Chapter 12 - THE LETTER
Daniel read the letter three times.
Then he handed it to me.
Dr. Holloway had written it shortly after the twins were born.
Except they weren't twins.
Not biologically.
Margaret had undergone an experimental fertility procedure using two embryos.
One was created from Margaret and Robert.
The other came from another couple whose embryos had been mistakenly mixed during treatment.
Daniel was Margaret and Robert's biological son.
Matthew wasn't.
The hospital discovered the error after birth.
And Margaret discovered it too.
Daniel stopped reading.
"Oh my God."
Robert looked physically ill.
Officer Harris continued scanning the letter.
"According to this, Margaret became convinced Matthew belonged to another family and should be removed."
Daniel whispered, "She hurt him because he wasn't hers."
No one answered.
The letter didn't accuse her outright.
But it documented Holloway's concerns.
Her refusal to bond with Matthew.
Her fixation on Daniel.
Her repeated statement:
Only one of them is really mine.
I felt sick.
The pattern was suddenly clear.
Margaret didn't love people.
She possessed them.
If someone threatened that possession, she removed them.
Matthew.
Claire.
Me.
Maybe anyone else she believed stood between her and Daniel.
There was more.
Attached to the letter was the name of the couple whose embryo had been mixed up.
Laura and Michael Benton.
Daniel stared at the surname.
"Benton."
I looked at him.
"Claire."
Officer Harris immediately called his department.
An hour later, the connection was confirmed.
Claire Benton was Laura and Michael's daughter.
Which meant Claire's family had been tied to Daniel's family before either of them was born.
And Matthew—
The baby Margaret had rejected—
Had likely been Claire's biological brother.
Daniel sat in stunned silence.
Claire had lost a pregnancy after Margaret drugged her.
Years earlier, Margaret might have been responsible for the death of Claire's biological brother.
The cruelty crossed generations.
Officer Harris rubbed his forehead.
"This changes the scope of the investigation."
Daniel looked up.
"How?"
"We need to determine whether Margaret knew Claire's identity when you dated her."
My skin prickled.
Daniel's face hardened.
"She did."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because she hated Claire before she ever met her."
Harris frowned.
Daniel continued.
"When I first mentioned her name, my mother dropped a glass."
The room went quiet.
Claire had never been just an unsuitable girlfriend.
To Margaret, she had been the daughter of the family connected to Matthew.
A living reminder of the baby she never wanted.
May you like
And now we had to ask a darker question.
Had Margaret targeted Claire because she feared Claire would uncover the truth?
