Chapter 10: The Other Family
The words hit Emily like a tidal wave. Switched at birth. The room felt like it was spinning, her head light as if the ground was no longer beneath her. She struggled to breathe, the enormity of Dr. Wilson’s words crashing over her, suffocating her in a way she hadn’t thought possible.
Dr. Wilson was still speaking, but the words blurred together. Emily heard the distant sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. She could barely process what was happening—how could this be real? How could her daughter, the child she had loved for months, been someone else’s?
“The other family… they’re here, too,” Dr. Wilson continued, her voice soft. “They need to know as well. We’ve already informed them about the mix-up. I understand this is a lot to take in, but we need to handle this carefully.”
Emily stared at her, numb. She could feel her pulse racing, could feel her hands trembling as the reality settled in. The other family. Another mother, another father, who had been raising the baby she had called her own. Who had they been? What would they think of this—this mistake that had torn her world apart?
Dr. Wilson gave Emily a moment to process, but there was no time. The door opened again, and Emily’s heart stopped. In the doorway stood a man and a woman, their faces pale, their eyes wide with shock. They weren’t just strangers—they were parents too.
The woman’s gaze immediately fell on Emily’s daughter, and in an instant, her face crumpled. The man, standing beside her, looked as if he had been struck by a blow, his body rigid, his hand gripping the woman’s tightly. They stepped into the room slowly, as if afraid to get too close, as if the space between them and the baby was too vast to cross.
“I… I don’t understand,” the woman said, her voice shaking as she looked at Emily, then back at the baby. “This… is our child?”
Emily could barely speak. Her voice was hoarse, and she felt her throat tighten. The baby in her arms shifted, unaware of the storm that was about to break. Emily had raised her, loved her, but now, nothing was certain anymore.
“I… I don’t know what happened,” Emily finally whispered, the words barely escaping her lips. “She’s… she’s been with me since birth.”
The woman stepped closer, her eyes filling with tears as she reached out a hand, as if to touch the baby. “She’s ours,” the woman said softly. “She’s supposed to be ours.”
Emily’s heart shattered as she looked at the two parents, their grief palpable, their world just as torn apart as hers. She felt the weight of the moment press down on her chest, the impossible situation they were all facing. What was she supposed to do now? Was it even possible to fix this?
The silence in the room was suffocating, but it was clear—this was just the beginning of a much larger unraveling.
To be continued…
How will Emily and the other family navigate this shocking truth? What will become of their daughters? Find out in Chapter 11.