Chapter 11 - The Hospital Box
The next morning, Daniel drove Lily to St. Catherine’s Medical Center.
Hannah had died there nine years earlier.
The hospital retained pathology samples under certain conditions.
Rebecca had already contacted the legal department.
A court order might be necessary.
But Daniel had another possibility.
After Hannah’s death, the hospital gave him a small cardboard box containing personal belongings.
Her wedding ring.
Her watch.
A hairbrush.
A scarf.
Daniel had placed the box in a cedar chest and never opened it again.
That morning, Lily carried the hairbrush in a sealed evidence bag.
They met a genetic specialist.
Samples were collected from Lily.
From the brush.
Rebecca arranged an independent laboratory.
Results would take time.
Outside the hospital, Lily sat on a bench.
Daniel joined her.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Fair.”
She looked at him.
“If Mom was Evelyn’s daughter…”
“Yes?”
“Grandpa was her uncle.”
“Yes.”
“And Grandma knew.”
“Maybe.”
“She admitted she suspected.”
Daniel nodded.
Lily stared at the parking lot.
“Do you think Mom knew?”
That question hurt differently.
“I don’t know.”
“She never talked about her childhood much.”
“She hated talking about foster homes.”
“She used to tell me she wished she had a sister.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
He remembered Hannah saying the same thing.
On Lily’s seventh birthday, after watching cousins play together, Hannah had whispered, “Imagine discovering you had family somewhere.”
He had kissed her forehead.
“You have us.”
At the time, it had seemed romantic.
Now it felt tragic.
Daniel’s phone rang.
Rebecca.
“I found something.”
“What?”
“A foster placement file.”
Daniel stood.
“For Hannah?”
“Yes.”
“There’s a restricted note referencing her birth mother.”
“Evelyn?”
“Not by name.”
“What does it say?”
Rebecca paused.
“The mother attempted contact when Hannah was fourteen.”
Daniel stared at Lily.
“What happened?”
“The request was denied.”
“By whom?”
“An attorney acting on behalf of a relative.”
Daniel already knew.
“Name.”
May you like
Rebecca inhaled.
“Margaret Carter.”
