Chapter 6: The Daughter They Stole From Me
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
The adoption document lay on Dr. Reed's desk. My forged signature stared back at me, perfectly reproduced beneath Vanessa's name.
Eighteen years.
Someone had taken eighteen years of my daughter's life and hidden her existence from me.
And my wife had apparently known about it all along.
I called Vanessa.
She answered after the first ring.
“Daniel?””
“Where is she?””
Silence.
“Where is who?””
“Don't insult me. I have the adoption papers. I have the photograph. I know about Emily's baby.””
Her breathing changed.
Then she whispered, “You weren't supposed to find those documents.””
I closed my eyes.
“Where is my daughter?””
“I don't know where she is now.””
“Now?””
“Daniel, please listen—”
“You knew she survived the accident?””
A long silence followed.
“Yes.””
The word came out so quietly that I almost missed it.
I gripped the phone.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“And you let me bury Emily believing our second child had died?””
Vanessa began crying.
“I didn't have a choice.””
“You always had a choice.””
“Richard said you would lose everything if you found out.””
“What did he threaten you with?””
“He said he would expose everything about me. He said he had evidence that could put me in prison.””
I looked at Evelyn.
She was already writing something down.
“Where is my daughter?”” I repeated.
Vanessa sobbed.
“Her name is Olivia.””
I felt my knees weaken.
Olivia.
Emily had always loved that name.
When she was pregnant with Maya, she had kept a notebook filled with baby names. Olivia had been written on the first page, circled twice.
I had forgotten that.
Or perhaps I had buried the memory because remembering Emily hurt too much.
“Where is Olivia?”” I asked again.
Vanessa hesitated.
“She was raised by another family.””
“Which family?””
“I can't tell you.””
“Why?””
“Because Richard will hurt her.””
I ended the call.
Maya was watching me.
“Dad, we have a sister?””
I crouched in front of her.
“It looks that way.””
“Is she alive?””
I nodded.
Maya covered her mouth.
For a moment, she looked like a little girl again, not the brave teenager who had exposed an entire conspiracy in front of a ballroom full of people.
“Can we meet her?””
“I'll find her.””
I promised her that.
And I meant it.
Dr. Reed handed me the photograph of Olivia.
“Your father came to see me several times,” he said.
“He was convinced the child had been placed with someone connected to the family.””
“Did he ever find out who?””
The doctor shook his head.
“He got close. Shortly before his death, he asked me to prepare a second sealed report. He said he would collect it personally.””
“Why didn't he?””
“He died before he could return.””
Evelyn examined the adoption form.
“This document is not a standard adoption agreement. It appears to be a temporary guardianship transfer.””
“Meaning?””
“Someone could have moved the baby without completing a legal adoption.””
I stared at her.
“So where did she go?””
Evelyn pointed to a small reference number at the bottom.
“There's an agency code here. I recognize it.””
“What agency?””
“Bright Futures Family Services.””
I remembered the name.
It was a charity organization Richard had supported for years.
He had even persuaded me to donate a substantial amount through Hayes Holdings.
I laughed bitterly.
“My brother used our own charity to steal my daughter.””
Evelyn didn't disagree.
“We need the original agency records.””
Dr. Reed shook his head.
“Bright Futures closed three years ago.””
“Who took over its records?””
“I don't know.””
Evelyn looked at the document again.
“I do.””
She called a former colleague and asked for the name of the organization's legal custodian.
Twenty minutes later, she had an address.
The records had been transferred to a private storage facility outside the city.
I wanted to leave immediately.
But Maya touched my arm.
“Dad, what about the baby?””
I looked at the empty space beside us.
Our son was still with Vanessa.
I had been so focused on Olivia that I had almost forgotten the other child caught in this mess.
“We'll find him too.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“Daniel, we need to be careful. Richard has already filed for temporary guardianship.””
“I'm not abandoning either child.””
“No one is asking you to.””
She placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Your brother wants you to act emotionally. Every angry phone call, every confrontation, every impulsive decision becomes evidence for his petition.””
I forced myself to sit.
She was right.
Richard had spent years studying my weaknesses.
He knew I reacted strongly when someone threatened my family.
He knew I would rush toward danger without considering the consequences.
And he was using that knowledge against me.
At six that evening, we arrived at the storage facility.
A woman named Helen Morris met us at the entrance. She was a former administrator of Bright Futures.
When Evelyn explained who I was, Helen looked frightened.
“Mr. Hayes, I wondered when someone from your family would come.””
“Did you know about my daughter?””
Helen looked down.
“Yes.””
My hands curled into fists.
“Who raised her?””
“I can't disclose that without reviewing the authorization.””
I placed the adoption document on the counter.
“Then review it.””
Helen studied the signature.
Her face changed.
“This isn't the document we received.””
“What?””
“The original guardianship file was different.””
“Where is it?””
She led us into a small office.
Inside, she opened an old filing cabinet and removed a folder.
The first page showed Emily's name.
The second contained a hospital transfer.
The third listed the temporary guardians.
I read the names.
*Margaret and Thomas Bennett.*
I didn't recognize them.
But Helen did.
“Mr. and Mrs. Bennett were approved foster guardians. They lived in a town about two hours from here.””
“Do they still have my daughter?””
Helen hesitated.
“Mr. Bennett died several years ago. Mrs. Bennett moved away.””
“Where?””
She searched the file.
“There's a forwarding address.””
Evelyn copied it.
Then I noticed something.
A handwritten note appeared beside Olivia's name.
*Child informed of biological history at age sixteen. Contact requested by maternal family.*
I looked at Helen.
“Who requested contact?””
She swallowed.
“Your mother.””
I stared.
“My mother died six years ago.””
Helen nodded.
“She visited the agency before her death. She wanted to tell the girl who her biological father was.””
“Did she?””
“I don't know. The request was denied.””
“By whom?””
Helen turned the page.
The authorization carried Richard's signature.
He had blocked my mother from contacting her own granddaughter.
I felt something break inside me.
Maya moved closer.
“Grandma knew?””
I nodded.
“And Uncle Richard stopped her?””
“Yes.””
Maya looked at the paper.
“Why would he do that?””
I had no answer.
Helen placed another photograph on the desk.
It showed Olivia at sixteen, standing beside Margaret Bennett.
She was smiling.
Behind them was a school building.
On the back, someone had written:
*She asks about her father every birthday.*
I couldn't look at it for long.
Then Helen spoke.
“There's something else you should know.””
I turned.
“Your daughter contacted this agency six months ago.””
My heart began racing.
“What did she ask?””
“She wanted to know whether her biological father was alive.””
“Did you tell her?””
Helen shook her head.
“Someone had already requested that all inquiries be redirected.””
“Who?””
She turned the computer screen toward me.
The account responsible for blocking Olivia's request belonged to a woman.
*Vanessa Hayes.*
Maya stepped backward.
“She was stopping our sister from finding us?””
Helen nodded.
I stared at the screen.
My wife hadn't simply participated in a scheme.
She had actively prevented my daughter from finding her family.
And now I understood why Richard had introduced Vanessa into my life.
She hadn't been selected merely because she could make me fall in love.
She had been selected because she could keep two children separated from their father.
My phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
*Mr. Hayes, my name is Olivia Bennett. I think you might be my father.*
A second message followed.
*But before we meet, I need to ask you something.*
Then came a photograph.
It showed Olivia standing beside a young man in a hospital corridor.
The man was holding a newborn baby.
The caption read:
*Is this the same family that took my sister away?*
I stared at the photograph.
May you like
Because the young man was Richard's son.
And the newborn in his arms was wearing the silver bracelet with my family name.
