Chapter 8 - The Name in the Hospital Record
The next morning, Emily returned home.
Ryan was gone.
Linda was gone.
But James remained with her.
He refused to let her out of his sight.
Emily sat at the kitchen table.
“Dad, I need the truth.”
James placed a folder in front of her.
“Then read it.”
The folder contained hospital records.
Her birth certificate.
Medical reports.
And one document Emily had never seen.
A maternity ward admission form.
Mother: Sarah Bennett.
Father: Unknown.
Child: Female.
Name: Emily Bennett.
Emily stared.
“No.”
James sat across from her.
“You were raised believing I was your father.”
“Aren't you?”
James looked down.
“I am your father.”
“But not biologically?”
He hesitated.
“I don't know.”
Emily's world seemed to tilt.
“What does that mean?”
“Sarah disappeared shortly after you were born.”
“Why was I given to you?”
“Because she asked me to protect you.”
“From whom?”
James looked at the window.
“From the same people who may still be watching you.”
Emily pushed the folder away.
“Why did you let me marry Ryan?”
James closed his eyes.
“I didn't know who he had become.”
“You knew he knew Sarah.”
“Yes.”
“And you said nothing.”
“I wanted to believe he was innocent.”
Emily stood.
“You keep saying that.”
“What?”
“That you wanted to believe.”
She looked at him.
“But you never say what you actually knew.”
James was silent.
Emily walked away.
Her phone rang.
A message appeared.
Unknown number.
You have the wrong father.
Emily stared at the screen.
Another message arrived.
ASK JAMES WHO YOUR REAL FATHER IS.
She slowly turned.
James was standing behind her.
May you like
He had seen the messages.
And for the first time, he looked completely defeated.
