We went straight to Margaret's house.
Emily called Helen on the way.
She asked her mother to come over.
There were things we needed to discuss, and we wanted both women present.
When we arrived, Margaret was already waiting.
The wooden box was on the coffee table.
She had taken out the old photographs again.
I noticed that Rebecca's picture was lying on top.
Margaret stood when we entered.
"Did the clinic find something?"
I nodded.
"They found an old record connected to Daniel."
Her face changed.
Helen arrived about fifteen minutes later.
She looked exhausted.
Emily didn't wait for everyone to sit down.
"Mom, we need you to tell us everything you know about Daniel."
Helen looked at Margaret.
Then she lowered herself into a chair.
"I thought we had told you everything."
"You told us what you wanted us to know."
Emily's voice was trembling.
"That's different."
Margaret reached for a photograph.
It showed Rebecca standing outside a small house.
Daniel was beside her.
I studied his face.
He looked young.
Confident.
Almost ordinary.
I found that difficult to understand.
How could someone who looked so ordinary have left behind so many unanswered questions?
Margaret began explaining what had happened after Rebecca married Daniel.
She said their early years together had been happy.
They had plans.
They had a home.
They had wanted children.
When Rebecca became pregnant, Daniel seemed delighted.
Then I was born.
A little later, Emily arrived.
For a while, the family appeared complete.
But according to Margaret, Daniel became increasingly controlling.
He wanted to know where Rebecca went.
He questioned her friends.
He became angry when she made decisions without consulting him.
Rebecca began confiding in Margaret.
She was worried about his behavior.
She wanted to leave but feared what might happen if she did.
"Did he ever hurt her?" I asked.
Margaret hesitated.
"She told me he frightened her. I don't know everything that happened behind closed doors."
Helen added that Rebecca had once arrived at her house with a suitcase and the two babies.
She had stayed for several days.
Daniel eventually came looking for her.
He promised to change.
Rebecca went home.
But the problems continued.
I listened without interrupting.
I wanted to know everything.
Even the parts that hurt.
Then Margaret mentioned something that made me sit forward.
Before Rebecca disappeared from Daniel's life, she had discovered that he had been keeping important documents hidden.
She had found medical paperwork.
Some of it contained references to his identity and previous medical examinations.
She didn't understand all of it.
But she had become concerned that he was hiding something about his past.
"Did she tell you what?" Emily asked.
Margaret shook her head.
"Not clearly. She said she was afraid he had been using different names."
I looked at Emily.
Different names.
The clinic's archived donor documents suddenly seemed much more important.
Helen continued.
"After Daniel's car was found near the river, we believed he was dead. But Rebecca never accepted that."
"Why?"
"Because she received a letter."
I remembered the letter Laura had mentioned.
"Was it the one that said he wanted his daughters back?"
Helen nodded.
"Yes."
"Did anyone investigate it?"
"The authorities knew about it. But there wasn't enough information to establish who had sent it."
I looked at the photographs.
"Did Rebecca ever contact the clinic?"
Margaret became quiet.
I noticed her eyes moving toward the wooden box.
Then she reached inside and removed a folded envelope.
"I never showed you this."
I took it.
The envelope had Rebecca's handwriting.
My name was written on the front.
Sarah.
My hands began shaking.
Emily moved closer.
"What's inside?"
Margaret looked at me.
"Your mother wrote it before she died."
I opened the envelope carefully.
The paper inside was thin.
There were several paragraphs.
Rebecca had written that she hoped I would grow up surrounded by people who loved me.
She mentioned Emily.
She wrote that the two of us had always belonged together.
Then there was a sentence that stopped me.
"If you ever learn that your father has returned, do not believe every story he tells you."
I read it again.
Then I passed the letter to Emily.
She read it silently.
Helen covered her mouth.
I looked at Margaret.
"Did you know he might still be alive?"
Margaret nodded.
"Rebecca believed it was possible."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because we had no proof. We were afraid that bringing his name into your lives would put you in danger."
I felt angry again.
But this time, the anger was mixed with sadness.
I understood that they had been frightened.
I understood that they had wanted to protect us.
But I also understood that their silence had left us unprepared for the decisions we were making as adults.
Emily sat down.
"Did Rebecca ever explain why she separated us?"
Margaret shook her head.
"She didn't want you separated. We arranged the living situation after she died."
I looked at Helen.
"Why did you agree?"
She wiped her face.
"Because I loved both of you. I thought keeping you close while giving each of you a stable home was the best choice."
I believed her.
That didn't mean I was ready to forgive everything.
We spent another hour looking through the documents.
Some were medical records.
Some were photographs.
Others were letters that had never been sent.
One page contained a partial identification number.
Emily photographed it.
We agreed to give copies to our attorney.
There was no point trying to solve everything ourselves.
Later that afternoon, Emily and I sat in my car outside the house.
She looked exhausted.
"Do you think Rebecca was trying to warn us?"
I looked at the letter in my lap.
"Yes."
"About Daniel?"
"I think so."
She rested her head against the seat.
"I wish she had been here."
I nodded.
"So do I."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Emily looked at me.
"Sarah, if the donor really is our father, what happens to the children?"
I took her hand.
"We'll get the best medical advice we can. We won't make decisions based on fear."
She nodded.
That was the only promise I could make.
And it was one I intended to keep.
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: The Genetic Specialist Asked Us to Bring Our Mothers, and the Results Forced Us to Face a Truth None of Us Wanted
The Promise Two Little Girls Made Twenty-Five Years Ago Was About to Change Both Their Lives Forever
Part 10 of 20
