Chapter 9: The Baby Who Disappeared
The hospital record arrived the next morning.
A single envelope.
Nothing dramatic.
Nothing that looked like it could change a person’s life.
But it did.
I held it in my hands for several minutes before opening it.
Because some part of me was tired of discovering things.
Tired of learning that every answer created three more questions.
My father sat beside me.
“You don’t have to read it.””
I looked at him.
“Yes, I do.””
He nodded.
Because he understood.
The truth hurt.
But not knowing hurt more.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a copy of a birth certificate.
Different from the one I had seen before.
Different hospital.
Different date.
Different information.
My name was there.
But underneath my name was a handwritten note.
“Transferred immediately after birth.””
I looked up.
“What does that mean?””
My father frowned.
“I don’t know.””
We called Daniel.
He arrived less than an hour later.
He looked like he hadn’t slept.
“I found more pages.””
He placed Lily’s diary on the table.
“She knew.””
My hands tightened.
“Knew what?””
Daniel opened the diary.
“Your birth records were changed.””
Nicole, sitting across from us, went pale.
“I didn’t know.””
Everyone looked at her.
She shook her head.
“I swear.””
My father’s voice was sharp.
“After everything, you expect us to believe that?””
“I know how it sounds.””
“It sounds like another secret.””
Nicole looked down.
“I only knew Lily had concerns. I didn’t know the records were altered.””
Daniel pointed to the diary.
“Lily wrote that she was afraid someone was trying to take Maya away.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Who?””
Daniel looked at me.
“She didn’t write a name.””
“Why?””
“Because she was scared.””
My father leaned forward.
“Scared of who?””
Daniel turned the page.
“There’s one name.””
Everyone froze.
“What name?””
Daniel looked at Nicole.
“Yours.””
The room exploded.
My father stood.
“You?””
Nicole looked horrified.
“No.””
Daniel immediately shook his head.
“Not Nicole.””
He pointed to the page.
“Another Nicole.””
I blinked.
“What?””
Daniel explained.
“Lily mentioned a nurse named Nicole who worked at the hospital.””
My stomach dropped.
“A nurse?””
“Yes.””
My father looked confused.
“What would a nurse have to do with this?””
Daniel continued reading.
“‘She keeps asking questions about the baby. She says she knows people who want to adopt. I don’t trust her.’”
Silence.
A nurse.
Someone around my birth.
Someone who had access to records.
Someone who could change information.
I looked at Nicole.
My mother looked shaken.
“I never knew.””
For the first time, I believed her.
Because this secret scared her too.
Daniel turned another page.
“There’s more.””
“What?””
He looked uncomfortable.
“Lily wrote that after Maya was born, the nurse disappeared.””
My father frowned.
“Disappeared?””
“Yes.””
“Did the police investigate?””
Daniel shook his head.
“Lily died shortly after. Nobody knew what questions to ask.””
I stared at the papers.
My entire life had been surrounded by missing pieces.
A missing mother.
A missing truth.
A missing record.
And now a missing person.
The woman who may have changed everything.
Then my father’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
Everyone froze.
He answered.
“Hello?””
A woman’s voice came through.
My father’s face changed.
He looked at me.
Then at Nicole.
“Who is this?””
The woman replied.
I couldn’t hear her words.
Only my father’s reaction.
“You’re saying you know Maya?””
My heart stopped.
My father stood.
“Where are you?””
A pause.
Then he whispered:
“No.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
He slowly lowered the phone.
His face was pale.
The woman on the phone had said one thing before hanging up.
A sentence that made every secret we uncovered feel small.
“She said she was the nurse who held you the day you were born.””
I couldn’t move.
My father looked down at the number.
Then at me.
“She wants to meet.””
And beneath the fear in his eyes, I saw something else.
Recognition.
Because the nurse’s name wasn’t unfamiliar.
My father had heard it before.
May you like
Years ago.
And he knew exactly why she had called.
