Chapter 7: The Baby in the Photograph
“Give me that photograph.””
Madison's voice cracked as she reached for the picture in Evelyn's hand.
Daniel stepped between them.
“Don't touch it.””
“You don't understand!””
“Then explain it.””
Madison looked at the photograph again.
Charlotte stood in the hospital corridor, wearing a pale blue cardigan. Her face was tired, but she was smiling.
Beside her stood a much younger Madison, holding a newborn baby wrapped in a white blanket.
On the back, Charlotte's handwriting was unmistakable.
*THE CHILD MADISON CLAIMS SHE LOST WAS NEVER LOST.*
Daniel looked at his wife.
“What child?””
Madison shook her head.
“It's an old photograph. It doesn't mean anything.””
“Then why are you trying to take it?””
“Because it's private!””
Evelyn turned the photograph over again.
“Charlotte took this at St. Mary's Hospital.””
Margaret, who had been returning from the study, stopped in the hallway.
“St. Mary's?””
Evelyn nodded.
“Charlotte gave birth there. Lily was born in the same hospital.””
Daniel frowned.
“Wait. When was this photograph taken?””
Evelyn examined the date printed on the bottom.
“Eleven years ago.””
Daniel looked at Madison.
“You told me you had never been married.””
“I wasn't.””
“You told me you had never had children.””
Madison's eyes filled.
“I didn't.””
Evelyn looked at the baby.
“Then who is this?””
Madison backed away.
For a moment, she looked like she might run.
Instead, she lowered herself onto the staircase.
“I had a baby.””
Daniel stared.
“What?””
“I was twenty-two. I wasn't married. The father left before I gave birth.””
Evelyn sat beside her.
“Why did you tell Daniel you had never been a mother?””
“Because I didn't raise the child.””
Madison wiped her cheeks.
“My mother arranged everything. She said I was too young, that I had no money, and that the baby would have a better life with another family.””
Margaret exchanged a glance with Evelyn.
“Was the child adopted?””
Madison nodded.
“Yes.””
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“And Charlotte knew?””
Madison looked down.
“She found out when we met.””
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“When did you meet Charlotte?””
Madison hesitated.
“Before I met you.””
“How?””
Madison took a shaky breath.
“Your father introduced us.””
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“Richard?””
Madison nodded.
“He knew about the baby. He had been helping my family financially for years. He told me that Charlotte could help me find out where my daughter had gone.””
Evelyn's expression changed.
“Why would Richard be involved?””
“Because he knew the adoption agency.””
Margaret immediately opened her briefcase.
“Which agency?””
“Westbridge Family Services.””
Margaret stopped moving.
Daniel noticed.
“What?””
Margaret looked at Madison.
“That agency closed twelve years ago.””
“I know.””
“Do you know who arranged the adoption?””
Madison shook her head.
“My mother handled the paperwork. I was recovering from the delivery. She told me the adoptive family lived somewhere in Connecticut.””
Evelyn looked at the photograph again.
“Charlotte must have discovered something.””
Madison nodded.
“She did.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“What?””
Madison stared at him.
“She told me she knew where my daughter was.””
Silence filled the hallway.
“And?”” Daniel asked.
Madison's voice became almost inaudible.
“She said she would help me find her if I stopped working with your father.””
Daniel stared.
“Working with him on what?””
“The trust.””
Margaret closed her briefcase.
“Did Charlotte tell you the child's identity?””
Madison shook her head.
“No. She said she couldn't tell me until she had verified everything.””
Evelyn studied her.
“Why didn't you tell Daniel?””
Madison gave a bitter laugh.
“Because I was afraid he'd leave me.””
Daniel looked at her.
“You lied about having a child. You lied about working with my father. You helped him interfere with Lily's inheritance. And now you're telling me you were searching for another child?””
Madison covered her face.
“I was trying to get my daughter back.””
Daniel's voice hardened.
“You could have told me.””
“You would have judged me!””
“Maybe. But I would have known the truth.””
Madison lowered her hands.
“You don't understand what it feels like to give birth to a child and then spend years wondering whether she's safe.””
Evelyn looked at the photograph.
“Charlotte understood.””
Madison glanced at her.
“What?””
“That's why she kept this.””
Margaret took the photograph carefully.
“Mrs. Carter, may I examine it?””
Evelyn handed it over.
Margaret studied the hospital background.
Then she noticed something.
A small identification bracelet was visible around the baby's wrist.
She enlarged the photograph using her phone.
There was a faint hospital number.
“Interesting.””
Daniel approached.
“What?””
Margaret pointed.
“This number isn't a patient number. It's a newborn identification code.””
Madison leaned forward.
“Can you trace it?””
“Possibly. But I'll need the original hospital records.””
Evelyn looked toward the staircase.
“Charlotte's medical files are upstairs.””
Daniel nodded.
“I'll get them.””
He disappeared into the second-floor corridor.
Madison remained seated.
For the first time, her anger seemed to have disappeared.
She looked exhausted.
“Do you think she's alive?”” she whispered.
Evelyn studied her.
“Your daughter?””
Madison nodded.
“I've dreamed about her every Christmas.””
Evelyn didn't answer immediately.
Then she said, “If Charlotte found her, she would have wanted you to know.””
Madison looked at her.
“Then why didn't she tell me?””
“Perhaps she was trying to protect someone.””
Margaret's phone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
It was an unfamiliar number.
“Hello?””
A man's voice answered.
“Ms. Collins? This is David Miller from the county records office. I'm calling about your request regarding Westbridge Family Services.””
Margaret straightened.
“Yes?””
“We found a sealed adoption record associated with the identification code you provided.””
Margaret looked at Evelyn.
“Can you tell me the child's name?””
There was a pause.
Then the man answered.
“According to the record, the adoptive parents were Robert and Anne Bennett.””
Madison's lips parted.
“Bennett?””
Margaret repeated the name.
“Robert and Anne Bennett?””
“Yes.””
Madison began shaking.
She knew that name.
Everyone in the room could see it.
Daniel returned carrying a folder.
“What's happening?””
Madison looked at him.
“My daughter…”
She could barely speak.
“Her name was Emily.””
Margaret looked at the records.
“Emily Bennett.””
Madison nodded.
Then she covered her mouth.
“I know them.””
Daniel frowned.
“How?””
Madison looked toward Lily's bedroom.
“They live in Connecticut.””
Evelyn slowly stood.
“Madison, how do you know these people?””
Madison began crying.
“Because Robert Bennett was one of Richard's closest business partners.””
Daniel's expression changed.
“Your father knew the adoptive family?””
“Yes.””
Margaret looked at the photograph again.
Then she noticed something written faintly beneath Charlotte's signature.
A date.
And a second name.
She read it aloud.
“Emily Carter.””
Madison looked up sharply.
“What?””
Margaret turned the photograph over.
“Charlotte wrote a different surname beneath the baby's hospital number.””
Daniel stared.
“Why would she write Carter?””
Margaret's phone rang again.
This time, the caller ID displayed a name.
*EMILY BENNETT.*
Nobody moved.
Madison slowly reached for the phone.
Her fingers hovered above the screen.
Then she answered.
“Hello?””
A young woman's voice came through.
“Is this Madison Hayes?””
Madison couldn't speak.
The girl continued.
“My adoptive parents gave me a box of old documents. There's a photograph of you in it.””
Madison closed her eyes.
“Emily?””
A pause.
Then the girl whispered:
“I'm calling because I think you might be my mother.””
Madison collapsed against the staircase railing.
But before she could answer, Emily added something that made Evelyn's blood run cold.
“There's another photograph, too. It shows my adoptive father with a man named Richard Carter.””
Daniel grabbed the phone.
“Emily, this is Daniel Carter.””
“Mr. Carter?””
“Yes. Do you know why Richard was involved in your adoption?””
Emily hesitated.
“My father told me something before he died.””
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“What?””
“He said Richard Carter paid him to adopt me.””
