Chapter 8: The Mother I Thought I Knew
For several seconds, I couldn’t understand the words.
Not because I didn’t hear them.
Because my mind refused to accept them.
“My mother?””
Jason’s voice came through the phone.
“Sarah, listen to me.””
“No.””
I walked away from the kitchen table.
“No, you don’t get to drop something like that on me and tell me to listen.””
Ethan stood slowly.
“Who is it?””
I looked at him.
“My mother.””
The color drained from his face.
That reaction told me something.
He knew that name.
Or at least he knew what it meant.
I gripped the phone tighter.
“Jason, explain.””
“I found the original authorization form.””
“You keep saying original.””
“Because the copies were altered.””
My heart pounded.
“And my mother’s name is on it?””
“No.””
I stopped.
“What?””
Jason took a breath.
“The person who requested the test used your mother’s medical information.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“It means someone used her identity.””
The room went quiet.
I looked at Ethan.
He was staring at the folder.
“Jason,” I said slowly, “why would someone use my mother’s information?””
“I don’t know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“No.””
His voice sounded exhausted.
“But I need you to know something.””
“What?””
“I never knew about this part.””
I almost laughed.
“Of course.””
“Sarah.””
“No, Jason.””
I looked around my kitchen.
At the life I had built.
At all the people who had been keeping secrets.
“You always know just enough to hurt me.””
“That’s not fair.””
I closed my eyes.
“Fair?””
The word came out sharper than I intended.
“My husband lied about my daughter’s birth.””
Silence.
“My mother might have been involved.””
Silence.
“And you’re asking me to worry about what’s fair?””
Jason didn’t answer.
Because he knew.
“Where are you?””
“At the house.””
“With who?””
I looked at Ethan.
“The man you erased from our lives.””
Jason went quiet.
Then:
“Sarah, please be careful.””
I froze.
“Careful?””
“Yes.””
“With Ethan?””
“No.””
His voice lowered.
“With everyone.””
The call ended.
I stood there staring at my phone.
Because for the first time all night, Jason had said something that didn’t sound like a defense.
It sounded like a warning.
“My mother.””
I said the words out loud.
They felt strange.
Like they belonged to someone else’s story.
Ethan sat back down.
“You should talk to her.””
I looked at him.
“Do you know something?””
He hesitated.
That hesitation made my stomach turn.
“What?””
“I know your mother’s name came up in the investigation.””
“Investigation?””
“My father looked into the hospital records.””
“And?””
“He found financial records.””
I frowned.
“What kind?””
“Payments.””
“From who?””
“An account connected to your mother.””
The room spun slightly.
“No.””
Ethan didn’t argue.
He just opened the folder.
There was a printed bank statement.
I looked at the name.
My mother.
My mother who had helped me choose Lily’s first blanket.
My mother who cried when she became a grandmother.
My mother who had told me Jason was a good man.
I felt sick.
“What was the payment for?””
“We don’t know.””
“Then how do you know it’s connected?””
“Because the payment was made two days before the first DNA request.””
I stared at the date.
Two days.
Before.
I remembered that time.
The chaos.
The hospital room.
The exhaustion.
My mother sitting beside me.
Holding my hand.
“You’re going to be okay,” she had whispered.
Was that true?
Or was she comforting me while helping hide something?
I pushed the thought away.
“No.””
Ethan looked at me.
“No?””
“I need to hear it from her.””
“That might not be easy.””
I grabbed my phone.
I didn’t hesitate.
I called.
One ring.
Two.
Three.
Then voicemail.
I called again.
This time she answered.
“Sarah?””
Her voice sounded normal.
Warm.
The same voice I had known my entire life.
And suddenly, that hurt the most.
“Mom.””
A pause.
“What happened? Are you okay?””
I almost broke.
Because she sounded concerned.
Like my mother.
Like the woman who protected me.
“I need to ask you something.””
Her voice changed slightly.
“What?””
“Did you request a DNA test after Lily was born?””
Silence.
Only a few seconds.
But enough.
Enough for me to know.
“Sarah…”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“Did you?””
Another silence.
Then:
“Where did you hear that?””
I closed my eyes.
Not denial.
Not confusion.
A question.
“You did.””
“No.””
But the way she said it was wrong.
Too fast.
Too practiced.
“Mom.””
“Sarah, listen to me.””
“No.””
My voice cracked.
“Everyone keeps telling me to listen.””
I looked at Ethan.
“I’ve spent seven years listening to people who lied to me.””
My mother became quiet.
“Who told you?””
“Answer me.””
A long pause.
Then she whispered:
“I was trying to protect you.””
The words made my chest hurt.
“From what?””
“From losing everything.””
I laughed bitterly.
“That’s what everyone says.””
“Sarah.””
“Did you fake my signature?””
Silence.
That was all I needed.
My mother finally spoke.
“I didn’t do it alone.””
The room went still.
My breath caught.
“What?””
“I was trying to fix a mistake.””
“What mistake?””
Another pause.
Then she said:
“The night Lily was born…”
I waited.
“Jason wasn’t the only one who knew about Ethan.””
My heart stopped.
“What does that mean?””
“It means I knew about him before you did.””
I sat down.
“How?””
“Because he called me.””
The phone slipped slightly against my ear.
“He called you?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“The day before Lily was born.””
I stared at the floor.
“Why?””
My mother’s voice broke.
“He wanted to tell you he was coming back.””
I couldn’t speak.
“And I thought…”
She stopped.
“What?””
“I thought he was going to destroy your life.””
My chest tightened.
“You decided that?””
“I was your mother.””
“No.””
The word came out quietly.
“You were my mother.””
A pause.
“But you made a decision for me.””
She started crying.
“I was scared.””
Everyone was scared.
That was becoming the family’s favorite excuse.
“What did you do?””
“I asked for the test.””
“And the fake signature?””
“I didn’t create that.””
“Then who did?””
Silence.
“Mom.””
She whispered:
“Jason’s mother.””
I froze.
“What?””
“She had access to the paperwork.””
I looked at Ethan.
He closed his eyes.
Like he had expected it.
My mother continued.
“Diane wanted proof that Ethan wasn’t going to come back.””
“But Ethan was Lily’s father.””
“I know that now.””
“No.””
My voice hardened.
“You knew.””
My mother went quiet.
“You knew?””
“I suspected.””
“Suspected?””
“You were happy with Jason.””
The words cut.
“You thought you were protecting my happiness?””
“Yes.””
“You destroyed my ability to choose.””
“I was trying to save you.””
“No.””
I wiped my tears.
“You were trying to save the life you wanted me to have.””
My mother didn’t answer.
Because she knew.
I looked at Ethan.
Then at the documents.
Everything was connected.
Everyone had a reason.
Everyone had an excuse.
And somehow, I was the only person who never got a choice.
“Mom.””
“Yes?””
“One more question.””
“What?””
“Did Lily’s original birth record ever list Ethan as her father?””
Silence.
Longer this time.
Then:
“Yes.””
My heart stopped.
“Where is it?””
“I don’t know.””
“Mom.””
“I don’t know!””
Her voice cracked.
Then she whispered:
“But Diane does.””
I closed my eyes.
“Why?””
My mother’s answer was barely audible.
“Because she was the one who made sure it disappeared.””
The call ended.
I sat there holding my phone.
Ethan looked at me.
“She knew.””
I nodded.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
From an unknown number.
I opened it.
There was a photo attached.
A hospital document.
The top line read:
*Birth Certificate Correction Request*
My hands started shaking.
Because underneath the names…
was a date.
A date three years after Lily was born.
And beside it was a note.
A handwritten note.
Five words.
*Do not let Sarah know.*
I stared at the signature beneath it.
Because I recognized it.
It wasn’t Jason’s.
It wasn’t Diane’s.
May you like
It wasn’t my mother’s.
It was mine.
