He looked at the old photograph again.
Then he whispered:
"Oh my God."
Back at the hospital, Walter received another call from Rebecca.
"We've confirmed something."
"What?"
"Emily's original hospital records were deliberately destroyed."
"Then how do you know about the twins?"
"Because we found a nurse who worked at the hospital fifteen years ago."
Walter leaned forward.
"Where is she?"
"Under federal protection."
"Can she identify the children?"
"Yes. But there's something else."
Rebecca paused.
"The nurse says Margaret left the hospital with two babies. Not one."
Walter closed his eyes.
For fifteen years, he had believed he and Margaret had one daughter.
Now he was being told there had been two.
"Where is the other child?"
Rebecca hesitated.
"That's the problem. According to the records, the second child was handed over to a government official."
"Who?"
"Samuel Grant."
Walter felt a wave of anger.
"That monster took my daughter?"
"We don't know whether he raised her or transferred her to someone else."
Walter looked at the photograph in his hand.
"Then who is Laura Mitchell?"
Rebecca answered quietly.
"That's what we're trying to establish."
Suddenly, the hospital room television changed channels.
A breaking news announcement appeared.
A woman was speaking to reporters outside the federal courthouse.
Walter recognized her immediately.
Laura Mitchell.
But the reporter introduced her by another name.
"Former intelligence analyst Elizabeth Grant has agreed to testify against the witness protection network."
Walter stared at the screen.
Elizabeth Grant.
The daughter of Samuel Grant.
He slowly lowered the photograph.
Then he understood.
The woman who had saved Michael's life might also be the daughter of the man who had destroyed his family.
At 1:15 a.m., Rebecca arrived at the hospital.
She carried a thick folder.
Walter was sitting upright in bed.
"Tell me everything."
Rebecca placed the folder on the table.
"Elizabeth Grant was born fifteen years ago under a false identity. Her official records were created by the same network Samuel Grant controlled."
"Was she one of Margaret's children?"
Rebecca nodded.
"Yes."
Walter closed his eyes.
"Why would Margaret give away her own daughter?"
"She didn't."
Rebecca opened the folder.
"Margaret discovered that Samuel Grant planned to use one of the twins as leverage against her. She secretly arranged for the second child to be taken somewhere safe."
"Where?"
"To a family in another state."
Walter looked at her.
"And Elizabeth?"
"Samuel Grant kept her."
Walter slowly shook his head.
"So Margaret saved one child and lost the other."
Rebecca nodded.
"But there's more."
She removed a handwritten letter.
It was dated three days before Margaret disappeared.
Walter recognized the handwriting immediately.
His wife's.
Rebecca handed it to him.
Walter,
I know you will hate me when you discover what I have done.
But I need you to understand that I had no choice.
The people controlling the witness protection network have discovered the twins' identities.
They believe one child possesses information that could destroy everything they have built.
They are wrong.
Neither child knows the truth.
The information is not in their memories.
It is in their blood.
Walter read the final sentence twice.
"What does that mean?"
Rebecca shook her head.
"I don't know."
Then she turned the page.
There was another paragraph.
If Robert Collins ever returns, do not let him near the children.
Walter looked up.
"Why?"
Rebecca pointed to the final line.
Because Robert is their biological father.
The letter slipped from Walter's hands.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then he whispered:
"Robert Collins is the father of Margaret's twins?"
Rebecca nodded.
"According to the DNA records, yes."
Walter stared at the ceiling.
Everything he had believed about his marriage was collapsing.
At sunrise, Robert Collins entered an abandoned hotel on the outskirts of the city.
He removed his coat and placed it over a chair.
A woman was waiting inside.
She stood beside the window.
"You're late," she said.
Robert smiled.
"Traffic."
The woman turned around.
It was Margaret Hayes.
Alive.
Older than the woman in the photographs, but unmistakably the same person.
Robert approached her.
"Did you see the news?"
Margaret nodded.
"Elizabeth has agreed to testify."
"That complicates things."
"She's my daughter."
Robert's expression hardened.
"She's Samuel's daughter."
Margaret looked at him.
"She is not his property."
Robert laughed.
"You still believe you can protect everyone."
"I protected Michael."
"You hid him."
"I saved him."
Robert walked toward the window.
"And Walter?"
Margaret said nothing.
Robert turned.
"Does he know?"
"He knows enough."
Robert smiled.
"Then perhaps it's time for a family reunion."
Margaret's face changed.
"Leave Emily alone."
Robert stepped closer.
"You've spent fifteen years keeping secrets from me."
"I did what I had to do."
"And now the girls are grown."
He took a photograph from his pocket.
It showed Emily and Elizabeth standing together outside the hospital.
"They look exactly alike."
Margaret began trembling.
"What do you want?"
Robert smiled coldly.
"The original birth records."
"They were destroyed."
"No, Margaret. You know where they are."
Margaret looked away.
Robert placed the photograph on the table.
"Bring them to me by tomorrow night."
"And if I refuse?"
Robert leaned closer.
"Then Walter will learn the real reason Michael survived the accident."
Margaret's face went pale.
Robert opened the door.
"Tell him the truth, Margaret."
He paused.
"Tell him who actually started the fire."
Then he walked away.
Margaret stood motionless.
For fifteen years, she had protected her children from the truth.
But now the truth was coming for all of them.
At 8:30 a.m., Michael entered Walter's hospital room.
His face was pale.
"Dad, we need to talk."
Walter looked up.
"What happened?"
"Rebecca found something in the old accident report."
Michael placed a document on the bed.
It was the original police report from fifteen years earlier.
Walter read it carefully.
Then he noticed a sentence near the bottom.
The fire originated inside the passenger compartment.
He looked at Michael.
"What does this mean?"
Michael swallowed.
"It means the vehicle was already burning before the collision."
Walter stared at the page.
"Someone set it on fire?"
Michael nodded.