CHAPTER 8 — The Twin Nobody Was Looking For
"No..."
Ethan whispered the word again and again, unable to believe it.
"That's impossible."
Detective Harris slid another document across the table.
The delivery report was badly damaged by water, but one line remained perfectly readable.
Infant A — Female. Stable.
Infant B — Female. Stable.
Two babies.
Both alive after birth.
Ethan felt the room spinning.
"I buried two lives that never ended."
Richard lowered his head.
"I didn't know."
"When they brought Grace to me, I believed she was the only child."
"You have to believe me."
Ethan searched Richard's face.
For the first time, he saw not a thief...
...but another victim.
Someone who had also been manipulated by Charles Cole.
Detective Harris spoke again.
"We searched Charles Cole's private archives this morning."
"We found one final recording."
The video began to play.
Charles Cole appeared older than Ethan remembered, but his voice remained cold.
"Empires are not built by love."
"They're built by sacrifice."
"If my grandson ever discovers this recording, it means I've lost control."
He smiled.
"One granddaughter was enough to satisfy Bennett."
"The other was placed somewhere no one would ever think to search."
The video suddenly cut to static.
Everyone stared at the blank screen.
Maria quietly looked toward Sophia, who was coloring on the floor beside Grace.
The two girls laughed together as if none of the chaos around them existed.
Then Sophia held up her newest drawing.
It showed three little girls holding hands beneath a giant rainbow.
She had written in uneven letters:
"Sisters always find each other."
Maria frowned.
"Sophia..."
"Why did you draw three sisters?"
Sophia shrugged innocently.
"I don't know."
"I just dreamed about them."
Before anyone could respond, Detective Harris's phone rang again.
He answered...
Then slowly looked at Ethan.
"We traced the final hospital transfer."
"The second twin wasn't sent overseas."
He paused.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"She never left Tennessee."
"And according to the latest records..."
"...someone has been paying to protect her identity for the last nine years."
Ethan's heart pounded.
"Who?"
The detective met his eyes.
"The payments have all been made..."
"...from an account registered in your own name."
Ethan's face turned pale.
"I've never opened that account."
"I know," the detective replied quietly.
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"Which means someone has been using your identity for nearly a decade."
TO BE CONTINUED...
