Chapter 136

Chapter 136
Author’s  POV 

Susan had never been the type to dwell on the past. Life has been simple, sometimes unpredictable. She loved her parents, appreciated the life they had given her, and never questioned the things that didn’t add up.   

It started as something ordinary.  

A quiet afternoon spent helping her mother clean out the storage closet in their home. The scent of dust and old wood filled the air as Susan kneeled beside a worn-out cardboard box.  

"What’s in here?" she asked, brushing off the fine layer of dust covering the lid.  

Her mother, standing nearby, glanced over with a distracted expression. 

“Oh, just some old things from when you were a baby. Don’t worry about it.”

But Susan did worry about it.  

There was something about the way her mother’s voice shaked, as if she wanted to move on from the topic too quickly.  

Curious, Susan carefully lifted the lid and peered inside. Small, folded baby clothes sat neatly stacked on top of each other, soft and faded from time. A yellow onesie with tiny stitched flowers. A little white hat. And then, a hospital bracelet.  

Her heart thudded as she picked it up. The plastic felt cold against her skin, despite years of being tucked away. Her eyes scanned the details. It was beautiful.

It had initials on it, intials that didn’t match her name or her adopted parents. 

A deep frown settled on her face.  

"Mom?" She turned, holding up the bracelet. "Whose initials is this?"  

Her mother’s face immediately drained of color.  

Susan had never seen her mother look this way before, like she had been caught doing something terribly wrong.  

"Where did you get that?" Her mother’s voice was sharp, urgent.  

"It was in the box," Susan answered slowly, watching her closely.  

Her mother stepped forward, snatching the bracelet from her grasp. 

"It’s nothing. Just forget it."  

She wasn’t going to push her either, but the sharpness in her tone told her otherwise. Susan felt an odd twist in her stomach. It was just a bracelet, wasn’t it? So why did her mother look so shaken?  

Still, she let it go. Or at least, she pretended to. But the thoughts wouldn’t leave her.  

……

That night, Susan lay awake, staring at the ceiling. She couldn’t stop thinking about the bracelet. Something about it felt familiar. 

And then, like a puzzle piece clicking into place, she remembered something else. Harper had one just like it.  

Months ago, Kelly had shown it to her, laughing as she held up the tiny bracelet.  

"This was my bracelet from when I was a baby, my mom specially made it for me and Kate," Kelly had said.  

And the bracelet Harper had, it had the same initials from the one she saw today. 

So why did Susan’s have the same initial’s with Kelly’s ? The questions refused to leave her mind.  

And then, another memory resurfaced, one that sent a chill down her spine. People had always commented on how much she and Kelly looked alike when they were kids.  

"You two could be twins," they used to say, smiling at the way their features mirrored each other.  

And it was true. Susan had noticed it too. The resemblance between her and Kelly was far stronger than the one between Kelly and Kate. Could it mean something? Or was she just overthinking?  

……

The next day, Susan’s adoptive mother called her into the kitchen.  

"Can you take this over to Mrs. Kim’s house?" she asked, handing her a neatly wrapped jar. "It’s jam. She was asking for some yesterday."

Mrs. Kim was their neighbor, and Kelly’s childhood nanny. Susan hesitated for a moment, then took the jar.  

"Sure."

She left the house, heading down the familiar path toward Mrs. Kim’s place. The small, cozy home brought back childhood memories, of them running through the yard, of Mrs. Kim offering warm cookies, of the many afternoons she had spent playing there.  

When she knocked, Mrs. Kim called out from inside.  

"Come in, dear!"

Susan stepped inside, inhaling the comforting scent of freshly brewed tea.  

"Mom sent this for you," Susan said, placing the jar on the kitchen counter.  

"Oh, how sweet of her," Mrs. Kim smiled warmly. "Tell her I said thank you."

Susan nodded, but her attention drifted toward the small bookshelf in the corner of the living room.  

A wooden box sat on top of it, its lid slightly open. She wasn’t sure why it caught her attention. But something told her to look.  

"Mrs. Kim, do you need help with anything else?" Susan asked, trying to sound casual.  

"Oh no, dear, I'm fine. But would you like some tea?"

"Sure," Susan said, walking toward the bookshelf as Mrs. Kim turned toward the kitchen.  

She glanced around quickly before reaching for the wooden box. As she lifted the lid, her breath caught.  Inside, stacked neatly together, were old photographs.  

And one of them stood out immediately. It was a picture of two babies together. One of them was her, and the other was Kelly.  

A shockwave rushed through her. She had seen herself as a baby too well that she could recognize a picture of her anywhere. And no doubt, it was a baby picture of her. She gripped the photo, her mind racing. Why was there a picture of her and Kelly as babies in Mrs. Kim’s house?  

Mrs. Kim walked back in, carrying a tray of tea. But the moment she saw the picture in Susan’s hands, she froze. Her expression shifted from surprise to irritated.  

"Where did you find that?" Mrs. Kim asked, her voice quiet.  

Susan held up the photo, her hands shaking.

“Why do you have this? I mean, why am I in this picture with Kelly?"

Mrs. Kim opened her mouth, but no words came out.  And in that silence, Susan knew. Something was wrong.  And whatever it was, Mrs. Kim had been keeping it a secret for a long, long time.  

Susan gripped the photo tightly, demanding an answer.  

"Mrs. Kim… what aren’t you telling me?"

“It’s baby pictures of Kelly and Kate, dear” she paused “Remember you guys shared quite a resemblance as kids while growing up”