Chapter 4 - The Missing First Two Weeks
Nathan came home after midnight and found me sitting with the hospital record.
He read it carefully.
“You think you were adopted?”
“I think my parents lied about something bigger than that.”
The next morning, I drove to Mom and Dad’s house.
I left Gigi with Nathan.
Dad brought out our old family photo albums.
Mom immediately looked uncomfortable.
I turned to 1994.
Arthur had dozens of baby photographs.
Hospital pictures.
First bath.
Christmas mornings.
Baseball games.
Then suddenly, two weeks after my birthday, I appeared.
Wrapped in a yellow blanket.
No photograph of Mom pregnant.
No delivery-room photo.
No newborn picture with Dad.
Behind one photo was handwriting.
Welcome home, little Ellie.
I stared at it.
“Ellie?”
Mom closed her eyes.
Arthur arrived through the side door.
Nobody had called him in front of me.
They had already been talking.
Arthur saw the album.
“Mom, just tell her.”
She snapped, “You’ve already done enough.”
I looked at Dad.
He finally said, “That bracelet was supposed to stay with Arthur.”
May you like
I stared at him.
“Why would a bracelet with my birthday belong to my brother?”
