Chapter 6: The Missing Record
Marcus looked at the Dean.
The Dean didn't move.
The hall seemed to shrink around them.
“You?””
The Dean's lips parted.
“Marcus, listen to me.””
“You switched us?””
“No.””
Lorraine stepped forward.
“You were there.””
The Dean looked at her.
“So were you.””
Lorraine's face tightened.
“I wasn't the one holding the babies.””
Marcus felt his hands go cold.
He looked between them.
“Stop talking around me.””
The Dean finally walked toward him.
“I didn't switch the babies.””
“Then why does she have your name on that card?””
The Dean looked at the identification card.
His face changed.
“That isn't my card.””
Lorraine laughed bitterly.
“It has your signature.””
Marcus looked down.
The signature was unmistakable.
Dean Robert Hayes.
He looked at the Dean.
“You signed it.””
The Dean took a step backward.
“Twenty-four years ago, I was an assistant administrator.””
Marcus stared.
“What were you doing in the maternity ward?””
The Dean hesitated.
“I was delivering paperwork.””
Lorraine shook her head.
“You were doing more than that.””
The Dean's voice hardened.
“Lorraine, you weren't there.””
“I was in the hallway.””
“And you didn't see what happened.””
“I saw you walk out carrying a file.””
Marcus looked at the envelope.
“A file?””
The Dean nodded.
“I was asked to deliver medical records to the hospital archive.””
“Did you?””
“Yes.””
Lorraine shook her head.
“No. You removed one.””
The Dean looked at her.
“That's an accusation you can't prove.””
Lorraine reached into her handbag.
She pulled out another document.
“This is the copy.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“What copy?””
“The original birth record.””
She handed it to him.
Marcus unfolded it.
Two names appeared on the page.
Two birth times.
Two weights.
Two sets of fingerprints.
But one section had been blacked out.
Marcus stared.
“What is this?””
The Dean leaned closer.
Then froze.
“That shouldn't exist.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Why?””
The Dean's face had lost its color.
“Because that page was destroyed.””
Lorraine nodded.
“Exactly.””
Daniel moved closer.
“Why would a hospital destroy a birth record?””
The Dean didn't answer.
Marcus looked at Arthur.
“Did you know about this?””
Arthur shook his head.
“I swear.””
Marcus's eyes burned.
“You swear a lot.””
Arthur looked down.
“I know.””
Evelyn suddenly spoke.
“Marcus.””
He turned.
She was staring at the document.
“There was something else.””
“What?””
“When I woke up after the delivery…”
She swallowed.
“There was a nurse crying outside my room.””
Marcus waited.
“She told me something strange.””
“What?””
Evelyn's voice trembled.
“She said, ‘You have to choose which baby you want to remember.’”
Daniel's face changed.
“Why would she say that?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Lorraine looked at the Dean.
“You do.””
The Dean closed his eyes.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he whispered:
“There was an investigation.””
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“Into what?””
“The hospital had lost another newborn months earlier.””
Daniel went still.
“Lost?””
The Dean nodded.
“An infant disappeared.””
Marcus looked at Daniel.
“Was that you?””
“No.””
The Dean shook his head.
“No. It wasn't.””
Marcus's confusion deepened.
“Then what does that have to do with us?””
The Dean looked toward the audience.
“I was told to keep quiet.””
“By who?””
He hesitated.
“By the hospital board.””
Lorraine stepped closer.
“And the board had one member who personally knew Arthur.””
Arthur looked up.
Marcus turned toward him.
“Who?””
Arthur's eyes filled with tears.
“I didn't know.””
“Who?””
Arthur whispered a name.
“Calvin Brooks.””
Marcus froze.
Daniel frowned.
“Who is Calvin Brooks?””
Arthur looked at Marcus.
“Your grandfather.””
Silence.
Marcus felt the room disappear.
“My grandfather?””
Arthur nodded.
“He wasn't just a board member.””
Lorraine's voice was barely audible.
“He was the chairman.””
Marcus looked at Evelyn.
She was shaking her head.
“No.””
Arthur continued.
“He owned the company where I worked.””
Marcus stared.
“That's why you worked all those jobs?””
Arthur nodded.
“He told me he'd help pay for you.””
Marcus swallowed.
“But?””
Arthur looked at the floor.
“There was a condition.””
“What condition?””
Arthur's voice broke.
“I had to disappear from your mother's life.””
Evelyn gasped.
Marcus looked at her.
“You knew?””
“No.””
Arthur shook his head.
“He threatened her too.””
Marcus looked at the Dean.
“And you knew?””
The Dean nodded slowly.
“I knew enough to be afraid.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Then why did you give Marcus the envelope?””
The Dean looked at him.
“Because Calvin Brooks died three months ago.””
Marcus felt a chill.
“What does his death have to do with this?””
The Dean pointed toward the document.
“The restrictions he placed on the hospital records expired when he died.””
Marcus stared.
“Restrictions?””
“Yes.””
The Dean's voice dropped.
“The full record could finally be released.””
Marcus looked at the envelope.
“Then what's in it?””
The Dean's face became grim.
“Not the full record.””
Marcus frowned.
“Why not?””
“Because someone removed the final page before the records were released.””
Lorraine whispered, “No.””
Marcus looked at her.
“You knew?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
The Dean reached into his robe.
He pulled out a photocopy.
“There was a handwritten note where the final page should have been.””
Marcus stared.
“What did it say?””
The Dean looked directly at him.
“It said, ‘If Marcus ever learns the truth, tell him to ask his father where the third child went.’”
Marcus stopped breathing.
Daniel stared at Arthur.
Evelyn covered her mouth.
Arthur stepped backward.
Marcus turned toward him.
“Third child?””
Arthur shook his head violently.
“No.””
Marcus's voice trembled.
“Dad…”
Arthur's eyes filled with tears.
“I thought that secret was buried.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“What secret?””
Arthur looked toward the exit.
Then at Evelyn.
Then at Daniel.
Finally, he looked directly into Marcus's eyes.
And whispered:
“Your mother didn't give birth to two babies.””
May you like
He swallowed.
“She gave birth to three.””
