My breath caught. “That’s… quite a coincidence.”
“Maybe,” she said softly, studying my face. “But look at them, David. The same hair, the same eyes, and even that little heart-shaped birthmark. You can’t tell me that’s just a coincidence.”
My pulse spiked. “No. That can’t be right. Irene only had one child. I was there for… well, for most of it. I wasn’t in the room, but the doctors told me she had one baby.”
Wendy leaned forward. “Maybe Irene kept a secret. Maybe she gave one baby up for adoption.”
Her words sank in slowly, my mind racing. Near the end of her pregnancy, Irene had grown distant. I’d told myself it was just hormones. But what if I was wrong?
“I don’t understand,” I said hoarsely. “Why would she do that?”
Wendy shook her head. “I don’t know. But I can tell you that Sandra’s adoption was private. Her records were sealed. The agency said the mother was young, scared, and wanted her baby to have a stable home. That’s all they told me.”
“Sandra’s adopted?” I sat back, stunned. “But what you just said doesn’t make sense. Irene wasn’t some scared teenager. She was married and settled. Why would she hide that?”
“Maybe she thought she couldn’t handle two babies,” Wendy said softly. “Maybe she thought one would have a better life somewhere else.”
