Maya squeezed her hand.
“You found me.”
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
“But I still haven't found her.”
Maya leaned closer.
“Then we'll find her.”
Daniel looked up.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“The second patient number doesn't belong to Saint Mary's.”
“Where does it belong?”
Daniel turned the document around.
“Denver Children's Hospital.”
Maya stared.
“That's impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because Rebecca told me she took me to Colorado.”
“She may have.”
“What about Anna?”
Daniel pointed to the record.
“Anna was transferred six weeks later.”
“To where?”
Daniel read the final line.
“Unknown.”
They spent the next month searching.
The investigation became complicated.
Many records from the old hospitals had been digitized.
Some were incomplete.
Some had been destroyed.
Others were protected by privacy laws.
Daniel contacted former employees.
He interviewed retired nurses.
He searched archived newspapers.
He followed financial transfers.
Every path eventually led back to the Whitmore foundation.
Then he found something.
A payment.
Twenty-six years old.
Made by Whitmore Holdings.
The recipient was a private adoption agency.
Maya stared at the document.
“Adoption?”
Daniel nodded.
“Anna was placed for adoption.”
Eleanor's hands shook.
“Where?”
“That's the problem.”
“Why?”
“The agency closed twenty years ago.”
“Records?”
“Transferred.”
“To where?”
“Another agency.”
“Which one?”
Daniel looked at Maya.
“Evergreen Family Services.”
Maya whispered:
“Find them.”
“I already did.”
“And?”
“They still exist.”
Evergreen Family Services was located in a modern building.
The director was a woman named Helen Ward.
She was sixty-three.
When Daniel explained why they were there, she became visibly uncomfortable.
“I'll need legal authorization to release anything.”
Maya stepped forward.
“My sister was adopted.”
Helen looked at her.
“Your sister?”
“My twin.”
Helen's face changed.
“You have proof?”
Maya placed the photograph on the desk.
Helen looked at it.
Then she looked at Maya.
“Wait here.”
She disappeared into another room.
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Finally she returned carrying a file.
It was old.
Yellow.
Thick.
She placed it on the desk.
“This is confidential.”
Maya's hands trembled.
“What does it say?”
Helen opened it.
“Female infant. Born under private medical supervision.”
“Name?”
Helen hesitated.
“Anna.”
Maya closed her eyes.
“What happened to her?”
Helen turned the page.
“Adopted.”
“By whom?”
Helen looked at Maya.
“A couple named Michael and Laura Bennett.”
Maya's heart began pounding.
“Where do they live?”
Helen shook her head.
“Michael Bennett died ten years ago.”
“And Laura?”
“Still alive.”
“Where?”
“California.”
Maya looked at Daniel.
“Let's go.”
Laura Bennett lived in Sacramento.
She was seventy-one.
When Maya arrived, Laura was sitting on her porch.
The moment she saw Maya, she stood.
Her face became pale.
“No.”
Maya stopped.
Laura stared at the birthmark on her hand.
Then she whispered:
“You're her.”
Maya's heart raced.
“Who?”
Laura began crying.
“Lily.”
Maya shook her head.
“No.”
Laura stared.
“My name is Maya.”
Laura covered her mouth.
“Oh God.”
“You know me?”
“No.”
“Then why did you call me Lily?”
Laura sat down.
“Because you look exactly like her.”
“Like who?”
“Anna.”
Maya sat beside her.
“Tell me about my sister.”
Laura wiped her tears.
“Anna was the sweetest child.”
“Was?”
“She died.”
Maya froze.
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
The world seemed to go silent.
“How?”
“Cancer.”
Maya's eyes filled with tears.
“She knew about me?”
Laura nodded.
“We told her.”
“What did she say?”
“She wanted to meet you.”
Maya covered her face.
“Why didn't she?”
Laura began crying.
“She didn't know where you were.”
“Didn't you search?”
“We tried.”
“When?”
“After she turned eighteen.”
“Why?”
“Because we found a letter.”
“What letter?”
“From Rebecca.”
Maya looked up.
“Rebecca contacted you?”
Laura nodded.
“Once.”
“What did she say?”
“She said Anna had a sister.”
Maya's breath caught.
“What else?”
“She said your family had been separated because someone powerful wanted control.”
Maya looked down.
“Did Anna believe her?”
“Yes.”
“Did she hate me?”
Laura shook her head.
“She loved you.”
“How could she love someone she had never met?”
Laura smiled through tears.
“Because you were her sister.”
Laura went inside.
When she returned, she carried a small wooden box.
She gave it to Maya.
“Anna left this for you.”
Maya couldn't move.
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She said that if you were ever found, I should give it to you.”
Maya opened the box.
Inside was a photograph.
Two babies.
A letter.
And a necklace.
The letter was written in delicate handwriting.
Dear Sister,
I don't know your name.
I don't know where you live.
I don't know what your face looks like now.
But I know one thing.
You are somewhere.
And I am somewhere.
Maybe one day those two somewheres will become the same place.
If that day comes, I hope you don't feel guilty.
None of this was your fault.
You were my sister before you knew I existed.
And you will always be my sister.
Anna.
Maya couldn't breathe.
She pressed the letter against her chest.
Eleanor was crying beside her.
Maya looked at her mother.
“She knew.”
Eleanor nodded.
“She knew I existed.”
“Yes.”
“And she waited.”
“Yes.”
Maya closed her eyes.
“I was too late.”
Laura reached for her hand.
“No.”
Maya looked at her.
“She spent her life hoping.”
Laura shook her head.