Chapter 12: The Last Transfer
The man in the white coat moved toward Claire.
I stepped between them.
“Get away from her.””
He raised the syringe.
“I'm authorized to transfer this patient.””
“Not anymore.””
James grabbed the man's wrist.
The syringe fell and shattered against the floor.
The man swung his other arm.
James stumbled backward, hitting the wall.
I lunged forward and pinned the attacker against the door.
“Who sent you?””
He said nothing.
I tightened my grip.
“WHO SENT YOU?””
“Richard Hale.””
A security alarm continued ringing.
Two nurses appeared in the corridor.
One screamed.
The attacker twisted free and ran.
James chased him, but I stayed with Claire.
I couldn't leave her.
Not again.
I held her face between my hands.
“Claire, look at me.””
Her eyes were wide with fear.
“Don't let him take the baby.””
“Which baby?””
She struggled to breathe.
Then she pointed toward the photograph.
“Four.””
I looked at the writing again.
*Baby Four — Reserved for Transfer.*
The words made no sense.
Claire had told me about three daughters.
Grace.
Sophia.
Lily.
Who was the fourth?
I turned toward Dr. Price.
“Explain this.””
He looked terrified.
“I don't know what that document means.””
“It's in my wife's medical file!””
“Mr. Moretti, there are records here that predate my appointment. Some patients were transferred from Hawthorne under confidential arrangements.””
“Who arranged them?””
He looked at the floor.
“Richard Hale.””
I felt my hands curl into fists.
“How many children?””
“I don't know.””
“Find out.””
He nodded and rushed toward the nurses' station.
James returned five minutes later.
The attacker had escaped through a service exit.
But he had dropped something.
A plastic identification badge.
James handed it to me.
The name was:
*Dr. Peter Caldwell.*
I recognized the surname.
Martin Caldwell had been the former hospital administrator who authorized Sophia's restricted rehabilitation transfer.
James checked the photograph.
“Same man?””
I nodded.
“Apparently Richard has an entire medical network working for him.””
Claire suddenly grabbed my sleeve.
“Daniel.””
I knelt.
“What is it?””
She pointed to James's phone.
“Call... Margaret.””
James dialed immediately.
Margaret answered after two rings.
“Daniel?””
“Claire is alive.””
A sharp gasp came through the phone.
“Where?””
“Greenwood Recovery Center.””
“Is she safe?””
“For now. But we found a document mentioning another baby.””
Margaret went silent.
Then she whispered:
“Oh, no.””
I stood.
“What do you know?””
“Daniel, you need to leave that building.””
“Why?””
“Because Richard knows about the fourth child.””
I looked at Claire.
“What fourth child?””
Margaret began crying.
“Claire gave birth again.””
I felt my stomach drop.
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
I stared at the phone.
“That's impossible.””
“After the accident, Claire discovered she was pregnant again. She was already carrying another baby when Richard took Lily.””
I looked toward Claire.
She was watching me.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
“Where is the child?””
Margaret whispered:
“I don't know.””
“Then why did you say Richard knows?””
“Because I saw him with the baby.””
I gripped the phone.
“When?””
“About six months ago.””
“Where?””
“At the old Hawthorne facility.””
James moved closer.
“Did you see the child's face?””
“No. But I heard Richard call her by name.””
“What name?””
Margaret took a shaky breath.
“Rose.””
The next morning, Claire was moved to a secure hospital room under police protection.
She was still weak, but she was able to speak in short sentences.
I sat beside her, holding her hand.
For the first time in three years, we were together again.
But the joy was mixed with a terrible fear.
“How long have you been here?”” I asked.
“Eighteen months.””
“Where were you before?””
“Hawthorne.””
“Did Richard visit?””
She nodded.
“Sometimes.””
“What did he want?””
Claire closed her eyes.
“Money. The girls. The trust.””
I swallowed.
“And Rose?””
Her face changed.
“Richard said he would give her to Eleanor.””
“Why?””
“Because Eleanor wanted another child.””
I stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell the doctors?””
“I tried.””
“What happened?””
“They gave me medication. I couldn't stay awake long enough to explain.””
I felt tears burning my eyes.
“Claire, I'm sorry.””
She turned toward me.
“Why?””
“I should have known. I should have protected you.””
She shook her head.
“Richard made sure you couldn't.””
I held her hand tighter.
“Where is Rose?””
Claire looked toward the window.
“Somewhere with Eleanor.””
I remembered the photographs.
The school records.
The money.
The stolen inheritance.
“How many children did Richard take?””
Claire closed her eyes.
“Three.””
I felt cold.
“Three?””
“Lily. Rose. And another little girl.””
I stared at her.
“Who?””
Claire struggled to speak.
“Her name is Anna.””
I leaned closer.
“Where is she?””
Claire began crying.
“She wasn't mine.””
I frowned.
“What do you mean?””
“She was born to another woman. Richard arranged for her to be transferred through the same network.””
My stomach tightened.
“How many families?””
Claire looked at me.
“More than you can imagine.””
That afternoon, Detective Bennett arrived with two officers.
She placed several photographs on the table.
“We found evidence of multiple unauthorized transfers from the former Hawthorne facility.””
I looked at the pictures.
There were children.
Some newborns.
Some toddlers.
Each photograph had a number written on the back.
“Where were they sent?””
“Different private residences. Some were registered as adopted children. Others disappeared into medical facilities.””
James leaned forward.
“Do you have a complete list?””
“Not yet.””
I looked at Claire.
She had gone pale.
Detective Bennett noticed.
“Mrs. Moretti, do you recognize these people?””
Claire nodded.
She pointed to a woman in one photograph.
“Eleanor.””
Then she pointed to a man standing beside her.
“Richard.””
The detective placed another photograph on the table.
It showed a young woman in a hospital corridor.
Claire immediately began shaking.
“Who is that?”” I asked.
She whispered:
“Anna's mother.””
Detective Bennett turned the photograph over.
There was a name.
*Rebecca Collins.*
I looked up.
“Is she alive?””
The detective hesitated.
“That's what we're trying to establish.””
Claire gripped my hand.
“Find her.””
“We will,” the detective promised.
Then Claire looked directly at me.
“Daniel, there's something else.””
I leaned closer.
“What?””
She swallowed.
“Richard didn't start this three years ago.””
I frowned.
“What do you mean?””
“He started before we met.””
I stared at her.
“Before?””
Claire nodded.
“He knew about Grace before I did. He knew about the company trust. He knew about the adoption arrangements.””
My stomach tightened.
“Why?””
She looked toward the photographs.
“Because Richard wasn't working alone.””
I felt my blood turn cold.
“Who was helping him?””
Claire reached for my wrist.
Then she whispered a name.
“Your father.””
I couldn't move.
My father had been dead for twelve years.
He had built the company with me.
He had taught me everything about business.
He had held Sophia as a baby.
And now Claire was telling me he had been involved in the same operation.
“That can't be true.””
Claire's eyes filled.
“He knew about the children.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“He signed the first agreement.””
“What agreement?””
Claire looked toward Detective Bennett.
“Ask her to search the old trust records.””
The detective opened her folder.
A few minutes later, she found a document dated sixteen years earlier.
It contained three signatures.
Richard Hale.
Martin Caldwell.
And my father's.
But beneath them was another name.
The original beneficiary of the entire trust.
*Daniel Moretti.*
James stared at the document.
“Your father created this arrangement before you married Claire.””
I couldn't breathe.
“Why would he do that?””
Claire slowly turned toward me.
“Because he knew something about your family.””
“What?””
She closed her eyes.
Then whispered:
“Daniel, you weren't adopted.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
She began crying.
“Your father bought your birth records. Your biological mother was Rebecca Collins.””
The room went silent.
Detective Bennett slowly lowered her folder.
Rebecca Collins.
The woman in the photograph.
Anna's mother.
The woman Richard had apparently been trying to find.
I looked at Claire.
“Are you telling me Rebecca is my mother?””
Claire nodded.
Then she delivered the final blow.
“She was also the woman who gave birth to Rose.””
I felt the room tilt.
Rose.
The fourth child.
May you like
My biological sister.
And somewhere outside that hospital, Richard Hale was holding the one person who could explain why my entire family had been built on a lie.
