Chapter 5: The Death Certificate With Two Names
My mother had barely finished speaking when Daniel seized the back of a chair.
“What are you talking about?””
Laura pressed her hands against her chest.
“I never wanted this to happen.””
“Who died?”” I demanded.
She looked at me, then at Daniel, then at the memory card on the table.
“I can't.””
“You have to!””
My father stepped forward.
“Emily, this is enough for tonight.””
I turned on him.
“You lost that right when you left my mother on the side of a road.””
His face crumpled.
I didn't care.
Rebecca picked up the memory card and held it out to me.
“The footage will explain some of it. But before you watch it, you should know that the hospital recorded two deaths that night.””
Daniel stared at her.
“Two?””
Rebecca nodded.
“Elena Hayes was pronounced dead at 12:43 a.m. The second death was recorded under a different name.””
“Whose name?”” I asked.
Rebecca hesitated.
Then she looked at Michael.
“Michael knows.””
My father said nothing.
I felt anger rise so quickly that my hands began to shake.
“Tell me!””
He closed his eyes.
“An infant.””
The word seemed to drain all the sound from the room.
I stared at him.
“What infant?””
My mother sank back onto the sofa.
I looked at the two birth certificates in my hands.
One listed my birthday as October 19.
The other listed it as November 12.
A cold thought began forming in my mind, and I desperately wanted someone to tell me it was impossible.
“Was there another baby at St. Mary's that night?””
Nobody answered.
I looked at Rebecca.
She nodded once.
“Yes.””
“Was that baby me?””
Rebecca's face tightened.
“No.””
The room spun.
I gripped the table.
“Then who was I?””
Rebecca sat down opposite me.
“Emily, there were two baby girls delivered at St. Mary's that night. One was Elena's daughter. The other belonged to a woman named Catherine Brooks.””
Daniel frowned.
“Catherine Brooks?””
“She was admitted shortly before Elena. She gave birth prematurely, and the baby had serious complications.””
My mother stared at the floor.
I could barely breathe.
“What happened to Catherine's baby?””
Rebecca's eyes filled with tears.
“She died shortly after midnight.””
I closed my eyes.
The words hurt, but I didn't yet understand why they had anything to do with me.
Then Rebecca continued.
“Catherine had no family nearby. She was alone in the hospital. She had been told her daughter wasn't going to survive, and when the baby died, she was devastated.””
My mother whispered, “She was screaming.””
I looked at her.
“You were there?””
Laura nodded.
“I went to the hospital because Michael told me Elena had been in an accident. He said the baby was safe, but he wanted me to come before the police arrived.””
My father stared at her.
“You weren't supposed to say that.””
She ignored him.
“When I arrived, Rebecca told me Elena was still alive. She also told me the baby had been moved to another room.””
Rebecca shook her head.
“No. I told you Elena was alive. You went looking for the baby yourself.””
My mother began crying.
“I thought I could fix everything.””
“How?”” I asked.
She looked at me with an expression so full of shame that I almost wished she would stop talking.
“Michael had told me that Elena was unstable. He said she had been involved in something dangerous. He convinced me that if she got you back, you would be taken away from both of us.””
“That doesn't explain anything.””
“I know.””
“Why did you go to the hospital?””
My mother pressed her fingers to her temples.
“Because Michael said the baby had to be moved before Elena recovered. He said he had arranged for a private adoption. He said it would be legal.””
Rebecca interrupted.
“There was no private adoption.””
Laura nodded miserably.
“I know that now.””
I stared at her.
“What did you do?””
She took a trembling breath.
“I went into the nursery.””
Daniel stepped toward her.
“What?””
“I wanted to see you. I wanted to hold you. I thought if I could just see you, I could make the right decision.””
My mother began to shake.
“Catherine was in the next room. She was crying so hard that a nurse had given her medication. Her daughter had died, and she kept asking to see the baby one more time.””
I felt a terrible pressure in my chest.
“What happened next?””
Laura looked at Rebecca.
Rebecca's face was pale.
“Laura picked up Elena's baby,” she said.
“Then she walked into Catherine's room.””
My mother covered her face.
“I thought I was helping her.””
I stared at her.
“What did you do?””
“I told Catherine that her daughter had survived.””
The words seemed to stop my heart.
I gripped the edge of the table.
“No.””
My mother looked at me.
“Emily—”
“No. Don't say my name.””
Tears streamed down her face.
“I thought she needed something to live for. She had just lost her baby. She was alone, and she was begging God for another chance.””
“So you gave her someone else's child?””
“I didn't know what else to do!””
“You knew exactly what you were doing!””
My shout echoed through the room.
My father stepped forward, but Daniel blocked him.
“Stay where you are.””
Michael glared at him.
“You don't get to tell me what to do.””
“You've done enough.””
I looked at Rebecca.
“Was I Elena's baby?””
“Yes.””
“Did my mother give me to Catherine?””
Rebecca shook her head.
“No. Catherine never took you home. Laura left the room before the other nurses discovered what had happened.””
I looked at my mother.
She couldn't meet my eyes.
“What happened to Catherine?””
“She was told her baby had died,” Rebecca said.
“She never knew Laura had taken Elena's baby into her room.””
“Then why did you say there were two deaths?””
Rebecca lowered her voice.
“Because Catherine's baby died, and Elena died. But the records were changed so that it appeared Elena's baby had died, too.””
I looked down at the birth certificates.
My hands were numb.
“So the baby who died was Catherine's daughter, but the hospital records said it was me?””
Rebecca nodded.
“Michael arranged the change. He wanted Elena's baby to disappear from the hospital records so he could keep raising you without interference.””
“And Mom helped him.””
“Yes.””
My mother made a small sound.
I turned toward her.
“You told me my birthday was November 12 because you wanted to hide the day Elena died.””
She nodded.
“Michael said it would protect you.””
“From what?””
“From the truth.””
I stared at her.
“You protected yourself.””
She didn't argue.
For the first time, I saw her without the comforting stories I had built around her. She was a woman who had been afraid of losing something she wanted so badly that she had convinced herself another woman's grief was a problem she could solve.
But I still didn't understand the second birth certificate.
“Why was the original certificate amended?”” I asked Rebecca.
“Because the hospital had two records that contradicted each other. Michael persuaded an administrator to change the details after Elena died.””
“Persuaded how?””
Rebecca opened her notebook and pointed to an entry.
“Money. He made payments to people who could make the paperwork disappear.””
My father finally spoke.
“I was trying to keep Emily safe.””
I looked at him.
“Stop saying that.””
He swallowed.
“You were my daughter. I loved you.””
“Then why did you make everyone lie?””
“Because I knew what would happen if the truth came out!””
“What would happen?””
He looked toward Daniel.
Daniel's expression had changed.
He no longer looked angry.
He looked horrified.
“Michael,” Daniel said quietly.
“What else did you do?””
My father stared at him.
Nothing.
Daniel reached into his coat and pulled out a folded document.
“I received this two weeks ago. I didn't understand what it meant until tonight.””
He placed it on the table.
It was a hospital report.
The patient was Catherine Brooks.
The date was October 19, 2009.
At the bottom, a handwritten note read:
Patient claims infant returned to nursery was not the child delivered. Requests genetic confirmation.
I stared at the paper.
“Catherine knew?””
Rebecca nodded.
“She suspected something was wrong.””
“Did she get the test?””
“No.””
“Why not?””
Rebecca's eyes moved toward my father.
“Because the request was canceled the following morning.””
My father rubbed his face.
“I didn't know about that report.””
Daniel pointed to the bottom of the page.
“Your signature is on the cancellation.””
Michael looked down.
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Then my phone rang.
The unknown number.
I answered without speaking.
A woman's voice came through, thin and trembling.
“Emily Carter?””
“Who is this?””
“My name is Catherine Brooks.””
I stopped breathing.
The woman continued.
“I've been searching for my daughter for seventeen years. Someone sent me a photograph of you today.””
My mother began shaking her head.
Catherine's voice broke.
“I know this will sound impossible, but I think you may be the only person who can help me.””
I gripped the phone.
“What do you want?””
May you like
There was a long pause.
Then she said, “I want to know why the baby I buried seventeen years ago had a different blood type from mine.””
