Chapter 4: The Brother Sitting Beside Me
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Jordan looked at the letter.
Then at me.
Then at his mother.
“Tell me this is a lie,” he whispered.
Denise stood up.
“Jordan, sit down.””
“Tell me!””
“Your father and I raised you. That's what matters.””
He stared at her.
“Am I adopted?””
Denise's silence was answer enough.
Jordan took two steps backward.
“Oh my God.””
Michael sat heavily on the sofa.
“I didn't know.””
Jordan turned toward him.
“You didn't know I wasn't your son?””
Michael shook his head.
“No. I knew there had been something strange about the hospital records, but I never imagined…”
He couldn't finish.
I stood motionless.
The man I loved was possibly my twin brother.
The thought was so horrifying that my mind refused to accept it.
Jordan looked at me.
“Aaliyah, I swear I didn't know.””
I wanted to comfort him.
But I couldn't move.
Denise walked toward him.
“Jordan, listen to me. Whatever that letter says, you're my son.””
He stepped away.
“Then why did you hide it?””
“Because I loved you!””
“Who are my biological parents?””
Denise looked at me.
For the first time, I saw something close to hatred in her expression.
“Your biological parents were people who couldn't protect you.””
Michael stood.
“That's enough.””
“No!”” Jordan shouted.
“I'm done with everyone telling me what I can and cannot know!””
He turned toward me.
“We need to find out if this is true.””
I nodded.
“Yes.””
That afternoon, Michael contacted an attorney named Patricia Reynolds.
She had represented his family for years and had handled several estate matters involving Richard Williams.
Patricia agreed to meet us the following morning.
She arrived carrying a leather briefcase and a thick stack of documents.
After hearing our story, she removed her glasses.
“I suspected there were irregularities in the old hospital records,” she said.
“Richard Williams instructed me to keep certain documents sealed until his estate was settled.””
Michael frowned.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because he told me the documents concerned a private family matter. I was not aware of the existence of another child.””
She opened her briefcase.
Inside was a photocopy of a confidential adoption agreement.
Jordan leaned forward.
“What is this?””
Patricia pointed to the signatures.
“According to this document, a newborn boy was transferred from St. Mary's Hospital to the care of Richard Williams under a private guardianship arrangement.””
I felt sick.
“Who signed it?””
Patricia pointed.
“Richard Williams. And a hospital administrator.””
“Where is the child's name?”” Jordan asked.
Patricia turned the page.
The name was written in blue ink.
*Jordan Renee Williams.*
Jordan stared.
“That's my name.””
Patricia shook her head.
“No. Your name was Jordan Carter. This is the original name listed in the private arrangement.””
Michael covered his face.
“Renee knew.””
Patricia nodded.
“She appears to have discovered the arrangement. But there is something unusual about the paperwork.””
She placed a second document on the table.
The adoption agreement was dated three days after the birth.
However, the hospital's official death report for the baby girl had been signed the previous evening.
Patricia tapped the dates.
“The records were deliberately altered.””
“Why?”” I asked.
“Possibly to make it appear that one child had died and the other had been transferred without parental consent.””
Jordan looked at Denise.
“Why would you allow that?””
Denise shook her head.
“I didn't.””
Michael turned toward her.
“You knew about the arrangement.””
“I knew my father wanted to take the children. I didn't know what he planned to do.””
“You were their mother!””
Denise began crying.
“I was twenty-six years old. My father controlled everything. He told me that if I challenged him, he'd have Michael arrested for financial fraud.””
Michael stared at her.
“What?””
She wiped her cheeks.
“He had documents. He said he could destroy you.””
Michael sat down.
“Was any of it true?””
Denise didn't answer.
Patricia interrupted.
“There's another problem.””
She removed a small envelope.
“Richard Williams left instructions that these documents should be destroyed after his death. But someone removed several pages from the original file.””
“Who?”” Jordan asked.
Patricia shook her head.
“I don't know. However, the person who signed the guardianship agreement was not only your grandfather.””
She pointed to the bottom.
A second signature appeared.
*Denise Carter.*
Jordan's face crumpled.
“Mom?””
Denise looked away.
“You signed it?”” I asked.
She began shaking her head.
“I was told it was temporary.””
“You signed away your own child?””
“I thought I was protecting you!””
“Protecting me from what?””
She finally shouted.
“From being raised by a man who hated you!””
Silence.
Patricia closed the folder.
“We need independent DNA testing. No more assumptions.””
Jordan immediately agreed.
“So do it.””
Patricia looked at us.
“We can arrange testing through a certified laboratory.””
I nodded.
“Both of us.””
Denise suddenly stood.
“No.””
Michael turned.
“What do you mean, no?””
“You cannot do this.””
Jordan looked at her.
“Why?””
“Because once the truth comes out, there will be nothing left of this family.””
I stared at her.
“You destroyed my family thirty years ago. My mother died believing she had to keep me safe from people like you.””
Denise's eyes filled.
“I never wanted Renee to die.””
I froze.
“What?””
She looked down.
“I tried to contact her.””
Michael frowned.
“When?””
“Sixteen years ago. I found her address. I went to her apartment.””
My heart began pounding.
“Did you see her?””
Denise nodded.
“And?””
She covered her mouth.
“She told me to leave.””
I stepped closer.
“What did she say?””
Denise looked at me.
“She said you were happy. She said you called her Mom. And she begged me not to destroy the only good thing she'd ever had.””
I felt tears burning behind my eyes.
“And you left?””
Denise nodded.
I stared at her.
“You had one chance to tell me who I was.””
“I was afraid.””
“You were afraid?””
My voice cracked.
“My mother was afraid every single day that someone would come and take me away. She worked herself sick to raise me. She never had enough money.
She never had anyone to help her. And you were afraid?””
Denise lowered her head.
Jordan reached for my hand.
I let him hold it.
But I couldn't stop thinking about the letter.
Two babies.
One taken.
One hidden.
And a secret that had somehow followed us into adulthood.
The following afternoon, Patricia called.
“The laboratory has received the samples.””
“How long?”” Jordan asked.
“Approximately five business days.””
I nodded.
Five days.
Five days until I would know whether the man I loved was my brother.
Five days until everything I understood about my life might disappear.
But Patricia wasn't finished.
“There is one more thing,” she said.
“What?””
“The hospital administrator who signed the adoption paperwork is still alive. I located him.””
Michael leaned forward.
“Who is he?””
Patricia looked down at her notes.
“His name is Harold Bennett.””
I frowned.
“Bennett?””
“Yes. He's the brother of Dr. Samuel Bennett, the physician who delivered the twins.””
She hesitated.
“And according to the records, Harold Bennett received a payment from Richard Williams every month for twenty-eight years.””
Jordan stared.
“Twenty-eight years?””
Patricia nodded.
“Until three months ago.””
I looked at Michael.
“Why would someone continue paying a hospital administrator decades after a birth?””
Michael's expression hardened.
“Because he was being paid to keep a secret.””
Patricia opened her briefcase again.
“There is something else I found in the payment records.””
She slid a photocopy across the table.
The final payment had been made to a company registered under a name none of us recognized.
*Carter Medical Holdings.*
Jordan looked at his mother.
“Mom, what is that?””
Denise slowly sank into her chair.
May you like
And when she finally answered, her words made the room go cold.
“It's the company my father used to buy your brother.””
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