Chapter 7: The Man Who Walked Into a Hospital Four Years After His Death
I called the hospital back seventeen times.
Every call went to voicemail.
By the eighteenth attempt, I was standing in the kitchen with my keys in one hand and my father's old photograph in the other, trying to convince myself that there had to be a reasonable explanation.
Maybe Rebecca had mistaken someone else for a Mercer.
Maybe the DNA report had been misfiled.
Maybe the hospital's records were simply a mess.
But one sentence kept circling through my head.
Lily Mercer was never supposed to leave the hospital with Rachel.
Behind me, Vanessa stood beside the counter, staring at the address on Sophie's photograph.
“Daniel, where are you going?””
“To St. Catherine's.””
“It's almost midnight.””
“Then I'll wait outside until somebody answers my questions.””
She caught my arm.
“Please. Don't go there alone.””
I looked down at her hand.
“Why? Is there something else you haven't told me?””
She released me immediately.
“No.””
“Vanessa, I need you to understand something. Every time somebody in this family tells me there's nothing more to the story, another secret comes crawling out of the walls.””
“I know.””
“Then tell me why you look terrified.””
She swallowed.
“Because I recognize the name Rebecca Collins.””
I turned toward her.
“From where?””
“My mother used to receive letters from someone at St. Catherine's. I never saw the full correspondence, but I remember that name on an envelope.””
“When?””
“Four years ago. Shortly before your father died.””
The room seemed to tilt.
“What did the letters say?””
“I don't know. My mother kept them locked in her study.””
“Did you ever ask her?””
“Yes. She told me Rebecca was an administrative assistant who had helped correct some paperwork after the adoption.””
“And you believed her?””
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“I wanted to believe her.””
I stared at the woman who had spent two years sharing my bed while hiding a connection to my dead brother's child.
Then I picked up my keys.
“Get your coat.””
She blinked.
“What?””
“If you recognize the name, you're coming with me.””
We drove through the sleeping streets in silence. Rain streaked the windshield, and the hospital's illuminated sign appeared above the road like a warning.
At the reception desk, I showed my identification and asked for Rebecca Collins.
The receptionist frowned at her computer.
“Ms. Collins isn't on tonight's schedule.””
“I spoke to her less than an hour ago.””
“I'm sorry, sir. I can't give out employee information.””
“Then please contact hospital security. Tell them Daniel Mercer needs to speak with the nurse who accessed an archived birth record this afternoon.””
The receptionist's expression changed.
She picked up the telephone.
Five minutes later, a security officer escorted us to a small administrative office.
A tired-looking woman in navy scrubs stood beside a filing cabinet.
“Mr. Mercer?”” she asked.
“Are you Rebecca?””
“Yes.””
I stepped forward.
“Who walked into your office?””
Rebecca glanced at Vanessa.
Then she locked the door.
“I shouldn't have called you.””
“Why did you?””
“Because I recognized the name on the report. And because I was told that file had been permanently sealed.””
She opened a drawer and removed a thin folder.
Inside was a photocopy of a laboratory report dated four years earlier.
The patient's name was Robert Mercer.
My father's name.
The report listed a genetic sample collected during a medical evaluation shortly before his death. Attached to it was a comparison involving a child identified only by a hospital case number.
I recognized the number from the paper Lily had found behind her photograph.
“What am I looking at?”” I asked.
“Your father requested a private DNA comparison shortly before he died,” Rebecca explained.
“He wanted to establish whether a child born at this hospital was biologically related to him.””
“Lily?””
Rebecca nodded.
“The report indicated a close biological relationship. It was consistent with the child being his granddaughter.””
My hands trembled.
“Then Lily really is Michael's daughter?””
“The report alone doesn't establish that conclusively. It supports a close relationship, but the complete testing history is missing from this file.””
Vanessa sat down abruptly.
I barely noticed.
“Why would my father test Lily four years after she was born?””
Rebecca looked at me for a long moment.
“Because he believed the original birth records had been manipulated.””
“By Eleanor?””
“I can't make that accusation without evidence.””
“Then show me the evidence you have.””
Rebecca placed another document on the desk.
It was a hospital incident report.
The report described an unauthorized attempt to access newborn identification records on October 14, six years earlier. Two infant records had been flagged for review. One of the original identification bands had reportedly been replaced after a discrepancy was discovered.
The staff member who filed the report was named Rebecca Collins.
“You were there?”” I asked.
“I was a junior records clerk. I didn't understand the implications at first. A senior administrator told me it was a routine correction.””
“Who ordered it?””
Rebecca shook her head.
“The authorization came from someone with executive access. The name was removed from the copy I was allowed to retain.””
“Why didn't you report it?””
“I did. My supervisor told me the matter had been resolved. When I asked again, I was reassigned to another department.””
She looked ashamed.
“I was twenty-four. I had student loans and a sick mother. I convinced myself that people with more authority knew what they were doing.””
I understood the temptation to trust someone else's judgment.
I had done it for years.
“Why did you call me tonight?””
Rebecca opened the folder's back pocket and removed a small envelope.
“Because I found this tucked inside the archived file.””
My father's handwriting covered the front.
*For Daniel, if the truth cannot wait any longer.*
I stopped breathing.
“He left that here?””
“Four years ago. He came to the hospital personally. He asked me to keep it with the record and release it only if the case was reopened.””
I reached for the envelope.
Rebecca held on for a moment.
“There's something else you should know. Someone requested access to this file yesterday.””
“Who?””
“The request was approved under an old executive credential. The credential belongs to a person who is no longer employed here.””
“Whose name?””
Rebecca turned the request form toward me.
The authorization field contained a name.
*Robert Mercer.*
My dead father's name.
I stared at it, unable to understand how someone could have used his credentials years after his death.
Then I noticed the signature.
It wasn't my father's.
It was mine.
I had never requested access to this file.
Someone had forged my signature.
Vanessa rose slowly.
“Daniel,” she whispered, “we need to leave.””
Before I could answer, a heavy knock struck the office door.
A security guard's voice came from the other side.
“Ms. Collins, we need you to open up.””
Rebecca's face drained of color.
“What's happening?”” I asked.
She slipped the envelope into my hand.
“Take it. Whatever happens, don't let them put it back in that file.””
The handle began to turn.
Rebecca leaned toward me and whispered one last sentence.
“The man who accessed this record isn't your father, Daniel. But he knows exactly what happened to Lily.””
May you like
The lock clicked.
And someone outside the door called my name.
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