Chapter 5: The Baby Who Was Declared Dead
The words on the document burned into my mind.
"TRANSFER COMPLETED."
I stared at the paper.
I couldn't understand it.
I didn't want to understand it.
Because sometimes the truth doesn't arrive like a door opening.
Sometimes it arrives like a wall collapsing.
And you are standing directly underneath it.
Rachel was still holding the hospital record.
Her hands were trembling.
"Where did you get this?"
I asked.
She looked at the suitcase.
"I didn't."
Her voice was barely audible.
"Someone left it here."
My eyes moved around the bedroom.
Someone had entered our house.
Someone had hidden evidence.
Someone wanted us to find it.
But why?
"Who is the baby on this record?"
Rachel didn't answer.
She looked at the name again.
Her face became pale.
"Charlotte Carter."
The room went silent.
Max looked confused.
"That's your daughter's name?"
Rachel nodded slowly.
"My daughter."
She touched the paper like it was something fragile.
"According to the hospital, Charlotte was born at 3:17 in the morning."
She swallowed.
"She was declared dead six hours later."
I felt a chill.
"Dead?"
Rachel closed her eyes.
"That's what they told me."
She sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I was twenty-three years old. I had just given birth. The doctors told me there were complications."
Her voice cracked.
"They said she didn't survive."
Max moved closer to me.
Even he understood the sadness in her voice.
"But..."
Rachel looked at the document.
"But this says something different."
She turned the page.
A list of medical notes.
A transfer form.
A signature.
And a name.
The same name that appeared again and again.
Dr. Adrian Vale.
"Who is he?"
I asked.
Rachel looked at me.
"The doctor who delivered my daughter."
A terrible silence filled the room.
I remembered my own doctor.
The nurses.
The hospital.
All the smiling faces.
All the people I trusted.
"Why would a doctor fake a baby's death?"
Rachel looked at the crib downstairs.
"Because a dead baby can't be found."
The sentence hit me hard.
I looked at my own daughter.
My beautiful little girl.
My heart hurt.
Not because I loved her less.
Because I suddenly realized how many people might have been fighting over her before I even knew she existed.
"Daniel knows about this."
I said it without thinking.
Rachel looked at me.
"Yes."
My chest tightened.
"How?"
She looked away.
"Because he found me."
The room became colder.
"Explain."
Rachel took a deep breath.
"Three years ago, Daniel contacted me."
"Why?"
"He told me he had information about my daughter."
"And?"
"He said Charlotte wasn't dead."
My knees almost gave out.
I grabbed the bed frame.
"What?"
Rachel nodded.
"He said he had proof."
"Did he show you?"
"No."
Her eyes filled with anger.
"That's the part I never understood."
She stood up.
"He came into my life, gave me hope, then disappeared."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
I looked at the documents.
Maybe now I knew.
Maybe Daniel wasn't the person who started this.
Maybe he was trapped in it.
But then another thought appeared.
What if he wasn't trapped?
What if he was involved?
A noise came from downstairs.
The baby monitor.
A crackling sound.
Then a voice.
"You're asking the wrong questions."
My entire body froze.
That voice.
Daniel.
But Daniel wasn't home.
Rachel immediately grabbed my arm.
"Who is that?"
I didn't answer.
We ran downstairs.
The living room was empty.
The front door was still open.
The baby monitor sat on the table.
And through the speaker...
Daniel's voice continued.
"The question is not who the baby is."
A pause.
"The question is why they chose her."
My heart stopped.
I picked up the monitor.
"Daniel?"
No answer.
Only static.
Then:
"Listen carefully."
His voice sounded broken.
"Don't let Dr. Vale find the records."
Rachel froze.
"Dr. Vale?"
Daniel continued.
"If he knows you have them, he will come for Lily."
The sound cut out.
I stared at the monitor.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Max whispered:
"Mommy."
I looked down.
He was staring at the front door.
"Someone is outside."
My blood turned cold.
Slowly...
I turned around.
A shadow stood behind the glass.
A man.
Watching us.
Rachel moved toward the window.
"No..."
She recognized him.
The fear on her face was immediate.
"Who is it?"
She whispered:
"Dr. Adrian Vale."
The man outside didn't knock.
Didn't call.
He simply stood there.
Waiting.
Like he knew we had already discovered everything.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A calm man's voice spoke.
"Mrs. Anderson."
I couldn't move.
"Who are you?"
A small laugh.
"You already know."
I looked through the window.
At the man standing outside.
"Why are you here?"
The voice remained calm.
"Because you have something that belongs to me."
My hand tightened around the phone.
"My daughter?"
Silence.
Then he said:
"No."
A pause.
"Your daughter belongs to you."
My heart stopped.
"Then what do you want?"
His answer made my blood run cold.
"The truth."
I frowned.
"What truth?"
The man outside looked directly at me.
Then said:
"The truth that your husband has been hiding for five years."
I couldn't breathe.
"Where is Daniel?"
For the first time, the man's voice changed.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Something worse.
Pity.
"Mrs. Anderson..."
"He isn't missing."
A pause.
"He is running."
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Then at Rachel.
Then at Max.
The three of us stood there, surrounded by secrets that were bigger than any of us.
But there was one thing I couldn't ignore.
Dr. Vale said Daniel was running.
Not hiding.
Not protecting us.
Running.
And deep down...
I knew the most painful possibility was becoming real.
May you like
Maybe my husband wasn't the victim.
Maybe he was the reason this nightmare began.
