Chapter 2: Two Babies, One Name
The ambulance arrived twelve minutes later.
By then, the wedding had turned into a crime scene.
Guests were being questioned. Security guards blocked the elevators. Several people were filming everything on their phones.
Nathaniel refused to leave his mother's side.
Victoria sat on a velvet chair, wrapped in a white blanket, pretending to be traumatized.
I stood near the emergency medical team, still wearing my borrowed black uniform.
My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
A paramedic approached Eleanor.
“Mrs. Callaway, can you hear me?””
Eleanor opened her eyes.
“Rose?””
“I'm here.””
She grabbed my fingers.
“Don't let them take the photograph.””
The paramedic gently touched her shoulder.
“We need to get you to the hospital.””
Eleanor looked toward Nathaniel.
“Not without my son.””
Nathaniel bent down.
“I'm coming with you, Mom.””
Her expression tightened.
“Not you alone.””
He frowned.
“What?””
She looked at me.
“Both of you.””
Victoria suddenly stood.
“This is ridiculous. Nathaniel, your mother needs medical attention, not a family reunion with a catering girl.””
Nathaniel turned slowly.
“Victoria, sit down.””
“I'm your fiancée.””
“You were.””
The words fell into the silence.
Victoria's face went white.
“You can't cancel our wedding because of a misunderstanding.””
Nathaniel glanced at the tablet still displaying the recording.
“A misunderstanding?””
She swallowed.
“I was trying to protect your mother from falling.””
“Your hands were on her shoulders.””
“She attacked me!””
Eleanor lifted her head.
“Liar.””
The paramedic asked her to lie still.
Victoria picked up her handbag.
“I'm leaving.””
Marcus blocked her path.
“I'm afraid you can't.””
“Move.””
“Mr. Callaway's instructions.””
Victoria stared at Nathaniel.
“You're making a mistake.””
Nathaniel didn't answer.
Instead, he followed the paramedics toward the elevator.
I was about to follow when Victoria grabbed my arm.
Her fingernails dug into my skin.
“Listen to me carefully, Rose.””
I pulled away.
“Don't touch me.””
She lowered her voice.
“Your mother was a thief.””
I felt my stomach twist.
“What?””
“She stole something from this family. Something that never belonged to her.””
“My mother worked as a nurse.””
Victoria smiled without warmth.
“That's what you were told.””
“Why did you say her name on that recording?””
“Because she ruined everything.””
Victoria stepped closer.
“You think Eleanor is helping you? She destroyed your mother. She destroyed my family. And now she's trying to do the same thing to Nathaniel.””
I stared at her.
“What happened to my mother?””
Victoria's eyes flickered.
For the first time, she seemed uncertain.
Then she whispered, “Ask Eleanor who paid for your childhood.””
She released my arm and walked toward the security guards.
I followed the paramedics downstairs.
At Lenox Hill Hospital, Eleanor was taken for examination. Nathaniel remained outside the room, pacing with his hands in his pockets.
His expensive tuxedo was stained with champagne.
He looked nothing like the confident billionaire from the wedding advertisements.
“Rose,” he said when he saw me.
I stopped.
“What?””
He studied my face.
“You said your mother died when you were twelve.””
“Yes.””
“Did she ever mention the Callaway family?””
“No.””
“Did she ever show you photographs of my mother?””
“No.””
He looked down.
“I'm sorry.””
I almost laughed.
“Why are you apologizing?””
“Because you're standing here after being dragged into something my family should have dealt with years ago.””
“Your family?””
He looked toward Eleanor's room.
“Whatever happened, it started with us.””
I folded my arms.
“Then explain the photograph.””
“I can't.””
“You're a billionaire. Surely you can afford an explanation.””
He gave a humorless smile.
“Money doesn't help when your entire childhood has been built on a lie.””
Before I could respond, a nurse came out.
“Mr. Callaway, your mother is asking for you.””
We entered.
Eleanor was lying in bed with a blood pressure monitor attached to her arm.
She looked exhausted.
But when she saw me, she immediately reached beneath her pillow.
“I kept it,” she whispered.
She handed me a small envelope.
The paper was yellowed, and the edges were brittle.
On the front was my mother's handwriting.
For Rose. If anything happens to me.
I stared at the words.
“Where did you get this?””
Eleanor swallowed.
“Grace gave it to me seventeen years ago.””
I opened it.
Inside was a letter.
Eleanor,
If you're reading this, it means I failed to protect the children.
I know you wanted to tell Nathaniel the truth. But if Victoria's father discovers what happened, neither child will be safe.
I have taken the original birth records and the hospital photographs. I am leaving New York.
Please don't look for me. Don't let them find Rose.
One day, she will deserve to know who she is.
Grace.
My fingers trembled.
“Who were the children?””
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“Two boys and girls were not involved. There were two babies. You and Nathaniel.””
Nathaniel stepped closer.
“Mother, tell us what happened.””
Eleanor looked at him.
“Seventeen years ago? No. Twenty-nine years ago.””
She took a breath.
“Your father, Richard, was desperate for an heir. He had been told that the pregnancy was unlikely to survive. When you were born, the doctors discovered another baby had been delivered minutes earlier.””
I looked at Nathaniel.
“Another baby?””
Eleanor nodded.
“Your mother was Grace. She was working at the hospital that night. She had been caring for me throughout the pregnancy.””
I shook my head.
“My mother was a nurse?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did she never tell me?””
“Because she was protecting you.””
Nathaniel moved closer to the bed.
“Mother, what does Rose have to do with me?””
Eleanor looked between us.
“Your father was told that you had died.””
Nathaniel stared.
“What?””
“Your biological mother was not me, Nathaniel.””
The room became completely silent.
Eleanor's voice broke.
“I couldn't carry a child to term. Richard and I had arranged for a private adoption. Grace was the woman who gave birth to you.””
Nathaniel staggered backward.
“No.””
“I'm sorry.””
“No, that's impossible.””
Eleanor began crying.
“Richard arranged everything. The hospital records were changed. The adoption was hidden. I believed you were legally adopted through a private arrangement.””
Nathaniel shook his head.
“Then what about Rose?””
Eleanor looked at me.
“Rose was the child I gave birth to.””
I couldn't move.
The monitor beside Eleanor began beeping faster.
She continued.
“Your father wanted a son. When you were born, the doctors told him you were a healthy girl. He was furious. He had already arranged the inheritance structure around a male heir.””
Nathaniel's face was drained of color.
“And Grace?””
“She gave birth to you, Nathaniel, several minutes earlier. Your father paid to have the records altered. He wanted you to become the Callaway heir.””
I looked at the letter.
“So my mother raised Nathaniel's biological child?””
Eleanor nodded.
“And I raised you.””
Nathaniel sat down heavily.
“You're telling me that the woman I called Mother wasn't my biological mother, and the woman I thought was a stranger gave birth to me?””
Eleanor nodded.
He covered his face.
I felt the room spinning.
Everything I knew about my childhood was suddenly meaningless.
My mother had never abandoned me.
She had been forced to leave me.
And Nathaniel Callaway was not simply a billionaire groom whose wedding I had worked.
He was the baby my mother had carried into the world.
The nurse entered to check Eleanor's blood pressure.
“We need to keep visitors limited. Her blood pressure is rising.””
I stepped back.
Nathaniel remained beside the bed.
Before leaving, I turned toward Eleanor.
“Why did you raise me?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because I loved you.””
“Then why didn't you find me?””
She looked away.
“Because someone told me you were dead.””
A cold silence settled over the room.
“Who?””
Eleanor's lips trembled.
“Richard.””
Nathaniel stood.
“My father?””
She nodded.
“He told me Grace had taken you out of the country and that you had died in an accident.””
I felt sick.
“My father was dead before I turned twelve.””
Eleanor stared at me.
“Richard died seventeen years ago.””
I frowned.
“No. My mother died seventeen years ago.””
Eleanor's expression changed.
“Rose, your mother disappeared seventeen years ago. We never found her body.””
My phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
I opened the message.
It contained a photograph of a woman standing outside a grocery store.
The woman had silver-blonde hair, a scar above her left eyebrow, and a familiar way of holding her shoulders.
May you like
Beneath the photograph were seven words.
*Your mother is alive. Stop asking questions.*
