Chapter 10 - The Second Photograph
Hannah returned to the Barrett estate that night.
Not alone.
Dean Grant had advised against it.
But Hannah needed answers.
Linda opened the door.
She looked exhausted.
"Where have you been?"
Hannah stepped inside.
"Who is Allison?"
Linda froze.
Richard appeared behind her.
"Hannah."
"Don't."
Richard stopped.
Hannah looked at her mother.
"Who is Allison?"
Linda's face changed.
"You need to leave."
"That's not an answer."
Richard stepped forward.
"This family has been through enough."
Hannah laughed once.
"This family?"
She pulled the old photograph from her bag.
"Who is this?"
Linda looked at it.
Her face drained of color.
Richard grabbed her arm.
"Linda."
Hannah saw everything.
Fear.
Recognition.
Guilt.
"She knows," Hannah whispered.
Linda began crying.
Richard said nothing.
Hannah's voice shook.
"Is Allison my twin?"
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
Hannah looked at him.
"You're lying."
Richard's jaw tightened.
"Allison is Linda's daughter."
"Then why does she have the same birthmark?"
Richard froze.
Hannah had noticed it years ago.
A tiny crescent near Allison's eyebrow.
The same mark.
The same eyes.
The same birth date.
She had simply never questioned it.
Because families were supposed to tell the truth.
Linda sat down.
"Hannah..."
"Tell me."
Linda covered her face.
Richard looked toward the window.
Then finally said.
"Yes."
Hannah felt nothing.
Not shock.
Not anger.
Just emptiness.
"Allison is my twin."
Linda began sobbing.
"She was supposed to be yours."
"What does that mean?"
Richard looked at her.
"The hospital made a mistake."
Hannah stared.
"No."
"Your mother gave birth to two children."
"No."
"One was registered under Linda."
"Stop."
"And one..."
Richard couldn't finish.
Hannah whispered.
"One was taken."
Richard nodded.
Hannah stepped backward.
"By you."
He didn't deny it.
"Why?"
Richard's face hardened.
"Because I had no choice."
"You always have a choice."
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
Richard's eyes filled with something Hannah had never seen.
Regret.
"I was trying to protect Allison."
Hannah stared.
"From what?"
Richard looked at Linda.
Linda whispered.
"Her father."
Hannah froze.
"Allison's father?"
Linda nodded.
Richard said quietly.
"James Carter."
Hannah's breath caught.
Her grandfather.
The man who had funded her research.
The man who had spent decades looking for Emily.
The man Richard feared.
Hannah suddenly understood the shape of the lie.
But there was still one question.
Why had Richard needed Allison?
Why had he needed Hannah gone?
And why had James Carter never found either of them?
Richard looked at Hannah.
"Because the night you were born, something happened that could destroy everyone."
"What?"
He reached for a drawer.
Before he could open it, the front door burst open.
Allison stood there.
She was holding a file.
May you like
Her face was pale.
"I know."
