Chapter 4 - The Name ClaraJames left the house that night.
I stayed beside Lily.
At two in the morning, my phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
Two sentences appeared on the screen:
She didn't just swap your eggs.
Ask her about Clara.
I couldn't sleep.
I searched Margaret's past.
Boston.
Adoption.
Then I found her.
Clara Bennett.
A woman who looked almost exactly like Margaret when Margaret was younger.
Clara had recently reunited with her birth mother.
Margaret.
I kept scrolling.
Clara had two children.
A four-year-old boy named Noah.
And a six-year-old girl named Mia.
I opened Mia's photographs.
My hands began shaking.
Same eyes.
Same dimples.
Same little curl of hair.
Same age as Lily.
The pieces began fitting together.
The DNA test wasn't the truth.
It was another lie.
May you like
Margaret wasn't Lily's biological mother.
Clara was.
Related Stories
Chapter 5 - The Baby Margaret StoleMargaret had found Clara when Clara was young, broke, and vulnerable.
Chapter 6 - Clara Comes HomeI opened the door.
Chapter 7 - Margaret Strikes BackFor three hours, Clara told us everything.
Chapter 8 - The Doctor Who Knew EverythingDr. Patel contacted me.
Chapter 9 - The KidnappingMargaret had entered through the back door.
Chapter 10 - The CourtroomThe custody hearing became national news.
