmily started crying.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s coming upstairs.\u201d
\n\u201cHide.\u201d
\n\u201cI am.\u201d
\n\u201cPolice are coming.\u201d
\n\u201cHow do you know?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2014\u201d
\nThe bedroom door on her end rattled.
\nRebecca shouted toward the phone.
\n\u201cEmily! Move something in front of the door!\u201d
\nSilence.
\nThen another violent bang.
\nEmily gasped.
\n\u201cLinda?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cIf something happens\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cNothing is happening.\u201d
\n\u201cPlease listen.\u201d
\n\u201cEmily\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cEvelyn gave me a photograph.\u201d
\nMy heart pounded.
\n\u201cOf what?\u201d
\n\u201cThe night we were born.\u201d
\nAnother crash.
\nThen Emily said the sentence that changed the direction of everything.
\n\u201cReverend Coleman is in it.\u201d
\nMy hands went cold.
\n\u201cBut he isn\u2019t standing beside you.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere is he?\u201d
\nEmily\u2019s voice became a whisper.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s holding one of us.\u201d
\nRebecca stared at the phone.
\n\u201cWhich one?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\nThen the bedroom door splintered.
\nEmily screamed.
\nThe call went dead\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 6\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

CLICK HERE CONTINUE TO READ PART 6 \u2013 After Mama\u2019s funeral, I found $18,940 hidden in flour\u2014and a note my brother dismissed instantly.<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n