Chapter 73 Scarlett
Scarlett
Dad and Olivia hadn’t found her mother. Her dad kept trying her mother’s cellphone.
“Maybe she went to get you something special,” he said to Scarlett. Before she could answer, her grandparents walked into the hospital room, and she smiled as they approached the bed.
“Darling,” Gram said. “Thank goodness you’re awake.” She kissed Scarlett on the cheek. Her grandfather went to the foot of her bed, picked up her chart, and read it. “Looks good,” he said to James, then came over to her.
“You had us very worried, young lady!”
“Sorry, Grandad.”
“Mom and Dad, would you take Olivia up to the cafeteria and get her something to eat?”
“Oh, okay,” Gram said, looking surprised.
After they left, James pulled a chair up next to her. “Scarlett, I know you wanted to wait for Mom, but you need to tell me what happened. Who was this boy you thought you were texting? Who did you think you were meeting?”
She started to cry. “My brother.”
“What are you talking about? You don’t have a brother.”
“Dad, I did the 23andMe test. I forged your signature on the waiver. It came back with a match to a sibling on Mom’s side. She had another child before me. Did you know that?”
He was looking straight ahead, not speaking, a look of pure shock on his face.
“Dad? Did you know that?”
“It must be a mistake.”
“I have the report. But it wasn’t Ben at the café. It was some man. I don’t understand. But there is someone out there who’s my brother. I guess Mom gave him up for adoption or something.”
“Your mom didn’t give a baby up for adoption. But—” James stood up and started pacing. “The baby died.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell us? What happened?”
He sat back down on the bed and took her hands in his. “It was before your mom and I were married, and um…it was complicated. We were friends at the time. I was with her when she delivered. The baby died.”
Scarlett shook her head. “That’s just it. He couldn’t have died. I found him!”
He put his head in his hands. “Oh, Scarlett. What have you done?”