Thomas left the hospital before anyone could stop him.<\/p>\n
Emily followed him into the hallway.<\/p>\n
I went after her.<\/p>\n
Thomas was already at the elevators.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pressed the button.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'll come.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily stopped.<\/p>\n
Thomas turned toward her.<\/p>\n
His face was wet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need ten minutes where I am not your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence shocked both of us.<\/p>\n
He saw it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't mean that the way it sounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily said nothing.<\/p>\n
Thomas stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have spent every minute since yesterday trying to make sure you're okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need ten minutes to be Rebecca's husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily's face softened.<\/p>\n
He continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to be angry at her without worrying what that anger does to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas touched her cheek.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He entered the elevator alone.<\/p>\n
Emily watched the doors close.<\/p>\n
Then she leaned against the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cI've never seen him like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither have I.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loved Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe loved him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can somebody love you and still hide something that big?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question was so obviously about Thomas and Rebecca.<\/p>\n
It was also about me and Jeremy.<\/p>\n
I leaned against the wall beside her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't think love prevents cowardice.\u201d<\/p>\n
She waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it gives cowardice better excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily considered that.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you leaving Jeremy?\u201d<\/p>\n
There was no hesitation in the question.<\/p>\n
Young people can be mercilessly direct.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you still love him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that enough?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's what I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n
We returned to Lacey's room.<\/p>\n
Jeremy was sitting by the window.<\/p>\n
Lacey had fallen asleep.<\/p>\n
Nathan was speaking quietly on the phone.<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked at Emily.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan't blame him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you angry at Rebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt my grandmother?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy flinched at the word grandmother.<\/p>\n
Evelyn.<\/p>\n
Emily had a right to call her that.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Caleb?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Lacey?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked toward the bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Jill?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes moved to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I raised an eyebrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot even a little?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot for any of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
That distinction mattered.<\/p>\n
Emily leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you angriest at?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cMyself.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost interrupted.<\/p>\n
Emily did first.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause anger needs somewhere to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't mean you deserve most of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sound like Jill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's probably because she makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
I tried not to smile.<\/p>\n
Jeremy failed.<\/p>\n
Nathan ended his call.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke to the lab.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey still exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same company?\u201d Jeremy asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cDifferent ownership, same archived records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo they have the original?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown. They are checking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they do, I want it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already have Evelyn's copy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want every piece.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily said, \u201cMe too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan made a note.<\/p>\n
Two hours passed.<\/p>\n
Lacey slept.<\/p>\n
Jeremy went for coffee.<\/p>\n
Emily and I sat together watching rain begin outside.<\/p>\n
Then Thomas called.<\/p>\n
Emily answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n
She listened.<\/p>\n
Her expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat journal?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward her.<\/p>\n
Thomas spoke long enough that she sat straighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't read anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Bring it here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't care what Mom wanted hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily ended the call.<\/p>\n
Jeremy returned holding three coffees.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad found my mother's journal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas arrived forty minutes later carrying a clothbound notebook.<\/p>\n
He looked calmer.<\/p>\n
Not better.<\/p>\n
Calmer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI forgot this existed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Emily took the notebook.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBack of her closet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou kept her things?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wrote journals for years. Most were ordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy this one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt ends the year you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily opened it.<\/p>\n
Thomas stopped her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI already found the relevant pages.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you tell me not to read the rest?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause some things belong to your mother even now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily stared.<\/p>\n
I expected an argument.<\/p>\n
Instead she nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShow me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas turned to a marked page.<\/p>\n
Rebecca's handwriting was small and neat.<\/p>\n
February 10, 2005.<\/p>\n
The baby is here.<\/p>\n
Emily stopped.<\/p>\n
Lacey was awake now.<\/p>\n
She watched from the bed.<\/p>\n
Thomas read because Emily could not.<\/p>\n
She is perfect. Thomas held her for an hour and cried. I have never seen him happier.<\/p>\n
Thomas's voice cracked.<\/p>\n
He continued.<\/p>\n
Evelyn says Jeremy cannot know. She says he would come immediately and there would be no stopping him.<\/p>\n
Jeremy's face hardened.<\/p>\n
Rebecca had written more.<\/p>\n
I asked Evelyn whether she was certain the test named Jeremy. She said yes.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
No ambiguity.<\/p>\n
Rebecca had known.<\/p>\n
Emily looked at Jeremy.<\/p>\n
He stared at the journal.<\/p>\n
Thomas continued.<\/p>\n
I should feel guilty. Instead I feel terrified someone will take her.<\/p>\n
Lacey turned her face toward the window.<\/p>\n
Rebecca's next entry was three days later.<\/p>\n
Margaret says Lacey still believes the baby died. I told her this is wrong.<\/p>\n
Thomas stopped.<\/p>\n
Lacey made a sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep reading.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did.<\/p>\n
Margaret said correcting it now would ruin everything. Evelyn agreed.<\/p>\n
Rebecca had known that too.<\/p>\n
Not before the adoption, perhaps.<\/p>\n
But days afterward.<\/p>\n
Early enough to act.<\/p>\n
She had chosen not to.<\/p>\n
Emily covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Thomas's hands trembled.<\/p>\n
Rebecca's entry continued.<\/p>\n
I told myself I would return the baby if Lacey had been deceived. Then Emily opened her eyes while I was holding her, and I knew I could not.<\/p>\n
Thomas stopped reading.<\/p>\n
Silence filled the room.<\/p>\n
Nobody needed to explain the horror of it.<\/p>\n
Rebecca had recognized the wrong.<\/p>\n
Then chosen herself.<\/p>\n
Lacey whispered, \u201cShe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn't do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI benefited from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did I,\u201d Emily said.<\/p>\n
Everyone turned toward her.<\/p>\n
She was crying now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had good parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't excuse\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't say it did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily wiped her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I can't pretend my childhood was terrible just because how I got there was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey stared at her.<\/p>\n
Emily continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom loved me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Thomas whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she stole me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
Both things were true.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
The journal contained several more entries.<\/p>\n
Rebecca became increasingly frightened.<\/p>\n
She wrote that Evelyn visited often during Emily's first year.<\/p>\n
Each visit made Rebecca nervous.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Because Evelyn kept asking for photographs.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had pictures of me?\u201d Emily asked.<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked stunned.<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy covered his mouth.<\/p>\n
His mother had seen his daughter grow.<\/p>\n
She had carried photographs while watching her son grieve infertility.<\/p>\n
I had thought I was beyond being shocked by Evelyn.<\/p>\n
I was wrong.<\/p>\n
One entry from Emily's third birthday changed the room again.<\/p>\n
Evelyn came today. She asked whether I ever think about telling Jeremy. I told her no.<\/p>\n
Jeremy whispered, \u201cShe wanted to tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas kept reading.<\/p>\n
Evelyn said Jill and Jeremy have started trying for a child. She cried.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
I remembered that year.<\/p>\n
Temperature charts.<\/p>\n
Doctor appointments.<\/p>\n
Jeremy painting the spare bedroom even though I told him it was too early.<\/p>\n
Evelyn had known another granddaughter already existed forty miles away.<\/p>\n
Thomas turned the page.<\/p>\n
The next entry was six months later.<\/p>\n
Evelyn says she cannot carry this forever.<\/p>\n
Jeremy stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was going to tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
The journal answered.<\/p>\n
Rebecca wrote that Evelyn planned to confess after Christmas.<\/p>\n
Jeremy's face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the year Dad got sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered.<\/p>\n
His father suffered a major stroke two days after Christmas.<\/p>\n
Evelyn spent the next eighteen months caring for him.<\/p>\n
He died the following summer.<\/p>\n
Then Evelyn herself became ill.<\/p>\n
The confession never happened.<\/p>\n
Thomas turned toward the final pages.<\/p>\n
Rebecca's last entry about the adoption was dated four years later.<\/p>\n
Evelyn says the truth must remain buried now. Too much time has passed. Jeremy would hate us all, and Emily would lose the only family she knows.<\/p>\n
Emily whispered, \u201cShe was right about one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI could have lost my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you should've been allowed to know there was another one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan's phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
He read the message.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lab found an archived case number.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo they still have the sample?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does that matter? We have the result.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan looked toward Emily.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the original test may tell us more than paternity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat more?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fetal sample was submitted with additional genetic screening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never agreed to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat may become important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy asked, \u201cWhat were they screening for?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan read the message again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn inherited cardiac condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas went still.<\/p>\n
Emily noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother had a heart condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe died from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily stared.<\/p>\n
We all understood the implication at once.<\/p>\n
If Rebecca had requested genetic screening of Lacey's unborn child for a condition Rebecca herself carried, there had to be a reason.<\/p>\n
Nathan looked at Thomas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Rebecca biologically related to Emily?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe couldn't be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb.<\/p>\n
Rebecca's brother.<\/p>\n
If Emily had inherited the same familial condition, it could point toward Caleb.<\/p>\n
But the paternity test named Jeremy.<\/p>\n
Those facts should not fit together.<\/p>\n
Unless somebody had altered one of the records.<\/p>\n
Nathan closed the folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need the original laboratory archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked at Emily.<\/p>\n
She had gone pale.<\/p>\n
The question was no longer only who her biological father was.<\/p>\n
Somebody twenty-two years earlier had ordered a medical test that might affect her health today.<\/p>\n
And whatever they had discovered had been hidden with everything else.<\/p>\n
Thomas left the hospital before anyone could stop him. Emily followed him into the hallway. I went after her. Thomas was already at the elevators. \u201cDad.\u201d He pressed the button. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-every-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7527"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7634,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7527\/revisions\/7634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}