Chapter 5: The Man Who Carried Two Babies
For several seconds, I couldn't understand what Agent Cole had just said.
My father had entered a hospital carrying one baby and returned carrying another.
The words sounded simple enough. Almost ordinary.
But my mother had spent seventeen years raising me under a false identity, and somewhere in the middle of that deception, another child had vanished.
I looked at the photograph again.
Daniel Bennett.
Same birthday.
Same hospital.
Same mother listed on the original records.
"You're saying my father switched two babies?"" I asked.
Agent Cole shook her head.
"I'm saying a witness claims she saw him carry one infant out of the hospital and return with another. We haven't established which baby was yours, where the other child went, or why Ethan was involved.""
"Then find out.""
"We're working on it.""
"No. You're telling me my father might have stolen a child, and you're asking me to sit quietly while you work on it.""
My mother touched my shoulder.
"Pulisic, please.""
I pulled away.
"Stop telling me to be quiet!""
She flinched.
The sight of her shrinking from my voice immediately filled me with shame. She had already endured enough that night. Yet I couldn't stop the anger rising inside me.
Every memory I had of my father now carried a question mark.
Every family photograph seemed to contain a stranger.
Agent Cole opened the rear door.
"The witness is at a federal facility about forty minutes from here. She's agreed to speak with us, but she won't discuss the case until Sarah is present.""
My mother stared at her.
"Who is she?""
"Margaret Ellis. She was the senior neonatal nurse on duty the night Pulisic was born.""
Mom gripped the blanket around her shoulders.
"I remember her.""
"You do?"" I asked.
"She was kind to me. She brought me water when I was recovering. She told me you had your father's eyes.""
The words stopped me cold.
My father had always said I had his eyes, too.
Dark brown. Slightly hooded. A tiny scar through the left eyebrow from the time I fell off my bicycle at eight.
I had never thought to question any of it.
"What else do you remember?"" Agent Cole asked.
Mom closed her eyes.
"She told me there had been a complication with another baby. But Ethan said the hospital had made a mistake.""
"What kind of complication?""
"I don't know. I was exhausted. I'd been given medication, and Ethan kept insisting that I needed to rest.""
She looked at me.
"He told me not to worry about anything. He said he had everything under control.""
The same words he had used all my life.
I've got it under control, son.
Don't worry about it.
Let me handle it.
I suddenly hated those words.
We drove to the federal facility under escort. The building stood behind a high fence on the outskirts of town, its windows dark except for a few illuminated rooms on the second floor.
Inside, an officer checked our identities and led us into a small interview room.
Margaret Ellis was waiting at the table.
She was in her late sixties, with silver hair pulled into a tight bun and hands that trembled as she arranged the papers in front of her.
When my mother entered, Margaret stood.
"Oh, Sarah.""
Mom stopped in the doorway.
"Margaret.""
They stared at each other for several seconds before Margaret crossed the room and embraced her.
"I'm so sorry," Margaret whispered.
My mother began to cry.
"For what?""
Margaret pulled away, wiping her eyes.
"For letting him leave with that child.""
Agent Cole closed the door.
"Margaret, we need your full statement.""
Margaret sat down slowly.
"I've told investigators what I remember.""
"Then tell us again.""
Margaret looked at me.
"Are you Pulisic?""
"Yes.""
Her face crumpled.
"Oh, sweetheart.""
I hated the pity in her voice.
"Please don't call me that. Just tell me what happened.""
She nodded.
"On the night you were born, there were two deliveries at the facility within minutes of each other. Your mother was one of the patients. The other was a woman registered under a confidential identity.""
"Who was she?"" I asked.
"I wasn't told her real name.""
"Did she give birth to Daniel?""
Margaret folded her hands.
"Yes.""
"Was he healthy?""
"Both babies were healthy. There were no complications that would have required an emergency transfer.""
My mother leaned forward.
"Then why did Ethan say there was a complication?""
Margaret's gaze dropped.
"Because he wanted everyone to believe there was.""
The room went silent.
Margaret explained that Ethan had arrived at the neonatal unit shortly after midnight. He carried a signed authorization and claimed he had been instructed to move one infant to a secure location because of a threat against the family.
"He showed me credentials," she said.
"I thought he was a federal investigator. He spoke confidently. He knew the security procedures. I didn't question him.""
"What did you do?"" Agent Cole asked.
"I checked the paperwork, then I checked the baby's identification band. The numbers matched the transfer order.""
"Which baby?""
Margaret hesitated.
"Daniel Bennett.""
I gripped the edge of the table.
"And he took Daniel away?""
"Yes. He returned less than an hour later with another infant.""
My mother covered her mouth.
Margaret continued.
"He said there had been a mix-up and that the first baby needed to remain at the facility. He instructed me to amend the records and said the child's identity had to remain confidential.""
"Did you recognize the second baby?"" I asked.
Margaret nodded slowly.
"It was the child listed under Sarah's protected identity.""
I stared at her.
"You mean me?""
"I believe so.""
"Why would he switch us?""
Margaret shook her head.
"I don't know.""
Agent Cole slid a document across the table.
"Did you sign this transfer authorization?""
Margaret looked at it.
"Yes.""
"And did you report the incident?""
"I filed an internal report the following morning. By noon, my supervisor told me the report had been withdrawn. He said the government had classified the incident and that discussing it would jeopardize national security.""
"Who was your supervisor?""
Margaret whispered a name.
Agent Cole wrote it down.
Then Margaret reached into her handbag and removed a small envelope.
"I kept something.""
Agent Cole's expression sharpened.
"What is it?""
"The original identification tag from the second infant. I took it off before Ethan returned. I thought the paperwork didn't make sense, and I wanted proof of what I'd seen.""
She placed it on the table.
The plastic was yellowed with age.
The number printed on it was the same number I remembered from the bracelet in my father's locked box.
2017.
Margaret looked at me.
"I don't know whether you are the child who was born to Sarah or the child who was brought back. But I know Ethan changed something that night.""
My mother stared at the tag.
Then she whispered, "Where is the other mother?""
Margaret's face went pale.
"I was told she died.""
"By whom?""
"Ethan.""
My mother stood so abruptly that her chair scraped backward.
"No.""
Margaret looked at Agent Cole.
"There is something else. Something I never told the original investigators.""
Agent Cole folded her arms.
"What?""
"The woman who gave birth to Daniel wasn't just another protected patient. She was brought to the facility under armed escort. Two federal agents accompanied her, and one of them argued with Ethan in the hallway.""
"About what?"" I asked.
Margaret looked directly at me.
"About whether the child should be placed in Witness Protection before he was even born.""
I felt a chill move through me.
"Why would a baby need Witness Protection?""
"Because his father was a man the government was trying to arrest.""
My mother sank back into her chair.
"Who was his father?""
Margaret swallowed.
"I never saw the man's face. But I heard Ethan say his name.""
Agent Cole leaned forward.
"What name?""
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
"Victor Hale.""
Agent Cole went completely still.
I noticed it immediately.
"Who is Victor Hale?""
She didn't answer.
"Agent Cole?""
She closed the folder.
"Victor Hale was the alleged leader of the criminal organization your mother testified against.""
My stomach turned.
"The man responsible for the murders?""
"Among other things.""
I looked at Margaret.
"So you're saying the missing baby might have been his son?""
Margaret nodded.
"That's what I heard.""
My mother stared at the floor.
Then, in a voice so quiet I almost missed it, she said, "Ethan promised me he would never let that man near either of our children.""
I turned toward her.
"Either of our children?""
Her eyes widened.
For the first time, I realized she had said something she hadn't intended to reveal.
Agent Cole heard it, too.
"Sarah," she said carefully, "what do you mean by that?""
My mother looked at me.
Her lips trembled.
And then she whispered, "I think one of those babies was never supposed to be mine.""
Before anyone could respond, Agent Cole's phone rang.
She answered, listened for five seconds, and stood.
"What do you mean he's gone?""
The color drained from her face.
Margaret rose slowly.
"Who?""
Agent Cole ended the call.
"Ethan Pulisic has escaped federal custody.""
I stared at her.
"How?""
She looked toward the door.
"Someone used a valid federal authorization to release him.""
My mother grabbed my hand.
Agent Cole's phone rang again.
This time, the message was a photograph.
A hospital bracelet lay on a wooden table.
Beside it was a handwritten note.
*YOU HAVE ONE CHILD. I HAVE THE OTHER. STOP LOOKING, SARAH.*
And beneath the message was an address.
May you like
My father's handwriting.
The same handwriting he had used to sign my birthday cards.
