CHAPTER 54: He Digs Deeper

CHAPTER 54: He Digs Deeper
Kieran’s POV

As I got out of my car, the cold wind hit my face, but I did not feel it much.  Too many things were going through my mind at once: Serena's voice, Evelyn's silence, and that stupid picture Adrian sent me.  Adrian is standing next to Damien.  When I saw them next to each other, something inside me broke.  It was like a puzzle piece I did not know I was missing finally fit, and it scared the crap out of me.

Since that picture came through, I had not slept.  Something bigger was going on, and Serena never told me about it.  I did not want to wait for the truth to find me this time.  I had to look for it.  I am not going to trust what people tell me anymore.  It was easier not to see what was going on.

In front of the private hospital where Serena said Adrian was born, I parked my car.  It had been almost twenty years since I last went inside this place.  People told me that my son had died before I even got to hold him the last time I was here.  But what if Serena was lying about that, too?

The receptionist looked up as I entered, her smile polite but unsure.  "May I assist you, sir?"

I found the hospital form in my old files and took it out this morning.  The one Serena showed me years ago as proof.  "I need a record of a birth from twenty years ago."  March 9th.  At the time, my wife gave birth here.

When she took the paper from me, her eyes got really big.  "That was a long time ago."

"I understand.  But I need to see who signed the birth certificate.  I want to know if anything went wrong.  What else do you need?

She gave a nod and walked off into a back room.  My heart pounded in my chest.  If Serena had lied about something as huge as Adrian being mine... then what else was fake?

The front desk worker came back with a file.  "This is what we found."  But, sir, something does not seem right.  The name of this file is "Baby A."

The hairs on my eyebrows stood up.  “Baby A?”

"Yes."  When twins are born, the hospital usually calls them "Baby A" and "Baby B" to make them easier to find before giving them their real names.

What she said hit me hard.  My hands were numb as I slowly took the file from her.

I saw the chart inside.  It showed two different heart rates.  Two babies were born very close to each other.

I could barely breathe.

"What happened to the other child?"  My voice was rough as I asked.

"There is no file for Baby B's discharge," she said.  "It seems like the file was missing."

I stood there and stared at the folder without another sheet where it should have been.

She told a lie.

There were two babies.  Not a single one.

I quickly thanked the woman and left, tucking the file under my arm.  I did not want to cause a fuss.  Not yet.  I needed to know for sure how I felt.  If Serena did have a second child and kept it from me, then everything in my life was a lie.

The next place I went was Evelyn's flat.  I forgot to call ahead.  After everything I did to her, I was not even sure if she would talk to me.  After all the times I let her down.  I had to try, though.

Her eyes lit up with surprise as she slowly opened the door.  Hey, Kieran!

I said, "Please."  “I need answers.  I need to talk to you.”

She stepped aside wordlessly, letting me in.  The place smelled like tea and soft lavender, but the warmth of the room didn’t reach the chill inside me.

“I went to the hospital,” I began.  "The one Serena gave birth to."

She put down her mug with a little shaking in her hands.  "What did you find?"

I told her, "There were twins."  “There were two boys born that day.”

She closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath.  “I hoped you’d never find out like this.”

I took a step closer.  "Is that true?"  "And Adrian... and Damien?"

She agreed, but tears were in her eyes.  "All Serena wanted was one."  It would be too hard to explain two, she said.  Which means too many questions.  She bribed the nurse and made threats against the doctor.  I didn’t know she took Adrian until years later.”

I collapsed onto her couch, the weight of it all crashing down on me.

“You knew all this time?”

“I found out after Damien started asking questions about his birth,” she whispered.  "It was too late by then."  Serena was already very good at weaving the story together.  You, Kieran, did not even ask her a question.

“I didn’t want to,” I admitted.  "I loved her."  Or maybe I liked the version of her I wanted to believe in.

Evelyn sat beside me, her voice low.  "They have already met, right?  Hey Adrian and Damien.

I said yes.  "They are beginning to feel it."  That link.  I can see it.

Evy said with a small smile, "They always felt it."  "Before they even met."

When I looked at her, I did not see the woman I had sued and hurt for a moment.  I saw the mum who had been carrying this for years.  That mum who saw her son grow up and did not know his twin was still alive.

I said, "We need to tell them."  "The truth."  Everything.”

She said, "We will."  “But first... You need to be ready.  Because once this comes out, Serena will burn everything to the ground trying to stop it.”

I clenched my jaw.  "Let her try then."

I stayed longer than planned.  We talked.  Talked.  It felt like we were on the same side again for the first time in years.  But as I left Evelyn’s apartment that night, a strange feeling twisted in my stomach.

Something didn’t sit right.

When I got home, I pulled out the file again.  I laid every piece out on the table.  Hospital forms, birth records, blank pages, and the fake papers Serena made.  I began to line up the dates, check the names, and make sure that the signatures matched.

I saw it after that.

On the birth certificate, one of the doctors had died three years before the due date.

My heart stopped beating.

Somebody changed the papers.

I picked up the phone and called an old friend—an investigator I had worked with in the past on a custody case.

To his answer, I said, "I need you to look into something for me."  "I am willing to pay anything."

"What do you want to find?"

I said, "The truth."  "Everything that Serena Blackwood has ever kept secret."

He said they could meet the next day.  When I hung up the phone, I leaned back because I was so tired.

My phone rang again before I could even get a drink of water.

Something.

No name.  It was just a number I did not know.

It came with a picture.

I clicked it open.

Serena.  In a dimly lit room.  With Victor standing behind her.  He put his hand on her shoulder.

One line of text below the picture.

"She is making her last move."  Do not let her go, or you will lose everything.

My grip on the phone got tighter.

Serena was no longer running.

She was ready to fight.