Chapter 9: The Baby in the Photograph
For several seconds, Marcus couldn't speak.
Vanessa stood halfway down the staircase, holding the photograph between two fingers.
The gun remained in her other hand.
“You're lying,” Marcus said.
Vanessa tilted her head.
“Am I?””
“Ava is Claire's daughter.””
“That's what the paperwork says.””
Marcus took a step forward.
“Put the gun down.””
“Why? Afraid I'll shoot you before you hear the truth?””
He stared at the photograph.
The newborn baby had a tiny birthmark near her left shoulder.
Marcus remembered Ava's birthmark.
A small crescent-shaped mark in exactly the same place.
“What am I looking at?””
Vanessa smiled.
“Your daughter.””
“That's Ava.””
“Is it?””
Marcus shook his head.
“You're trying to confuse me.””
Vanessa walked down another step.
“Your mother knew the truth. Claire knew the truth. Richard knew the truth.””
“Stop saying that.””
“Your daughter was born at Charleston Memorial six years ago. Another baby was born in the same hospital that night.””
Marcus felt his heartbeat in his throat.
“Where is the other baby?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“That's the interesting part.””
She held up the photograph.
“The other baby was mine.””
Marcus froze.
“What?””
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“I gave birth to a little girl six years ago. Her father was a man named Adrian. We were young. Thomas didn't approve.””
Marcus stared.
“You're saying Ava is your daughter?””
Vanessa nodded.
“And the baby I took home was supposed to be yours.””
The words made no sense.
Marcus looked toward Detective Miller.
The detective had entered quietly through the side hallway.
He raised one hand, signaling Marcus to remain calm.
Vanessa didn't notice.
She continued.
“Your mother arranged the switch. She wanted to give you and Claire a child because she believed your marriage was falling apart.””
Marcus felt sick.
“That is impossible.””
“Your mother knew the nurses. She had money. She could make things happen.””
“You expect me to believe she stole a baby?””
Vanessa's expression hardened.
“She didn't steal her. She exchanged them.””
Marcus stared.
“Why?””
“Because my father wanted his granddaughter raised by the Reed family.””
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“He wanted the money to stay in the family. He thought giving his child to you would make everything easier.””
Marcus shook his head.
“Then why did you wait six years?””
“Because I didn't know.””
She looked down.
“Thomas told me the truth shortly before he died. He said my daughter was living in your house.””
Marcus's blood turned cold.
“And you believed him?””
“I saw the hospital records.””
“Where?””
“In Richard's safe.””
Marcus looked at her.
“You were planning to take Ava?””
Vanessa nodded.
“She was my daughter.””
“She is not yours to take.””
Vanessa's face twisted.
“You don't understand what it's like to lose a child before you've even had the chance to hold her.””
Marcus stared.
“You never told me.””
“You never asked.””
“You were about to marry me!””
“And I would have told you eventually.””
He almost laughed.
“Eventually?””
Vanessa raised the gun.
“Your mother ruined my life.””
Marcus's voice dropped.
“My mother is dead.””
“Because Richard killed her.””
“Then why are you defending him?””
Vanessa looked toward the pool.
“Because Richard and I made a deal.””
Marcus frowned.
“What deal?””
“He would help me get Ava back. I would help him recover the trust.””
“And Claire?””
“She was supposed to disappear.””
Marcus felt his hands shaking.
“You tried to drown her.””
Vanessa looked away.
“She wouldn't stop interfering.””
Detective Miller moved another step forward.
“Vanessa, put the weapon down.””
She turned sharply.
“Stay back!””
Miller stopped.
Vanessa looked at Marcus.
“You can still fix this.””
“How?””
“Give me the trust.””
“No.””
“Marcus—”
“No.””
Her face twisted.
“Then you'll lose your daughter.””
She raised the gun.
Marcus lunged.
A shot exploded.
The bullet struck the marble staircase.
Vanessa stumbled backward.
Detective Miller rushed forward.
Two officers came through the side entrance.
Vanessa dropped the weapon.
They tackled her.
Marcus fell to his knees, breathing hard.
“Are you hit?”” Miller shouted.
Marcus shook his head.
He looked at the photograph.
It lay on the floor.
He picked it up.
Then he noticed something written on the back.
A hospital identification number.
And a date.
Six years earlier.
He stared at the number.
It was the same number printed on Ava's original birth certificate.
Marcus looked up.
“Detective?””
Miller was handcuffing Vanessa.
“What?””
“I need this checked.””
Vanessa began laughing.
“Go ahead.””
Marcus turned.
“What?””
She looked at him with a strange, almost relieved expression.
“Get the records.””
Then she whispered:
“You'll discover that I was telling the truth.””
At Charleston Memorial, Claire was waiting.
Ava was asleep beside her.
Marcus entered the room carrying the photograph.
Claire immediately noticed his expression.
“What happened?””
“Vanessa made another accusation.””
Claire's face tightened.
“What accusation?””
“She said Ava was switched at birth.””
Claire went completely still.
Marcus stared at her.
“Tell me she's lying.””
Claire looked toward Ava.
Then she lowered her eyes.
“Marcus…”
He stepped closer.
“No.””
“Please listen.””
“No. Tell me she's lying.””
Claire's eyes filled.
“She isn't.””
Marcus felt something collapse inside him.
He sat down.
“Explain.””
Claire took a shaky breath.
“When Ava was born, there were complications.””
He remembered.
The long labor.
The emergency surgery.
The hours he had spent outside the operating room.
The nurse who had brought him a baby wrapped in a white blanket.
Claire continued.
“Your mother was in the hospital that night. She had been helping Thomas's family arrange a private adoption.””
Marcus frowned.
“What adoption?””
“Vanessa had given birth. She was very young. Her father didn't want the scandal.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Claire, what are you saying?””
“Vanessa's baby was placed under a temporary guardianship agreement. The hospital records were altered.””
Marcus stared.
“Did you know?””
Claire nodded.
“I found out when Ava was two.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
“Richard threatened to take Ava away if I ever exposed what had happened.””
Marcus stood.
“Why would he care?””
Claire looked toward the sleeping child.
“Because Ava was legally adopted into the Reed family through an agreement your mother arranged.””
Marcus frowned.
“Then she's still our daughter.””
“Yes.””
Claire reached for his hand.
“She is your daughter in every way that matters.””
Marcus pulled away.
“You let me believe she was biologically mine.””
“I loved her as my own.””
“That's not an answer.””
Claire began crying.
“I was afraid that if I told you, you would try to find her biological family. Vanessa was unstable. Thomas was dangerous. Richard had already threatened both of us.””
Marcus looked at the little girl.
Ava was sleeping peacefully.
Her tiny hand rested beneath her cheek.
He remembered teaching her to ride a bicycle.
Her first day at school.
The night she had a fever and refused to sleep unless he held her.
None of those memories had changed.
But the truth had.
“Who is her biological father?”” he asked.
Claire closed her eyes.
“Adrian Vale.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Daniel Pierce?””
She nodded.
“And Vanessa is her biological mother.””
Marcus sat back down.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then he asked the question that hurt most.
“Did you ever think about giving her back?””
Claire shook her head violently.
“Never.””
She reached toward Ava.
“She is my daughter. I carried her through every nightmare this family created. I watched her take her first steps.
I stayed awake when she was sick. I loved her before I even knew what the paperwork said.””
Her voice cracked.
“Nothing about that was fake.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Why did you let Vanessa near her?””
“I thought she had changed.””
“You knew who she was!””
“I knew who she had been. I didn't know what she was planning.””
Marcus rubbed his face.
Then Ava stirred.
“Daddy?””
He immediately turned.
“I'm here, sweetheart.””
She opened her eyes.
“Did you find Aunt Vanessa?””
Marcus swallowed.
“Yes.””
“Is she going to hurt Mommy again?””
“No.””
“Promise?””
He took her hand.
“I promise.””
Ava smiled weakly.
Then she looked at Claire.
“Mommy, can I have my bracelet?””
Claire glanced at Marcus.
He reached into his pocket.
The original silver charm was still there.
He placed it in Ava's palm.
She smiled.
“Grandpa's house.””
Marcus stared.
“What did you say?””
Ava pointed to the charm.
“Grandpa told me it was a house.””
Marcus frowned.
“When?””
“When I visited him.””
Claire sat up.
“What?””
Ava looked between them.
“Before the wedding.””
Marcus's heart began pounding.
“Sweetheart, when did you see Grandpa?””
“At the house.””
“Which house?””
“The big house with the trees.””
Marcus went cold.
Blackwater Lake.
He crouched beside her.
“What did Grandpa say?””
Ava thought carefully.
“He said Mommy had to keep the little girl safe.””
Marcus looked at Claire.
Ava continued.
“He said I wasn't supposed to tell Aunt Vanessa.””
Claire covered her mouth.
Marcus felt his blood run cold.
“Did Grandpa say anything else?””
Ava nodded.
“He said there were two little girls.””
Marcus stared.
“What two little girls?””
Ava pointed toward the window.
“One was me.””
She paused.
“The other one was in the picture.””
Marcus looked at Claire.
Then he remembered Vanessa's photograph.
The newborn baby.
The hospital bracelet.
The matching number.
“Did you see another child?”” Marcus asked.
Ava nodded.
“She was sleeping.””
“Where?””
“In Grandpa's house.””
Marcus stood.
“Detective Miller needs to hear this.””
Twenty minutes later, Detective Miller arrived with a forensic specialist.
He listened carefully as Ava described the visit.
“Did you recognize the other little girl?”” he asked gently.
Ava shook her head.
“She looked like me.””
Marcus frowned.
“What do you mean?””
Ava pointed to her own hair.
“She had the same hair.””
The specialist examined the photograph Vanessa had shown Marcus.
Then she compared the hospital identification number with the birth records.
Her expression changed.
“Detective?””
Miller looked up.
“What?””
“These records don't match.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“What do you mean?””
“The hospital identification number belongs to a newborn named Lily Vale.””
“Who is Lily?””
The specialist opened another document.
A child born on the same night as Ava.
A child whose records showed she had been transferred to a private medical facility shortly after birth.
Marcus looked at Claire.
“Where is she?””
Claire shook her head.
“I don't know.””
The specialist continued.
“According to these records, Lily was adopted by a family in North Carolina.””
Marcus stared.
“Then Vanessa's story is wrong?””
“Not necessarily.””
The specialist turned the page.
“The adoption was finalized under a different name.””
She placed the document on the table.
The new name was printed clearly.
*LILY REED.*
Marcus felt his heart stop.
Another child had been given his family name.
Another child had been hidden.
And someone had been paying for her care for six years.
“Who adopted her?”” he asked.
The specialist hesitated.
Then she looked toward Detective Miller.
“The adoption papers list Richard Reed as the legal guardian.””
Marcus stared.
His father had been raising another child.
A little girl.
Secretly.
For six years.
And suddenly, everything made sense.
Vanessa hadn't just wanted Ava.
She had wanted both children.
But why?
That evening, Marcus returned to Blackwater Lake with Detective Miller.
They searched the cellar again.
This time, they found a hidden compartment behind the desk.
Inside was a small collection of children's belongings.
A pink sweater.
A pair of tiny shoes.
A birthday card.
And six photographs.
Every photograph showed a little girl with dark hair and a small crescent-shaped birthmark near her shoulder.
Lily.
On the back of the final photograph, Richard had written:
*She must never meet Vanessa.*
Marcus examined the photograph.
The little girl was standing beside a woman.
A woman whose face was partly hidden.
But Marcus recognized her immediately.
It was Claire.
He turned.
“Claire told me she had never seen Lily.””
Detective Miller took the photograph.
“Maybe she didn't know who the child was.””
Marcus shook his head.
“She was standing beside her.””
Then he noticed something else.
A date.
The photograph had been taken three days earlier.
Marcus's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A little girl's voice came through.
“Daddy?””
Marcus froze.
The voice was small.
Familiar.
Then the child whispered:
“It's Lily.””
Marcus gripped the phone.
“Where are you?””
“I don't know.””
“Are you safe?””
A pause.
Then she whispered:
“Vanessa is here.””
Marcus looked at Detective Miller.
The child began crying.
“She says she's taking me home.””
A man's voice interrupted.
Then the line went dead.
Marcus stared at the phone.
Detective Miller was already reaching for his radio.
But before he could speak, another message arrived.
A photograph.
Vanessa stood beside a little girl.
Two identical crescent-shaped birthmarks were visible beneath their collars.
The message beneath it read:
May you like
*One daughter was never enough.*
And Marcus realized the final nightmare had only just begun.
