The Report That Turned Him Against Me

For several seconds, Marcus didn't move.

His mother stood beside the staircase with one hand gripping the banister, while I held Lily against my chest and listened to the hospital employee waiting patiently on speakerphone.

The document in Marcus's hand trembled.

“Mom,” he said, “answer the question.””

Diane straightened her blouse.

“I was listed as an emergency contact. That doesn't mean I changed anything.””

“Then why did the hospital say your access code was used?””

“Because I was helping.””

“Helping with what?””

She glanced at me.

I recognized that look. It was the same look she gave waiters when she wanted a different table, or salespeople when she believed they weren't treating her with enough respect.

She was searching for a way to make the problem somebody else's fault.

“Your wife was exhausted after the delivery,” Diane said.

“She was confused, emotional, and barely able to speak. Someone needed to make sure everything was correct.””

“I was conscious the entire time,” I interrupted.

Diane ignored me.

“The hospital made a mistake, and I tried to help them fix it.””

“By changing a medical report?”” Marcus asked.

“I didn't change a medical report.””

The contradiction came so quickly that Marcus blinked.

“You just said you helped.””

“I helped with the paperwork.””

“Which paperwork?””

Diane pressed her lips together.

For the first time, I saw something I had never seen in her before.

Fear.

Not fear of losing Marcus's affection. Not fear of being caught in an ordinary lie.

She was afraid of what might happen if he kept asking questions.

I turned toward the phone.

“Can you tell us what the original report actually says?””

“Mrs. Carter, I can confirm that the original report does not contain the discrepancy described in the altered copy. However, because this concerns protected medical information, we must verify the identities of everyone on this call before discussing the clinical details.””

“That's reasonable,” I said.

Marcus immediately reached for his wallet.

“Tell me what you need.””

The employee explained the verification procedure. Marcus provided his identifying information, and I confirmed mine. Diane refused when asked to verify her identity.

“I don't have to explain myself to some clerk,” she snapped.

“Ma'am,” the employee replied, “I'm required to follow the hospital's privacy policy.””

Diane ended the call by reaching for my phone.

I pulled it away.

“Don't touch my things.””

Her hand froze in the air.

Marcus stared at her as if he had never heard her speak before.

“Mom, why won't you cooperate?””

“Because this is a trap!””

“Whose trap?””

“Yours, apparently.”” She pointed at me.

“She has been waiting for this. She wants to turn you against your own family.””

I looked at Marcus.

“I didn't make that call to turn you against anyone. I made it because you were about to throw your wife and newborn daughter onto the street based on a document you never verified.””

His face tightened.

For one moment, I thought he might apologize.

Instead, he placed the altered report on the coffee table.

“We need to find out what happened,” he said.

It wasn't an apology.

But it was the first time in three days that he had acknowledged the possibility that I was telling the truth.

Diane seized on the opening.

“Exactly. So we should let the hospital handle it privately. There's no reason to involve strangers or create a scandal.””

“No,” Marcus said.

“We're going there.””

She stared at him.

“Excuse me?””

“We're going to the hospital. Today.””

“Marcus, you have meetings.””

“I'll cancel them.””

“You cannot throw away an entire day over a clerical error.””

He looked at the document.

“How do you know it's a clerical error?””

Diane said nothing.

Marcus picked up the baby bag and carried it away from the front door. He placed it beside the couch, then looked at me.

“You can stay until we get answers.””

The words should have comforted me.

Instead, they reminded me that he had just treated my place in our home as something he could grant or withdraw.

“I wasn't planning to leave,” I replied.

His gaze dropped to Lily.

“Is she okay?””

The question was so ordinary, so achingly late, that my throat tightened.

“She needs to eat in about twenty minutes.””

He nodded, looking embarrassed.

“I can get her formula.””

“She doesn't need formula right now. I'll feed her.””

“Oh.””

Diane let out a small, irritated breath.

“This is ridiculous. Marcus, you have a daughter to protect. You cannot let sentiment cloud your judgment.””

I turned toward her.

“Protect her from what?””

Diane's gaze flicked toward the baby.

“From being raised on lies.””

“Then you should have no objection to the truth.””

She looked as though she wanted to slap me.

Instead, she walked into the kitchen and began moving dishes around with unnecessary force.

A cabinet slammed.

A spoon hit the sink.

Marcus watched her go, then rubbed both hands over his face.

“I don't understand,” he murmured.

“Neither do I.””

He sat opposite me.

For the first time since Lily's birth, we were alone in the same room without Diane filling every silence.

“Do you remember the nurse who brought Lily to us?”” he asked.

“Yes. Nurse Elena.””

“She told me there had been a delay with some paperwork.””

“There was. But she said everything was resolved.””

Marcus looked down at his hands.

“I got a call two days later. A woman said she was contacting me about a discrepancy in the maternity records. She wouldn't give me details over the phone, but she said the hospital had concerns about the information attached to Lily's sample.””

“And you didn't ask me?””

“I was shocked.””

“So you decided I was guilty before asking a single question?””

He winced.

“The woman said the results could mean you had concealed something from me.””

“Who was the woman?””

“I don't know. She said she was calling on behalf of the hospital.””

“Did you call the hospital back?””

He shook his head.

“Mom said she'd help me understand the report.””

I stared at him.

“Marcus, did it occur to you that the person who helped you interpret the report might be the same person who changed it?””

His face drained of color.

Before he could answer, Diane returned carrying three cups of coffee.

She placed one in front of Marcus and one on the table beside me.

“I made yours the way you like it,” she said to her son.

Then she sat down.

“There's something I think you both need to understand.””

Marcus didn't touch his coffee.

“Go ahead.””

Diane folded her hands.

“Before Lily was born, I spoke to someone at the hospital. A friend of mine knows a woman who works in administration. She told me that sometimes newborn records become confused when the maternity ward is busy.””

“Why were you speaking to someone about our baby's records?”” I asked.

“Because I was worried.””

“About what?””

Diane looked at Marcus.

“About the family.””

He leaned forward.

“Stop speaking in riddles.””

She sighed.

“Your father left the family in a very difficult position when he died. There were financial arrangements, property matters, and expectations. I wanted to make sure everything was secure before you became responsible for another person.””

I stared at her in disbelief.

“What does that have to do with Lily's blood sample?””

“Nothing,” Diane said too quickly.

Marcus noticed.

“Then explain the report.””

She lifted her chin.

“I don't have it memorized.””

“You brought it to our house.””

“Because I was trying to protect you.””

“From your own daughter-in-law?””

“From being deceived!””

The shout startled Lily awake.

She began to cry.

I stood immediately, rocking her gently and murmuring against her hair. Marcus rose as well, but Diane reached for him.

“Let Nia handle it,” she said.

“You have enough to worry about.””

He pulled his arm away.

“She is my daughter.””

The words hung in the room.

Diane's face changed.

For a moment, she looked almost wounded.

Then she reached into her handbag and withdrew a small folded piece of paper.

“I didn't want to show you this,” she said.

Marcus stared at it.

“What is that?””

“Something I found in the hospital paperwork.””

She unfolded it and placed it on the table.

It was a printed laboratory summary with Lily's name at the top.

But the date was wrong.

The report had been created two days before Lily was born.

Marcus picked it up.

“How is that possible?””

Diane swallowed.

“I thought you should know.””

I looked at the date, then at her.

“You said you found this in the hospital paperwork. When?””

“Yesterday.””

“Where?””

“In your bedroom.””

My blood ran cold.

She had been in our room. She had gone through our belongings. And now she was presenting a document that appeared to predict the results of a test performed before the baby even existed outside my body.

Marcus turned the page over.

A handwritten note was attached to the back.

His eyes moved across the words.

Then he looked at me with an expression I couldn't read.

“What does it say?”” I asked.

He didn't answer.

I stepped closer.