Chapter 10 - THE SECRET THAT STARTED BEFORE MY MARRIAGE
David agreed to meet me at a quiet café outside Richmond.
Rachel came with me.
I didn't tell my parents.
I didn't tell Ryan.
And I certainly didn't tell Lauren.
David arrived carrying a worn leather folder.
He was in his late sixties, with silver hair and tired eyes.
When he saw me, his expression softened.
"You look like your grandmother."
I didn't know what to say.
He sat down across from us.
For several moments, nobody spoke.
Then I asked the question that had consumed me.
"What happened twenty-eight years ago?"
David opened the folder.
"Your mother was involved in a family dispute over a medical record."
I stared at him.
"Whose?"
He looked directly at me.
"Yours."
My stomach tightened.
I had been eight years old twenty-eight years earlier.
"What kind of record?"
"A childhood hospital file."
I frowned.
"I barely remember being hospitalized."
"That isn't unusual."
He folded his hands.
"I worked in an administrative role at a regional laboratory then."
"Did you treat me?"
"No."
"Then how were you involved?"
"Your father asked for help obtaining records after an insurance issue."
I looked at Rachel.
She was listening intently.
David continued.
"During that process, I noticed conflicting identifying information in copies of documents your parents had supplied."
"What information?"
"Dates, registration details, and a laboratory reference."
My throat tightened.
"What did it mean?"
"At the time, I couldn't establish that."
"Did you tell my parents?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
David looked away.
"Your father became furious."
I almost laughed.
That sounded familiar.
"He accused me of trying to interfere in his marriage."
"Why?"
"I didn't know."
David tapped the folder.
"Later, your mother asked me to stop looking into it."
I swallowed.
"Did you?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I had no lawful reason to continue accessing your information, and I didn't want to make accusations without evidence."
I stared at him.
"Then why did my father tell me to stay away from you?"
David's face tightened.
"Because we argued about something else."
"What?"
"Your mother wanted an old copy of a report destroyed."
My chest felt tight.
"What report?"
"A document that had been submitted with your childhood records."
He paused.
"The identifying information on it didn't match the rest of the file."
I tried to understand.
"Was it someone else's?"
"Possibly."
"Do you still have it?"
David shook his head.
"I have notes of our dispute, not confidential patient records."
I leaned back.
For a moment, disappointment overwhelmed me.
I had expected answers.
Instead, I had found another puzzle.
"What does any of this have to do with my pregnancy?"
David took a slow breath.
"That is what concerns me."
He looked at the receipt I placed on the table.
"Where did you find this?"
"In my mother's photo album."
He examined the handwriting.
Then his face changed.
"This is my old telephone number."
My pulse jumped.
"Did my mother call you?"
"Not recently."
"Then who wrote it?"
He studied the receipt again.
"I don't know."
Rachel leaned forward.
"Mr. Parker, do you think somebody used information from Annie's childhood in the disputed laboratory report?"
David looked troubled.
"It's possible someone recycled old or inaccurate material."
My hands went cold.
"To make a false accusation about my baby?"
He met my eyes.
"I can't tell you that."
Then he added quietly, "But if they did, it means the person responsible may have had access to documents from long before your marriage."
I stared at him.
There was only one person who seemed to connect every part of the story.
May you like
My mother.
And for the first time, I wondered whether Lauren had learned deception from watching the woman who raised us.
