Chapter 2 - THE FILE
The drive home was silent.
Maya sat beside Lily in the back seat.
Michael drove.
I sat in the passenger seat with the phone still in my hand.
The photograph of our house remained open.
Someone had been watching us.
That was no longer a family argument.
That was a threat.
"Lauren," Michael said quietly, "show me the email again."
I handed him the phone.
He looked at the photographs.
His jaw tightened.
"These timestamps are real?"
"I checked."
He scrolled through the message.
Then he stopped.
"There's a name."
I leaned closer.
At the bottom of the email was a signature.
Daniel Reeves.
I knew the name.
Every Navy officer who had served in my field knew it.
Daniel Reeves was a former military intelligence investigator.
He had also been one of the people who had helped me years ago during an internal investigation.
"Why would he contact you?"
"I don't know."
Michael looked at me.
"You do."
I didn't answer.
Because somewhere deep inside, I already suspected the truth.
The envelope I had brought to my parents' house wasn't random.
Neither was Daniel's call.
Six months earlier, I had received an anonymous letter.
It contained a single sentence:
Ask your father why your adoption records were sealed.
At the time, I had dismissed it.
I was adopted.
I had always known that.
My parents had told me when I was six.
They said my biological parents had died in an accident.
They said I had been lucky.
They said I was wanted.
I had never questioned them.
Until six months ago.
Until I requested my original adoption records.
The state had refused access.
The reason?
A court order.
My father had somehow been involved.
That didn't make sense.
My father wasn't a lawyer.
He wasn't a judge.
He wasn't even connected to child services.
Unless—
I opened the brown envelope.
Michael glanced over.
"What is it?"
"Something I found."
Inside were copies of financial records.
Transfers.
Company accounts.
Trust funds.
And one name appeared repeatedly.
Bennett Family Foundation.
I stared at the numbers.
Grant's company had received millions through the foundation over the previous decade.
But that wasn't the strange part.
There were also payments to a private adoption agency.
Payments made thirty-one years ago.
The same year I was adopted.
My breathing stopped.
Michael looked at me.
"Lauren?"
I turned the page.
There it was.
Infant female — temporary designation: Baby L.
My hands began to shake.
"That's me."
Michael said nothing.
Then he turned the page.
A second document appeared.
It wasn't an adoption record.
It was a medical report.
And at the bottom was a handwritten note.
Child has biological sibling. Male.
I stared at it.
"Michael..."
He looked at the paper.
"You have a brother?"
I shook my head.
"No."
My voice barely existed.
"Grant is my brother."
"No. I mean biological."
I stared at the page.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
Daniel Reeves spoke.
"You're looking at the file."
"How do you know?"
"Because I sent it."
My heart pounded.
"Who am I?"
There was a pause.
"You're Lauren Bennett."
"That's not what I asked."
Another pause.
Then:
"Your biological mother didn't die in an accident."
The world seemed to stop.
"What?"
"She died after attempting to expose a financial fraud involving your father's family."
I couldn't breathe.
"And your biological father?"
Daniel hesitated.
"Alive."
I closed my eyes.
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm protecting you."
"I don't need protection."
"Yes, you do."
His voice became serious.
"Because the person who has been following your daughters isn't looking for you."
I looked at Maya through the rearview mirror.
She was staring out the window.
"Then who?"
Daniel answered:
"They're looking for what your biological father left behind."
The call ended.
I immediately called him back.
No answer.
Michael pulled the car into our driveway.
He turned off the engine.
Nobody moved.
Finally, Lily whispered from the back seat.
"Mommy?"
I turned around.
"Yes?"
"Are we in trouble?"
I forced a smile.
"No, sweetheart."
Maya looked at me.
She was too old to believe me.
"Mom."
"Yes?"
"You're scared."
I looked at my daughter.
Then I told her the truth.
"I'm worried."
She nodded.
"About us?"
"Yes."
Maya reached across and took Lily's hand.
"We're together."
That simple sentence almost broke me.
I got out of the car.
Then I saw something on our front door.
A white envelope.
No stamp.
No address.
Just my name.
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
My biological mother.
Young.
Smiling.
Holding a newborn baby.
Me.
And standing beside her was a man I had never seen.
On the back someone had written:
His name is Daniel Cross.
Underneath:
And Grant knows him.
I looked toward Michael.
"Get the girls inside."
"Lauren—"
"Now."
For the first time since the barbecue, Michael didn't question me.
He took Maya and Lily inside.
I remained outside.
Because I knew one thing now.
May you like
The person watching our house wasn't the biggest danger.
My own brother might be.