Chương 4
"Emily?"
The voice on the other end was crying.
"Daniel, I need to know something."
"What?"
"Is my son there?"
Daniel looked toward Ethan.
The question felt like a shockwave through the room.
Claire immediately stepped in front of him.
"What did she just say?"
Daniel looked confused.
"Emily, what are you talking about?"
The voice trembled.
"My son."
Ethan looked up.
He did not understand the words, but he understood the fear.
Claire moved closer to him.
"No."
She shook her head.
"No, this cannot be happening."
Margaret sat down heavily.
Her hands covered her face.
"I was hoping this day would never come."
Claire looked at her.
"You knew."
Margaret slowly nodded.
"I knew there was a possibility."
The pain in Claire's eyes grew deeper.
"How long?"
Margaret looked away.
"Since the night Ethan was born."
Claire felt like the floor disappeared beneath her.
"You knew my son might not be mine?"
Margaret cried silently.
"I knew there was a question."
Claire stepped back.
"A question?"
Her voice cracked.
"You raised me to believe family means honesty."
Margaret whispered.
"I was trying to protect you."
"No."
Claire shook her head.
"You were protecting yourself from losing me."
Ethan watched them with frightened eyes.
Daniel noticed.
He immediately softened his voice.
"Everyone needs to calm down."
Claire looked at him.
"Don't tell me to calm down."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"My entire life just changed."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"I understand."
"No, you don't."
Claire looked at him.
"You spent years searching for your sister."
She touched Ethan's shoulder.
"I spent eight years loving my son."
Daniel looked at Ethan.
"I know."
"Do you?"
Claire's voice became quieter.
"Because everyone keeps talking about him like he is a mystery."
Ethan lowered his head.
The words hurt him more than anyone noticed.
Daniel saw it.
He walked closer but stopped a few feet away.
"Ethan."
The boy looked up.
"I am sorry."
Ethan said nothing.
Daniel continued.
"I know this is confusing."
The boy swallowed.
"Am I still me?"
The question broke everyone.
Daniel looked away.
Margaret began crying.
Claire immediately held him.
"You are always you."
Ethan rested his head against her.
"You are my son."
The phone remained silent.
Then Emily spoke again.
"Daniel."
He answered quietly.
"Yes."
"I need to tell them the truth."
Daniel looked at Margaret.
"What truth?"
Emily took a shaky breath.
"The night Ethan was born, I woke up."
Everyone listened.
"I remember the hospital room."
Her voice became softer.
"I remember holding my baby."
Claire closed her eyes.
"I remember a nurse coming in."
Emily continued.
"She told me there had been a problem with my paperwork."
Daniel looked confused.
"What kind of problem?"
"A problem with the records."
Margaret whispered.
"No."
Emily continued.
"Someone changed the information."
Daniel's face tightened.
"Changed it how?"
The voice on the phone became quiet.
"They made it look like my baby belonged to another family."
Claire stared at the phone.
Her heart raced.
"Why?"
Nobody answered immediately.
Then Emily said something that made the entire room go cold.
"Because someone wanted my son to disappear."
Ethan looked at the adults.
The fear on their faces told him this was bigger than he imagined.
Daniel slowly sat down again.
"Emily, who?"
Another pause.
"I don't know."
"Then how do you know?"
"Because I found the documents."
Margaret stood suddenly.
"Where?"
Everyone looked at her.
Emily heard her voice.
"Margaret?"
The older woman froze.
Emily's voice became emotional.
"Is Margaret there?"
Daniel looked at her.
"Yes."
Another silence.
Then Emily whispered.
"I wondered if she would finally tell the truth."
Claire looked at her mother.
"What does that mean?"
Margaret could not answer.
Daniel stepped closer.
"Margaret, what happened?"
The older woman looked at the chain on the table.
Her eyes filled with regret.
"I did not steal a child."
Nobody spoke.
"I did not take Ethan away from anyone."
Claire stared at her.
"Then what did you do?"
Margaret's voice became barely audible.
"I made a choice."
The rain outside grew stronger.
"I made a choice that changed four lives."
Daniel looked at the letter.
"Open it."
Margaret shook her head.
"I was afraid."
"Open it."
She slowly picked up the letter.
Her hands shook as she broke the seal.
Inside was a single page.
She read the first line.
And the expression on her face changed completely.
Claire noticed.
"What does it say?"
Margaret looked at Ethan.
Then at Claire.
Then at Daniel.
"The truth is not what any of us thought."
She handed the letter to Daniel.
His eyes moved across the page.
After only a few seconds, his face turned pale.
"What?"
Claire stepped closer.
"What does it say?"
Daniel looked up.
"It says Ethan was never the child they were looking for."
Nobody understood.
Margaret whispered.
"Because there was another baby."
The phone slipped slightly in Daniel's hand.
Emily's voice came through.
"What do you mean another baby?"
Margaret looked toward the dark hallway.
"The hospital records were wrong because someone changed them before the births happened."
Claire felt a chill.
"Someone planned this."
Daniel slowly nodded.
"And whoever did it knew exactly what they were doing."
The family stood together in the kitchen, surrounded by old memories and a truth that had waited decades to be revealed.
Then the front door suddenly opened again.
Everyone turned.
A woman stood in the doorway.
She was older, exhausted, and holding a folder of documents.
Her eyes went directly to Ethan.
And she whispered the words that changed everything.
"I finally found you."
I’ll continue the next segment from this moment whenever you’re ready.
The woman standing in the doorway did not move.
She simply stared at Ethan as if she had spent years imagining this exact moment.
The folder in her hands shook slightly.
The room felt frozen.
Nobody knew what to say.
Claire instinctively moved in front of Ethan again.
May you like
Her protective instincts were stronger than her confusion.
"Who are you?" she asked.
