Chapter 6: The Girl in the Photograph
I stared at the photograph until the faces began to blur.
My mother stood outside the hospital entrance, one hand resting on her pregnant stomach. Richard was beside her, wearing the same gray jacket I remembered from old family photographs.
But behind them stood Daniel Hayes.
And in his arms was a little girl.
A little girl with dark brown hair, a small dimple in her left cheek, and the same silver bracelet I had just received from Eleanor.
It was me.
Except I was already standing beside my mother in the photograph.
There were two children who looked exactly alike.
“That's impossible,” I whispered.
Eleanor took the phone from Mr. Bennett.
Her hands shook.
“Oh, Claire.””
She enlarged the photograph.
“That's not Daniel's daughter.””
“Then who is she?”” I asked.
Nobody answered.
Mr. Bennett examined the image.
“Do you recognize the date?””
He turned the phone toward me.
The photograph had been taken eleven years earlier, approximately three weeks before my birth.
I looked at the little girl again.
She appeared to be around four years old.
“I was going to be born,” I whispered.
“How could there be another me?””
Eleanor sat down slowly.
“I think we need to contact Daniel before we make assumptions.””
Mr. Bennett nodded.
He placed the phone on the table and examined the message.
“Whoever sent this knows about the original records. They also know we're trying to locate Daniel.””
Sarah stepped closer.
“Could it be Richard?””
“Possibly,” Mr. Bennett replied.
“But we shouldn't assume.””
My stomach tightened.
“Why would someone send us this picture?””
Mr. Bennett looked at me.
“Because they want us to ask questions.””
I looked at the little girl.
“Then I want answers.””
The next morning, Eleanor came to Sarah's office with a small suitcase.
She had brought clothes, toiletries, and a stuffed rabbit.
“I didn't know what you liked,” she explained, placing it on the chair.
“Your grandfather told me you liked animals.””
I touched the rabbit's soft ears.
“I like rabbits.””
She smiled.
“Your mother did too.””
For a moment, I almost smiled back.
Then my eyes fell on the photograph lying beside Mr. Bennett's briefcase.
“Did my mother know about the other girl?””
Eleanor's expression became serious.
“I don't know.””
“Did Grandpa?””
She looked toward Mr. Bennett.
He was speaking quietly on the phone.
“I believe Harold knew more than he told us.””
“Why?””
“Because he spent the last year of his life trying to find someone.””
“Who?””
Before Eleanor could answer, Mr. Bennett approached.
“Daniel has agreed to meet us.””
My heart jumped.
“When?””
“Tomorrow afternoon. At a neutral location.””
“Can I see him?””
“Yes. Sarah will accompany us.””
I nodded.
Then I noticed something.
“Did he ask about me?””
Mr. Bennett paused.
“He asked whether you still had your mother's photograph.””
I looked down.
I was holding it against my chest.
“Yes,” I whispered.
The meeting took place at a small restaurant near the river.
Eleanor sat beside me.
Sarah sat opposite us.
Mr. Bennett stood near the entrance, checking his watch.
At exactly two fifteen, a man walked through the door.
He was tall, with dark hair that had begun turning gray around the temples.
He wore a brown jacket and carried a small leather folder.
His eyes moved across the room.
Then they found me.
He stopped.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Finally, he approached.
“Maya?””
I nodded.
He pulled out the chair opposite me.
“Hello.””
His voice was gentle.
But his hands were shaking.
I studied his face.
There was something familiar about his eyes.
Something I had seen in the mirror.
“Are you Daniel?””
He nodded.
“I'm Daniel Hayes.””
I looked at Eleanor.
She was already crying.
Daniel sat down.
“I've imagined this moment for eleven years,” he said.
“Why didn't you come?””
He lowered his eyes.
“I tried.””
“My father said you disappeared.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Your father told me Claire had died and that you had been placed with another family.””
“But he raised me.””
“I know.””
“Did you know where I was?””
He looked at Mr. Bennett.
“Not until Harold contacted me.””
I leaned forward.
“What happened to my mother?””
Daniel rubbed his hands together.
“Claire and I were together before she met Richard. We had plans. We wanted a family.””
He opened his folder.
Inside was a photograph of a younger version of himself standing beside my mother.
They were laughing.
My mother was holding a small paper bag.
Daniel smiled sadly.
“She was buying baby clothes. She insisted on choosing everything herself.””
I touched the photograph.
“What happened?””
“Richard was already involved in her life. He knew she was pregnant. He also knew the baby wasn't his.””
Daniel looked directly at me.
“Claire wanted to leave him. She was afraid he would try to take you.””
“Why would he?””
Daniel swallowed.
“Because Richard had become obsessed with controlling her.””
Eleanor reached across the table.
“Daniel, tell her about the hospital.””
Daniel nodded.
“On the night Claire went into labor, I received a phone call telling me she was in danger. I drove straight to the hospital.””
“Were you there?””
“Yes.””
“Then why wasn't I raised by you?””
He looked down.
“Because someone told the hospital staff I wasn't authorized to see her. When I tried to enter her room, security stopped me.””
He took a breath.
“Later, a man told me Claire had died and that you had been taken into custody by the authorities.””
“Who?””
“Richard.””
My fingers curled around the edge of the table.
Daniel continued.
“He told me that if I tried to contact you, he would make sure I never saw you. He showed me documents suggesting you had been legally adopted and that your mother had left instructions naming him as your guardian.””
Mr. Bennett leaned forward.
“Did you receive any money?””
Daniel looked at him.
“Yes.””
Eleanor gasped.
Daniel nodded.
“Richard paid me to sign a document agreeing not to challenge the adoption.””
I stared at him.
“You took the money?””
His face crumpled.
“I did.””
“Why?””
“Because I was told you were safe. Because I was grieving Claire. Because I was young and terrified and believed I had no legal way to reach you.””
He opened the folder again.
“I kept the payment receipt. I also kept every letter I sent afterward.””
He placed several envelopes on the table.
All of them were addressed to me.
None had been opened.
I stared at the handwriting.
My name.
Maya.
Every envelope had been returned.
“Why didn't you keep trying?””
Daniel's eyes filled.
“I did. For years. But every time I tried, Richard's lawyer threatened me with legal action. Then Harold contacted me.””
He removed another photograph.
This one showed a little girl standing beside my mother.
I looked closer.
It was the same girl from the mysterious photograph.
“Who is she?”” I asked.
Daniel turned the photograph over.
On the back, someone had written:
Claire and her first daughter, Grace.
I looked up.
“First daughter?””
Daniel nodded slowly.
“Your mother had another child before you were born.””
My heart pounded.
“Where is she?””
He looked at Eleanor.
Then at Mr. Bennett.
“That's what Harold was trying to discover.””
He placed a final document on the table.
It was a hospital record.
The name of the child had been crossed out.
But beneath the black ink, the original name was still visible.
Grace Hayes.
I looked at Daniel.
“Is she alive?””
He nodded.
“She's alive.””
“Where?””
Daniel's voice broke.
“I believe she's been living with Diane.””
I couldn't speak.
Diane.
The woman who had pushed me away from Grandpa's photograph.
The woman who had told me I didn't belong.
The woman who had been afraid of the envelope.
She had been raising my sister.
But why?
Before anyone could answer, Daniel's phone rang.
He checked the screen.
His expression changed.
“It's Grace.””
He answered.
“Hello?””
A girl's voice came through.
“Dad?””
Daniel stood.
“Grace, sweetheart. Is everything okay?””
There was a pause.
Then the girl whispered:
“Dad, Diane found Grandpa's letter.””
Daniel went pale.
“What did she do?””
Another pause.
May you like
Then Grace said something that made everyone at the table freeze.
“She told me Maya is coming to take my place.””
