Chapter 8: The Child Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Daniel placed the photograph on the table as carefully as if it might explode.
“You were told the baby was dead,” he repeated.
“By whom?””
Vanessa sank into a chair.
“Aaron.””
Michael shook his head.
“He never showed you a death certificate?””
“No.””
“An official hospital report?””
“No.””
“Then why did you believe him?””
Vanessa looked up, tears streaking her cheeks.
“Because I was bleeding. Because I was frightened. Because he told me he had taken care of everything.””
Daniel gripped the back of a chair.
“You were bleeding, and he took you to a hospital?””
She shook her head.
“No. He said he knew a private clinic. He told me it would be safer if nobody knew about the pregnancy.””
Michael closed his eyes.
Daniel stared at his wife.
“You let another man make medical decisions for you, and you never called me?””
“I was ashamed!””
“Of what? Being pregnant? Or lying to me?””
Vanessa pressed her palms against her face.
“Both.””
The admission was so quiet that Daniel almost didn't hear it.
Lily stood near the doorway, her eyes moving between the adults.
“Daddy,” she whispered, “does that mean I have a brother or sister?””
Daniel looked at her.
He wanted to give her a comforting answer, but he didn't know whether the child existed, where the child was, or whether any of the documents could be trusted.
“I don't know yet, sweetheart.””
Michael leaned forward.
“But we're going to find out.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“You can't just start searching for a child because someone found an old wristband.””
Michael placed another document on the table.
“This isn't just a wristband. It's a hospital intake record.””
Daniel read the page.
The patient's name was listed as Vanessa Carter. The admission date matched the week of her alleged miscarriage. A second section contained a newborn's temporary identification number.
At the bottom was a note indicating that the infant had been transferred to another facility.
Daniel felt his throat tighten.
“Where was the baby taken?””
Michael pointed to the hospital name.
“St. Catherine's.””
Vanessa looked up sharply.
“No.””
Daniel noticed.
“What?””
“That hospital closed years ago.””
Michael nodded.
“The building did. The records didn't necessarily disappear.””
Daniel reached for his phone.
“I'll call them.””
Vanessa grabbed his wrist.
“Daniel, wait.””
He looked at her hand.
She released him.
“Please don't make calls until we understand what we're dealing with.””
“Why?””
“Because Aaron told me the child had been placed with a family who could care for it. He said contacting anyone would only cause trouble.””
Daniel's face hardened.
“You knew there might be a living child, and you never checked?””
“I believed him!””
“For three years?””
Vanessa began to cry again.
“I didn't know what else to do.””
Michael's voice was quiet but firm.
“You could have told Daniel.””
She turned on him.
“You disappeared! You left me alone with everything!””
“I disappeared because you signed the paper that helped send me away.””
“I thought you were going to expose me!””
“I wanted Daniel to know the truth.””
“And what would that have done to my marriage?””
Michael stared at her.
“It might have saved it from becoming what it is now.””
Daniel stepped between them.
“Stop.””
He walked to the counter and dialed the number listed on the document. After several rings, an automated message informed him that the hospital had closed and directed inquiries to a regional medical records office.
He wrote down the number.
Then he called.
A woman answered.
“Regional Medical Records. How may I help you?””
“My name is Daniel Carter. I'm trying to verify a hospital record from three years ago. It concerns a newborn transferred from St. Catherine's.””
“Do you have the patient's full name?””
Daniel glanced at the document.
“The mother's name is Vanessa Carter. I have a temporary infant identification number.””
The woman paused.
“I can explain the process for requesting records, but I can't disclose private medical information without proper authorization.””
“Understood. What do I need to provide?””
She gave him an email address and a list of documents.
Daniel wrote everything down.
Then he asked, “Can you at least tell me whether the transfer record appears legitimate?””
“I can't confirm that over the phone, sir. You would need to submit the request.””
Daniel thanked her and ended the call.
Vanessa watched him with desperate eyes.
“Daniel, please. Whatever you find, remember that I didn't know the baby was alive.””
He slipped his phone into his pocket.
“I'll decide what to believe when I have evidence.””
Michael stood and walked toward the back door.
Daniel turned.
“Where are you going?””
“To get some air.””
“You're not leaving.””
Michael stopped.
“Danny, I'm not going anywhere. I just need a minute.””
Daniel studied his brother's exhausted face, then nodded toward the doorway.
“Stay where I can see you.””
Michael stepped outside but remained beside the open door.
Daniel returned to the table and examined the documents again.
The transfer record contained a handwritten reference number. The hospital employee had told him that the number could help locate archived records.
He entered it into his phone's notes.
Then he noticed something else.
A second signature appeared beside the transfer authorization.
It wasn't Vanessa's.
It wasn't Aaron's.
Daniel recognized the shape of the initials immediately.
“Michael?””
His brother turned from the doorway.
“What?””
Daniel held up the document.
“Is this your signature?””
Michael came back inside.
The moment he saw the page, his face changed.
“No.””
“Are you sure?””
“I've never seen that document before.””
“Then why does it carry your initials?””
Michael stared at the signature.
Someone had copied the distinctive way he crossed the first letter of his name.
He took a step backward.
“They used my identity.””
Daniel's voice dropped.
“To transfer the baby?””
Michael nodded slowly.
“Or to make it look as if I had.””
Vanessa began shaking her head.
“No. No, that's impossible.””
Daniel turned toward her.
“You said Aaron handled everything.””
“He did!””
“Then why is Michael's name on the transfer?””
She couldn't answer.
Michael picked up the paper and examined the bottom corner.
“There's a reference to a second facility.””
Daniel leaned closer.
A name had been written in faded ink.
*Willow Creek Family Services.*
Michael looked at his brother.
“That wasn't a hospital.””
“What was it?””
“A private adoption agency.””
Vanessa suddenly stood.
“You don't understand what you're doing.””
Daniel faced her.
“Then explain it.””
She pressed her lips together.
Michael spoke instead.
“If the child was transferred through an adoption agency, someone may have arranged a placement without giving the birth mother the complete information.””
Vanessa gripped the edge of the table.
“I never signed adoption papers.””
Daniel felt a cold chill move through him.
“Then who did?””
Michael looked at the forged signature again.
“Someone who wanted the child gone without leaving Vanessa a way to find it.””
Lily walked slowly toward her mother.
“Mommy, if the baby is alive, can we meet them?””
Vanessa knelt and hugged her daughter tightly.
“I don't know, sweetheart.””
For the first time, Daniel saw something in his wife's face that looked like genuine grief rather than fear of being caught.
But grief didn't erase the lies.
He gathered the documents into a folder.
“We're going to get the records,” he said.
“We're going to find out what happened, and nobody is going to hide anything else from me.””
Vanessa nodded, unable to speak.
Michael looked toward the front window.
The dark sedan was back.
This time, it was parked directly across from the house.
Its engine was off.
Someone sat behind the steering wheel, watching them.
Daniel moved toward the window.
The driver raised a phone and took a photograph of the house.
Then the sedan pulled away.
Michael grabbed Daniel's arm.
“That's the same car.””
Daniel turned.
“The one from earlier?””
Michael nodded.
“It's been following me since yesterday.””
Daniel's phone vibrated.
An unknown number had sent a message.
Stop looking for the child. The next person who disappears won't come back.
Daniel read it aloud.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Michael stared at the phone, his face drained of color.
Then another message arrived.
This one contained a photograph of Lily standing outside her school.
Taken that morning.
Daniel felt every muscle in his body tighten.
May you like
The message beneath it contained six words.
You have until midnight, Daniel Carter.
