I sat in my car, the air conditioning on full blast, but I was chilled to the bone.
My burner phone buzzed.
It was an encrypted email from the DNA lab.
My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the phone.
I opened the attachment and scrolled straight to the bottom.
[Based on DNA analysis, Camila Hayes is excluded as the biological mother of Caleb Sterling.]
The single sentence was a blade, gutting me.
The son I had raised for seven years, the child I loved with my entire being, was not my own flesh and blood.
The woman’s face flashed in my mind, her features overlapping with Caleb’s. The resemblance was undeniable.
Bile rose in my throat.
I remembered it clearly.
The security at the private hospital where I gave birth had been ironclad.
I had arranged for the very best obstetrics team.
How... after seven years, had my son become someone else's child?
And where was the child I had carried for ten months?
I took out my phone and called Cole again.
"Two things," I said, my voice as cold as ice.
"First, investigate the relationship between Lori and Caleb."
"Second, at all costs, find my son."
Cole was silent for a beat, then his voice came back, low and firm.
"Understood. I'll get on it right away."
While I waited, I lived my life as I always had.
I even feigned normalcy in front of Kierann.
I simply began pulling away from his hugs and making excuses to sleep in the guest room.
When Kierann asked, I blamed the pressure of the upcoming annual financial reports.
He looked at me with a flicker of hesitation but didn't press the matter.
A week later, Cole placed a sealed manila file on my desk.
"We obtained a genetic sample of Lori through… special channels."
He paused, his voice dropping.
"We compared it with Caleb's sample."
"The test results confirm a biological mother-son relationship."
Though I had been expecting it, the sight of the report made me grip the edge of the desk to keep from collapsing.
Seven years...
I had poured all my maternal love into a child who shared another woman's blood.
"We also investigated your birth records," Cole continued. "The woman who gave birth on the same day as you was Lori."
"She was also in a VIP suite. Her emergency contact was listed as Kierann."
My head snapped up. "What happened to her child?"
Cole glanced at the file, his tone heavy.
"There was an apparent accident during her delivery. The baby boy she delivered… well, the official records state he died three days after birth from 'acute complications'."
The scattered pieces of the puzzle slammed into place.
Cole quickly tracked down a nurse, a Ms. Jenkins, whose license had been revoked for medical malpractice years ago.
Jenkins darted nervous glances around the empty alley as she met us, her voice sinking to a conspiratorial whisper.
"That night, two women gave birth at almost the same time. But the one named Lori… she wasn't so lucky."
"Her labor went on forever, and the baby was born weak."
She plucked the envelope of cash from Cole's hand, her eyes glinting with greed as she thumbed through the bills.
"But that was the official story, anyway. Good enough for outsiders. But I was there."
"It was Mr. Sterling. He paid me a fortune to swap the ankle bracelets on the newborns. Your baby never died. The death certificate was a fake."
With that, Jenkins snatched the envelope and scurried away.
Cole and I stood frozen.
My voice was a raw, terrifying whisper.
"At all costs. Find my son."
