Chapter 3: The Child They Erased
Chapter 3: The Child They Erased
Police arrived minutes later.
Margaret immediately pointed toward Emily.
"She's unstable."
"She stole a dead infant from hospital property."
But one officer noticed something strange.
The baby was breathing.
The identification bracelet matched the hospital records.
Nothing made sense.
Then Quincy quietly tugged on the detective's sleeve.
"I have to tell you something."
He reached inside his backpack and removed an old spiral notebook.
"I've been writing everything down."
Every page contained dates.
Names.
Conversations.
Drawings.
On one page was a picture of another baby wrapped in a blue blanket.
Above it, written in careful second-grade handwriting:
Daddy cried. Grandma said God chose the baby. But I saw the baby move.
The detective slowly looked up.
"When did this happen?"
"Three years ago."
Emily stared at Daniel.
"You had another child?"
Daniel collapsed onto the curb.
His face turned white.
He finally spoke.
"My first wife..."
His voice cracked.
"She was told our son died after birth."
Emily felt sick.
Margaret interrupted.
"He wasn't healthy."
"He would have suffered."
"So I made the decision she couldn't."
The detective frowned.
"You mean you took the child?"
Margaret calmly nodded.
"I gave him to a religious family."
"They knew how to raise God's chosen children."
Daniel looked horrified.
"You told me he died."
"I buried an empty coffin."
Margaret's expression never changed.
"I protected this family."
The detective immediately ordered officers to place her in handcuffs.
As they searched her home later that night, they uncovered hidden adoption papers.
False death certificates.
Medical records.
Names of infants declared dead.
Not one.
Not two.
Seven babies.
Every one of them secretly given away through an illegal network disguised as a religious charity.
Quincy had been living beside the truth for years.
May you like
Too frightened to tell anyone.
Until Emily's daughter became the next victim.
