Chapter 17 - ST. VINCENT’SThe hospital no longer existed.
The building had been demolished in 1998.
Records were fragmented.
Andrew was born there forty-six years earlier.
At least according to his birth certificate.
Robert Whitmore listed as father.
Margaret Whitmore listed as mother.
Normal.
Then Dad, during estate planning, apparently found an old envelope among his mother’s papers.
Inside:
A St. Vincent’s nursery card.
A photograph.
A handwritten note.
The nursery card listed:
Baby Boy Harlan
Not Whitmore.
Same birth date as Andrew.
Similar discharge date.
Dad became curious.
He contacted Evelyn because she had worked briefly at St. Vincent’s.
Then he arranged DNA testing.
Against whom?
Himself.
Mom.
Andrew.
Without Andrew’s knowledge, using discarded personal items.
Ethically ugly.
Legally complicated.
But results reportedly excluded both Robert and Margaret as Andrew’s biological parents.
That was what Dad meant.
Not:
Andrew is not my biological son.
Both.
Not ours.
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The question became:
How could two people raise a child from birth for forty-six years without knowing he was genetically unrelated to either?
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