Chapter 10: The Third Name in the Register
The state records facility was a gray building with narrow windows, fluorescent lights, and a security desk that made it feel more like a courthouse than an archive.
Jonathan Collins was waiting outside when I arrived.
Beside him stood Robert Whitmore, holding a thick leather folder.
Neither man smiled.
"Did you bring the documents?"" Jonathan asked.
I nodded and handed him the photograph Vanessa had given me.
He examined it carefully.
"Where did you get this?""
"From my sister. She says our mother kept it for years.""
Robert looked at the two crossed-out names.
"Then we may finally have something useful.""
We entered the building together.
A records officer named Mrs. Bennett led us into a private examination room. On the table sat three large boxes, each containing hospital records from the year Claire and Vanessa were born.
"These are the original materials transferred from St. Catherine's Hospital," she explained.
"Some pages are damaged, but the birth register is intact.""
Jonathan signed the access forms.
Mrs. Bennett opened the first box.
Inside were dozens of handwritten entries.
She turned several pages.
Then she stopped.
"Here.""
I leaned forward.
Three entries appeared within a four-day period.
The first listed a baby girl born to Margaret Reed.
The second listed a baby girl born to Eleanor Hayes.
The third listed a baby girl born to an unidentified mother.
I stared at the page.
"Why is the third mother unidentified?""
Mrs. Bennett adjusted her glasses.
"Because the original admission record was amended.""
Jonathan examined the handwriting.
"Who authorized the amendment?""
Mrs. Bennett pointed toward a signature.
Dr. Samuel Carter.
Robert looked up.
"That name again.""
I turned toward him.
"You know him?""
"Your father mentioned him in his investigation. He was the hospital administrator responsible for the maternity ward.""
Jonathan continued examining the register.
"There's something unusual here.""
He pointed to the infant identification numbers.
The first and third babies had been assigned numbers that were almost identical.
Only the final digit was different.
But one of the numbers had been crossed out and replaced.
Mrs. Bennett brought out another document.
"This is the transfer record.""
I read the entries.
Baby One had been released to Margaret Reed.
Baby Two had been released to Eleanor Hayes.
Baby Three had been transferred to a private medical facility.
I looked at Jonathan.
"Who was Baby Three?""
He turned the page.
The answer was written in a different hand.
*Infant: Rebecca Carter.*
I frowned.
"Who is Rebecca Carter?""
Robert slowly lowered himself into a chair.
"I think we need to find out.""
The records officer returned twenty minutes later with another folder.
"This contains the original admission information for the unidentified mother.""
Jonathan opened it.
A name appeared at the top.
*Elizabeth Carter.*
Below it was a note indicating that the mother had died shortly after childbirth.
I read the line twice.
"Was she related to Dr. Carter?""
Mrs. Bennett nodded.
"According to the personnel records, she was his younger sister.""
Jonathan looked at Robert.
"That would explain why he was able to alter the records.""
Robert nodded slowly.
I stared at the page.
Three newborn girls.
Three families.
One hospital administrator.
And a series of changes that had somehow affected every family involved.
"Where did Baby Three go?"" I asked.
Mrs. Bennett searched through the remaining documents.
"According to this transfer form, the infant was placed under the temporary guardianship of a woman named Patricia Reed.""
I looked up.
"Patricia?""
The same Patricia who had contacted me.
The same woman who had helped Claire's biological father investigate the hospital records.
Jonathan immediately reached for his phone.
"Call her.""
Patricia arrived at the records facility forty minutes later.
When she entered the room, she looked at the documents and immediately began crying.
"I was afraid this day would come.""
I stood.
"Patricia, who was Rebecca Carter?""
She sat down.
"She was my daughter.""
I couldn't speak.
Patricia explained that Elizabeth Carter had been her sister. Elizabeth had died during childbirth, leaving a baby girl behind.
Dr. Samuel Carter, Elizabeth's brother, had arranged for Patricia to care for the child temporarily.
But before the guardianship could become permanent, the hospital records were altered.
"Why?"" I asked.
Patricia wiped her eyes.
"Because Eleanor wanted Claire.""
I frowned.
Patricia continued.
"Eleanor had given birth to a daughter, but she had been told the child had a serious medical condition. She was frightened and desperate. Thomas Reed had already rejected her, and she believed a healthy child would secure her place in his life.""
I looked at the register.
"So she took Claire?""
"Yes. But Dr. Carter had another arrangement. He believed his sister's baby deserved a family, and he thought he could control the situation by switching the paperwork.""
Jonathan interrupted.
"Are you saying the three infants were deliberately misidentified?""
Patricia nodded.
"Not all at once. The records were altered over several days. One baby was moved to Eleanor.
Another was placed with Margaret Reed. And Rebecca was sent to a private family.""
"Which family?"" I asked.
Patricia looked at me.
"That's what I spent thirty years trying to discover.""
I stared at her.
"Did you ever find her?""
Patricia slowly opened her handbag.
She removed a photograph.
It showed a young woman in her early thirties standing beside a little boy.
The woman had dark hair and a familiar smile.
I recognized her immediately.
I had seen that face in hundreds of photographs.
It was Claire.
But the photograph was dated two years before Claire met me.
I looked at Patricia.
"Why are you showing me this?""
Patricia pointed to the little boy.
"Because Claire and I discovered something together shortly before she died.""
My chest tightened.
"What?""
Patricia's voice trembled.
"Claire wasn't the only baby who had been misidentified.""
She looked directly at me.
"Your mother didn't just take Claire from Margaret Reed. She also arranged for another child to disappear from the records.""
"Who?""
Patricia lowered her eyes.
Then she whispered:
"Vanessa.""
I froze.
"That's impossible. Vanessa was Eleanor's daughter.""
"No, Marcus. The records show that Eleanor gave birth to a different baby. The child she brought home was not the child she delivered.""
I looked at the photograph.
Three babies.
Three identities.
And suddenly, the third name in the register made sense.
Rebecca Carter.
But Patricia wasn't finished.
"There's one more thing," she said.
She placed another document on the table.
It was a genetic report.
The names listed were:
Claire Hayes.
Vanessa Hayes.
Rebecca Carter.
And Eleanor Hayes.
The results showed that Vanessa was biologically related to none of the three women.
I stared at the report.
"Then who was Vanessa's biological mother?""
Patricia shook her head.
"We still don't know.""
She turned toward Jonathan.
"But I know someone who does.""
"Who?""
Patricia looked at me.
"Your mother.""
Outside the records facility, my phone rang.
Vanessa.
I answered.
"Marcus, where are you?""
"Why?""
"Mom is at the hospital.""
My stomach tightened.
"What happened?""
"She collapsed. The doctors say she had a severe panic attack.""
I looked back at the building.
"Is she okay?""
"She's conscious. But she's asking for you.""
I closed my eyes.
Then Vanessa said something that made my blood run cold.
"Marcus, before she passed out, she kept repeating one name.""
"What name?""
May you like
Vanessa began crying.
"Rebecca.""
