Chapter 15 - The Other Baby
The basement went dark.
Daniel grabbed my arm.
“Stay behind me.”
I could barely breathe.
The woman's voice had come from the stairwell.
“Nathan, don't let Daniel tell you what happened to the other baby.”
I knew that voice.
My mother's.
“Mom?”
No answer.
I pulled out my phone.
The screen lit the darkness for half a second.
No signal.
Daniel moved toward the stairs.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
“Why?”
“Because she wants us to follow her.”
I stared into the darkness.
“You heard her too?”
“Yes.”
“Then she's here.”
Daniel nodded.
“She shouldn't be.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother told me she was never supposed to come back.”
My stomach tightened.
“Back from where?”
Before he could answer, a small emergency light flickered on above the stairs.
The woman was gone.
The basement door at the top stood open.
I looked at Daniel.
“Was that really my mother?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she warn me about you?”
Daniel's face was pale.
“Because she doesn't know the whole story.”
“You keep saying that.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me.”
He hesitated.
I stepped closer.
“You told me my parents were hiding something about the day I was born.”
“Yes.”
“You told me there was another baby.”
“Yes.”
“Who was it?”
Daniel looked away.
“I don't know.”
I stared at him.
“You don't know?”
“Not for certain.”
“Then why did you say it?”
“Because I saw the records.”
“What records?”
“The hospital records.”
My heart started pounding.
“You had access to them?”
“Your grandmother gave them to me.”
“When?”
“Six years ago.”
The same year Grandpa disappeared.
The same year the Northstar structure changed.
The same year my mother accessed the files.
Everything kept circling back to that year.
I walked toward the stairs.
Daniel caught my arm.
“Wait.”
I pulled free.
“No more waiting.”
We climbed.
The hallway above was empty.
The front door stood open.
Cold air moved through the house.
I called:
“Mom?”
Nothing.
Then I heard a sound from the room on the left.
A drawer closing.
Daniel motioned for me to stay back.
He entered first.
I followed.
The room contained old furniture and stacked boxes.
No one was there.
But one drawer was open.
Inside was a hospital bracelet.
I picked it up.
The plastic was yellowed with age.
The name printed across it made my stomach drop.
NATHAN COLE.
I looked at Daniel.
“That's mine.”
“Yes.”
“Then why was it here?”
He didn't answer.
I opened the drawer farther.
Another bracelet lay beneath it.
Same hospital.
Same date.
Different name.
BABY GIRL — MERCER.
I stopped breathing.
Daniel closed his eyes.
“That's the other baby.”
I stared at the bracelet.
“A girl?”
“Yes.”
“Who was she?”
“I don't know.”
“You said the records told you.”
“They told me she existed.”
“Not who she was?”
“No.”
I turned the bracelet over.
There was a handwritten number.
17.
The same number as the basement door.
I looked at Daniel.
“What does that mean?”
“I don't know.”
“You always say that.”
“Because every time I think I understand, another piece changes.”
I looked around the room.
“Then find the pieces.”
Daniel opened another box.
Inside were hospital documents.
Birth certificates.
Discharge papers.
Medical records.
A folder marked:
COLE / MERCER — CONFIDENTIAL
I grabbed it.
The first page was a hospital admission record.
Mother:
Linda Cole
Father:
Mark Cole
Infant:
Male
Birth time:
2:14 a.m.
I turned the page.
Another admission record.
Mother:
Caroline Mercer
Father:
Daniel Mercer
Infant:
Female
Birth time:
2:19 a.m.
Five minutes apart.
I stared.
“Caroline's baby.”
Daniel nodded.
“My sister.”
I looked at him.
“You have a sister?”
He shook his head.
“Not one I knew.”
I looked at the record again.
“What happened to her?”
Daniel took the papers from me.
“According to the hospital…”
He stopped.
“What?”
“She died.”
My stomach dropped.
“When?”
“Three days after birth.”
I stared at him.
“Then why is there another bracelet?”
Daniel didn't answer.
I flipped through the papers.
The death certificate was there.
But something was wrong.
The signature of the attending physician was dated three days after the recorded death.
I pointed at it.
“This doesn't make sense.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“The doctor wasn't on duty.”
“How do you know?”
“I checked the hospital roster.”
“You checked everything?”
“I spent six years looking.”
I looked at the certificate.
“Was the body released?”
“No.”
“Funeral?”
“No.”
“Burial?”
“No.”
I stared at him.
“So nobody ever saw her.”
Daniel's face tightened.
“Not officially.”
I stepped backward.
“Then she may not have died.”
“No.”
“Daniel.”
“I said not officially.”
He took another paper.
A transfer record.
The infant had been moved from the hospital nursery.
Destination:
PRIVATE FAMILY CARE
Authorization:
E. COLE
I looked at him.
“Elliot.”
“Yes.”
“Grandpa took her.”
“That was my theory.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
I thought about the successor agreement.
Brandon.
Northstar.
The warning from my mother.
The photograph of the newborn.
Suddenly, one possibility appeared.
“What if the other baby was the real beneficiary?”
Daniel looked at me.
“That's what I thought.”
“Then why was I named?”
“Because something happened.”
“What?”
Daniel reached into his coat.
He pulled out a folded letter.
It had been sealed for years.
He handed it to me.
The handwriting was my grandmother's.
I opened it.
Nathan,
If you are reading this, then the truth about the children has finally reached you.
My hands began to shake.
I continued.
You were born first.
The girl was born five minutes later.
But the hospital records were changed before sunrise.
I looked at Daniel.
“Why?”
He pointed toward the next paragraph.
Because one of the children was not safe.
I read faster.
Your father believed the danger was financial.
He was wrong.
The danger was blood.
My heart pounded.
I turned the page.
Elliot and I made the hardest decision of our lives.
We separated the children.
One would remain with Mark and Linda.
The other would disappear.
I stopped.
“Disappear.”
Daniel nodded.
I continued.
We told everyone the girl died.
That was the only way to keep her alive.
I stared at the words.
Daniel whispered:
“Keep reading.”
The next line was underlined.
The child was given another name.
A new identity.
A new family.
A new life.
But Northstar was created to protect her inheritance.
I looked up.
“Her inheritance.”
“Yes.”
“Not mine.”
“No.”
“Then Brandon…”
Daniel shook his head.
“Brandon was never the intended successor.”
I looked back at the letter.
My grandmother had written:
The successor was supposed to be the child who could reunite both sides of the family without knowing she belonged to either.
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel's face tightened.
“I don't know.”
I almost laughed.
“Of course.”
Then I saw the final paragraph.
But if the children ever discover the truth, do not tell Nathan who she is.
Let her reveal herself.
I stared.
“Why?”
Daniel didn't answer.
I read the final line.
Because if Nathan learns her name before she is ready, the people hunting Northstar will find her too.
I lowered the letter.
“She's alive.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
“And she's somewhere out there.”
“Yes.”
“And my mother knows.”
“Yes.”
“And Grandpa knows.”
“Yes.”
“And Dad knows.”
Daniel looked away.
“Yes.”
I suddenly understood why everyone had been terrified.
It wasn't just about money.
Northstar wasn't simply a family trust.
It was protection for someone who had been hidden since birth.
Someone whose identity could change ownership of everything.
I asked:
“Does Caroline know?”
“Yes.”
“Does Brandon know?”
“I don't know.”
“Does Paul know?”
“I don't know.”
“Then who does?”
Daniel stared at me.
“Your mother.”
I shook my head.
“She warned me about you.”
“Because she believes I want to expose the girl.”
“Do you?”
“No.”
“Then what do you want?”
Daniel looked directly at me.
“To find her before they do.”
“Who are they?”
“The Meridian Group.”
“What do they want from her?”
“The same thing everyone wants from Northstar.”
“Control?”
“No.”
He paused.
“Blood rights.”
I didn't understand.
Then he explained.
“The original trust was written around biological succession.”
My stomach tightened.
“If she's alive…”
“She outranks everyone.”
“Even me?”
“Yes.”
“Even Brandon?”
“Yes.”
“Even Dad?”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked toward the window.
“That is why your grandfather changed the successor.”
“To Brandon.”
“Yes.”
“To protect the girl.”
“Yes.”
I looked at the letter again.
“Then why did Grandpa choose me first?”
Daniel answered quietly.
“Because he believed you would eventually find her.”
A sound came from the hallway.
We both turned.
Footsteps.
Someone was walking toward us.
Slow.
Careful.
Daniel reached for my arm.
The footsteps stopped outside the room.
I held my breath.
Then the door opened.
A woman stood there.
She was in her early thirties.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A small scar near her chin.
She looked directly at Daniel.
Then at me.
Her expression changed.
She whispered:
“Nathan?”
I couldn't move.
Daniel stared at her.
His face drained of color.
The woman stepped inside.
“I've been looking for you.”
I swallowed.
“Who are you?”
She looked at the hospital bracelet in my hand.
Then at the letter.
And finally at me.
“My name is…”
She stopped.
A car engine roared outside.
The woman suddenly turned toward the window.
Her face went white.
“They found me.”
Daniel grabbed the door.
“Who?”
She looked at me.
May you like
Then whispered the name that made my entire body go cold—
“Caroline.”
