Chapter 7 - The Sister I Never Knew Existed
For twenty-four years, I had believed I was an only child.
Now a woman with my face stood before me, claiming to be my twin.
I couldn't move.
Rose looked equally frightened.
"I know how this sounds."
"How did you find me?"
She wiped her cheeks.
"I've been searching for Eleanor Carter for six months."
"My mother died six years ago."
Rose's expression collapsed.
"No."
I swallowed.
"I'm sorry."
She covered her mouth.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then Dominic approached.
"Let's go somewhere private."
Rose looked at him.
Her expression changed.
"Dominic Vale?"
He stopped.
"You know me?"
She shook her head.
"Only your name."
We moved into a quiet hotel conference room.
Marcus remained outside.
Rose sat across from me, nervously twisting a silver ring around her finger.
"I was raised in Albany," she began. "My adoptive parents told me my birth mother couldn't care for me."
I stared at her.
"My mother never mentioned another baby."
Rose nodded sadly.
"I don't think she knew I survived."
The words chilled me.
"What do you mean?"
Rose opened a folder.
Inside were adoption documents, medical records, and an old photograph of two newborn girls lying side by side.
Both wore tiny pink hospital bracelets.
One read LILY.
The other read ROSE.
My hands began trembling.
Rose continued.
"I was told one of the babies died shortly after birth."
I stared at the photograph.
"But you're alive."
"Yes."
Dominic examined the records.
"Who handled the adoption?"
Rose pointed toward a signature.
"Dr. Harold Price."
Dominic's expression hardened.
I noticed immediately.
"You know him?"
He nodded.
"Price worked for my family."
Rose went pale.
"My adoptive parents said he arranged everything privately."
I looked at Dominic.
"Why would your family separate two newborn babies?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he examined another document.
A transfer authorization.
The receiving institution was a private clinic funded by the Vale family.
Dominic looked at the date.
Then at Rose.
"What happened to your adoptive parents?"
"They died last year."
"I'm sorry."
Rose nodded.
"They were wonderful people. I don't believe they knew anything was wrong."
She hesitated.
"But before Mom died, she gave me a letter."
She pulled it from her bag.
The envelope was yellow with age.
On the front, someone had written:
To Rose, when the truth can no longer be hidden.
Rose unfolded the letter.
Her voice trembled as she read.
"Your birth mother did not abandon you. You were taken from her because someone believed you carried a secret worth killing for."
I covered my mouth.
Rose continued.
"The man responsible was Adrian Vale."
Dominic stood.
His chair scraped across the floor.
But the final sentence was worse.
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"Adrian didn't separate the twins to protect them."
"He separated them because only one daughter could inherit what Eleanor Carter had hidden."
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