Sofia didn't move toward Lily.
That surprised me.
She stood just inside the doorway, trembling, as though one wrong step might break the moment.
Lily rose from the couch.
“Sofia?”
Sofia nodded.
“I've missed you.”
Lily crossed the room.
Sofia dropped to her knees.
They held each other without speaking.
I watched them and felt something complicated move through me.
Jealousy would have been easier.
Anger would have been easier.
Instead, I felt grief.
For Sofia.
For Lily.
For the woman I had been when I believed I was simply a mother raising her daughter.
Sofia eventually looked at me.
“Annie.”
I nodded.
“You knew about me?”
She shook her head.
“Not at first.”
“Why did you leave her?”
“I didn't.”
Her answer was immediate.
“I was forced to disappear.”
“By Marcus?”
“Partly.”
“Who else?”
She looked at Rebecca.
“My father knows.”
Daniel stepped closer.
Sofia swallowed.
“I found evidence that babies were being moved through the hospital.”
“Moved where?”
“To families who paid.”
My hands went cold.
“And Lily?”
“She was supposed to be one of them.”
I looked at my daughter.
Sofia continued.
“I discovered the records before they could complete the transfer.”
“What transfer?”
“They had listed Lily as deceased.”
I couldn't breathe.
“What?”
Sofia nodded.
“Your baby had already been recorded as dead.”
I stared at her.
“But I gave birth to a child.”
“You did.”
“Then how?”
“Because Marcus changed the record.”
Dana asked, “Why would he do that?”
Sofia looked at me.
“Because he wanted Lily to disappear legally.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“He owed money.”
“To whom?”
“Dr. Vale.”
The name seemed to darken the room.
Sofia explained that Marcus had discovered the illegal adoption network and used it to solve his debts. But when Lily was born, something changed.
He became attached to her.
Or perhaps he saw her value.
“He wanted to keep Lily,” Sofia said.
“But you?”
“I tried to stop him.”
“What happened?”
“Marcus threatened to expose my involvement.”
“What involvement?”
“I had stolen the records.”
I stared.
“You stole hospital records?”
“To prove what was happening.”
She reached into her coat.
She removed a small memory card.
“This contains everything.”
Dana took it.
“What is on it?”
“Copies of the original files.”
I looked at Sofia.
“Why didn't you come back?”
“Because Marcus threatened to make you responsible.”
“He forged documents.”
“Yes.”
“He told me I had agreed to give up Lily.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew?”
“I knew he was preparing something.”
I shook my head.
“You could have told me.”
“I was afraid.”
“So was I.”
She looked down.
“I am sorry.”
I believed her.
That was the worst part.
I couldn't hate her.
She had been trying to survive.
So had I.
Only Marcus had decided that survival meant controlling everyone around him.
Dana inserted the memory card into her laptop.
The files opened.
There were scans of hospital records.
Payment logs.
Names.
Dates.
And photographs.
One file contained Lily's original birth record.
Another showed a falsified death certificate.
A third showed Marcus's signature authorizing a transfer.
Dana stared at the screen.
“This is enough to bring criminal charges.”
Sofia closed her eyes.
“Then he knows.”
“Knows what?”
“He knows I kept copies.”
“How?”
She pointed toward the window.
A black car was parked across the street.
Marcus's.
Dana immediately closed the blinds.
“Everyone stay here.”
But Marcus didn't come inside.
He called.
My phone rang.
I answered.
“Where is Lily?”
“With me.”
“You need to bring her to the wedding.”
“No.”
“If you don't, I will tell everyone what you did.”
“What did I do?”
“You know.”
“I don't.”
“You stole a child.”
I felt my blood run cold.
Sofia reached for my hand.
Marcus continued.
“By tomorrow morning, the police will have a report saying you kidnapped Lily from Sofia.”
“You're lying.”
“I have witnesses.”
“Who?”
He laughed.
“You'll find out.”
The call ended.
Dana looked at me.
“We need to move.”
We left through the rear entrance.
By midnight, we were in a hotel outside the city.
Lily slept between Sofia and me.
She had refused to sleep alone.
At three in the morning, I woke to the sound of Sofia crying.
She sat by the window.
“What's wrong?”
She wiped her face.
“I missed nine years.”
“You didn't choose all of them.”
“I still missed them.”
I sat beside her.
“I did too.”
She looked at me.
“Do you hate me?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you didn't abandon her.”
She looked toward Lily.
“You raised her.”
“Yes.”
“You loved her.”
“Yes.”
“She loves you.”
I swallowed.
“I know.”
Sofia smiled through tears.
“Then maybe we both did what we were supposed to.”
I looked at her.
“Maybe.”
At dawn, Dana received an email.
It contained a single photograph.
Marcus standing outside the hospital.
The date was nine years earlier.
Beside him was Dr. Vale.
And in Marcus's arms was a newborn baby.
Lily.
Under the photograph was a message.
HE DIDN'T STEAL HER FROM SOFIA.
HE STOLE HER FROM SOMEONE ELSE.
Dana stared at it.
“What does that mean?”
Sofia went pale.
“I know that photograph.”
“From where?”
“Marcus showed it to me once.”
“Why?”
“He said Lily wasn't the only baby involved.”
I looked at the photograph.
“Who was the other baby?”
Sofia didn't answer.
Then Lily woke.
She sat up.
“Mom?”
I turned.
“What's wrong?”
She looked at Sofia.
“I remember.”
Everyone went still.
“Remember what?”
“The hospital.”
Her voice was barely audible.
“There were two babies.”
Dana closed her eyes.
Lily continued.
“Daddy carried one away.”
“Which one?”
She pointed at the photograph.
“That one.”
My heart hammered.
“And the other?”
Lily looked at me.
“He gave her to somebody.”
Sofia stood.
“Who?”
Lily shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Then she reached beneath her pillow.
She pulled out another folded paper.
“I found this in Daddy's blue suitcase.”
Dana took it.
It was a handwritten list.
Two names.
Two birth dates.
Two payments.
And beside the second child's name was a single word.
SOLD.
I stared at the page.
The wedding was only hours away.
And suddenly, Marcus wasn't trying merely to take Lily from me.
He was trying to make sure nobody discovered what had happened to another child.
Click here to continue reading: PART 8: The Second Child’s Name Led Us Straight Toward the Wedding, Where Marcus Was Preparing to Make His Last Move in Front of Everyone
The Morning My Daughter Asked Me Why Her Father Needed Her To Keep One Thing From Me
Part 7 of 20
