Chapter 7: The Daughter Diane Chose
Daniel immediately moved away from the table.
“Grace, listen to me. Nobody is taking your place.””
I watched him pace beside the window.
His face had gone pale.
“Where are you right now?””
A pause.
“Okay. Don't leave the house. Don't argue with her. I'll call you back.””
He ended the call.
Eleanor stood.
“What happened?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Diane has been telling Grace that you're coming to take everything.””
“Everything?””
“The house. The money. Her family.””
I stared at him.
“But she's my sister.””
“I know.””
“Does she know?””
Daniel nodded.
“She knows she's adopted. But she doesn't know the entire story.””
Mr. Bennett closed his briefcase.
“Then we need to arrange a proper meeting.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Diane won't allow it.””
“Why?””
“Because she has been Grace's guardian for years. She's convinced Grace that I'm unstable and that her biological mother abandoned her.””
Eleanor covered her mouth.
“She told another child that?””
Daniel nodded.
“She used the same story she told everyone about Claire.””
I felt sick.
Diane had taken my mother's story and rewritten it.
She had taken my sister and given her a different family history.
And now she was telling Grace that I was the threat.
The following afternoon, Sarah arranged a supervised meeting at her office.
Daniel arrived first.
He carried a small gift bag.
Inside was a silver picture frame.
“It's for Grace,” he explained.
I looked at the frame.
It contained a photograph of my mother holding two newborn babies.
I stared.
“Two?””
Daniel nodded.
“Twins.””
My mouth fell open.
“I'm a twin?””
He nodded again.
I looked at the photograph.
Two tiny babies lay beside my mother.
One wore a pink blanket.
The other wore a white one.
“Which one am I?””
Daniel pointed.
“The baby in the white blanket.””
I touched the glass.
“And Grace?””
“The pink one.””
I stared at the photograph.
All my life, I had believed I was an only child.
Now I was learning I had a sister who had lived less than an hour away.
Eleanor began crying.
“I should have told you sooner.””
I turned toward her.
“Did you know?””
She nodded.
“I knew your mother had twins. But Richard told me one of the babies had died.””
I looked at her.
“He lied to you too?””
“Yes.””
Daniel sat beside me.
“Grace was taken from the hospital before Claire died. Richard arranged for Diane to adopt her.””
“Why Diane?””
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“Because Diane and Richard had been involved for years.””
I remembered Diane wearing a wedding ring.
Her marriage to Grandpa had always seemed strange to me.
She had entered his life when I was very young, after my grandmother died.
But I had never understood the relationship between her and my father.
Mr. Bennett spoke quietly.
“Richard and Diane had a relationship before Harold married her.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
“Harold discovered the relationship later. He confronted them. But Diane convinced him she had ended it.””
Daniel shook his head.
“She hadn't.””
I looked at the photograph.
Two babies.
Two different lives.
Two girls who had been separated before they could even open their eyes properly.
The door opened.
Sarah stepped inside.
“Grace is here.””
Daniel stood immediately.
A girl entered behind her.
She was wearing jeans, white sneakers, and a pale blue sweater.
Her dark hair fell over her shoulders.
She looked at me.
I looked at her.
For a moment, it was like looking into a mirror that had grown older.
She had my eyes.
My mother's dimple.
Even the small scar near her eyebrow that I had gotten when I fell off my bicycle.
Grace stopped.
“Hi.””
I swallowed.
“Hi.””
She glanced at Daniel.
“Dad, why did you make me come?””
Daniel crouched slightly.
“Because there's something important you deserve to know.””
Grace crossed her arms.
“Diane already told me.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What did she tell you?”” I asked.
Grace looked at me.
“That you think you're better than me.””
I shook my head.
“I don't.””
“She said you're coming to take Grandpa's money.””
“I don't want his money.””
“Then why are you here?””
I struggled to find the right words.
“Because I wanted to know my family.””
Grace laughed bitterly.
“You already have a family.””
I looked down.
“I thought I did.””
Her expression changed.
For a second, I thought she might understand.
Then she turned away.
Daniel approached her.
“Grace, sweetheart, please sit down.””
“No.””
“Just listen.””
“I've listened to Diane for eleven years. Why should I listen to you now?””
Daniel looked devastated.
“Because I am your father.””
Grace's eyes filled.
“Then where were you?””
He had no answer.
She looked at me.
“And where were you?””
I swallowed.
“I didn't know you existed.””
Grace shook her head.
“Convenient.””
She grabbed her bag.
Before she could leave, Eleanor stood.
“Grace, please.””
Grace turned.
“Who are you?””
Eleanor looked as though someone had struck her.
“I'm your grandmother.””
Grace's expression hardened.
“Diane said my grandmother died.””
Eleanor slowly shook her head.
“She lied.””
Grace looked at the photograph on the table.
Her eyes widened.
It showed two babies.
She picked it up.
“Why are there two?””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Because you had a twin sister.””
Grace looked at me.
Then back at the photograph.
“No.””
“Grace—”
“No!””
She dropped the frame onto the table.
It didn't break, but the sound made everyone jump.
“I don't want this!””
She ran out.
Daniel started after her.
Sarah stopped him.
“Give her a moment.””
I sat very still.
I had imagined meeting my sister.
I had imagined hugging her.
I had even imagined us laughing about how strange it was that we looked alike.
I hadn't imagined her hating me.
Eleanor sat beside me.
“She'll need time.””
I nodded.
Then my phone buzzed.
It was an unknown number.
A message appeared.
You need to stop looking into the past.
Another message followed.
Your mother didn't die because of an accident.
I stared at the screen.
A third message arrived.
Ask your grandfather who signed the hospital discharge papers.
I looked at Mr. Bennett.
He read the message.
His expression changed completely.
“Harold,” he whispered.
“What about him?””
Mr. Bennett took the phone.
“Your grandfather was listed as a witness on the original hospital record.””
I frowned.
“Was he there when my mother died?””
He didn't answer.
Instead, he searched through the documents in his briefcase.
Then he found the record.
There were three signatures.
One belonged to the doctor.
One belonged to a nurse.
And the third belonged to Harold Collins.
My grandfather.
But beneath his signature was a handwritten note.
Patient requested immediate transfer. Decision witnessed by family representative.
I stared at the words.
“Why would Grandpa sign that?””
Mr. Bennett looked at me.
“I think we need to find out what happened in that hospital room.””
Then he turned the page.
May you like
And discovered a second signature.
Richard Collins.
