Love Letters, Divorce Papers (Jared and Amber) novel Chapter 399

"Amber's true identity," Jared stressed every syllable.

Ben gave him a shocked expression. "True identity? Mr. Farrell, are you saying that Miss Reed is not the real daughter of the Reed family?"

Jared nodded, "That's right. She is not."

"How can that be!" Ben exclaimed, "Everybody in the circle knows that Mrs. Reed gave birth to Miss Reed in Southam Hospital twenty-some years ago. Miss Reed also went to that hospital yesterday, which serves as proof of her being the real daughter of the Mrs. Reed."

"Yes. But the Amber we know is not the one that Mrs. Reed gave birth to 26 years ago." Jared squinted.

Ben was even more puzzled. "Mr. Farrell, do you mean that the Miss Reed we know now is an impos… replacement?"

"Sort of. The real Amber Reed may have died 26 years ago. Aren't there a lot of physical examination reports about infant Amber in the file Amber checked yesterday? Those reports show that the infant was in critical condition. The chance of her surviving was really slim. My guess is that the baby died in less than half a year after that examination."

Ben looked at him. "Why do you think so, Mr. Farrell?"

"Because of the red mole." Jared pursed his lips. "When Makayla was one-month-old, she was taken away and thrown into a lake in the face of the Gardners by Hugo Reed. But her body was never found. Some say Makayla didn't die. Some say that her body was long washed away by the lake water. However, more people tend to believe that she had already died."

"She most definitely had died. After all, an infant can't swim, can it? " Ben nodded. "But does that have anything to do with Miss Reed?"

Jared gave him a side glance. "Of course, it has. According to Amber, we can be sure that Makayla didn't die. The thing Hugo threw into the lake might be a doll or simply a pile of baby clothes."

"Sounds reasonable. Makayla should be still alive," Ben said.

Jared squinted his eyes. "What if she is still alive and in the Reed family?"

"The Gardner family? Mr. Farrell, are you implying that Miss Reed is the real Makayla?" Ben realized something. His jaw dropped as he asked.

"Yes." Jared nodded. "A while ago, in the hospital parking lot, I overheard Mrs. Gardner asking Judy Lashley why the red mole on her wrist was gone, and she replied by saying that it was burnt off. That's when I know that the real Makayla must have a red mole on her wrist. And Amber did have a red mole on her wrist. It's obvious that she is the real Makayla."

Ben gasped, paused for a long time before finally regaining his composure. "Gosh. Who would have thought that instead of drowning Makayla, Hugo actually took her back home and raised her as his own daughter!"

Jared closed his eyes. "As I mentioned, the real Amber Reed died when she was about six months old. When Hugo took away Makayla, the real Amber Reed was only five months old. There weren't rumors spread around about two babies living in the Reed family, though. That's why I think the real Amber must have died before Makayla even got there. And one thing led to another, Makayla lived on as the daughter of the Reed family, Amber."

Ben scratched his face, forcing himself to calm down. "No wonder Judy Lashley wanted to rub out that red mole on Miss Reed's wrist. She must have known that Miss Reed is the real Makayla. She was afraid that the Gardners would accidentally see the mole! So..."

The rest of the matter was self-evident.