Chapter 4 - The Man OutsideThe photograph made my hands go numb.
“Where was this taken?”
“Hospital parking garage.”
“When?”
“Seven minutes ago.”
I looked toward the door.
My mother was still somewhere in the building.
Ethan stood immediately.
“She followed us.”
Detective Morgan nodded.
“That's what it appears.”
“Why would she bring him here?”
“We don't know.”
The detective held up the photograph.
“But the man was carrying a syringe.”
I stared at it.
“Maybe he's a doctor.”
“He entered through the employee entrance.”
“What does he do here?”
“We’re checking.”
My heart began racing.
The thought that someone could reach my daughter inside the hospital was unbearable.
“Lock the door.”
Ethan moved toward it.
Detective Morgan stopped him.
“Hospital security is already on the way.”
Then there was a knock.
All three of us froze.
A nurse entered.
“Mrs. Carter?”
“Yes?”
“There’s someone asking to see you.”
“Who?”
“Your mother.”
“No.”
The nurse nodded.
“I’ll tell her.”
She turned.
Then a voice called from the hallway.
“Claire!”
My mother's voice.
I felt sick.
“Please,” she cried.
“Let me explain!”
Ethan stood between the doorway and me.
“You have nothing to explain.”
My mother's footsteps stopped.
“I didn't know Vanessa would hurt her.”
My eyes widened.
Ethan slowly looked at me.
Detective Morgan gestured for him to stay silent.
My mother continued.
“I swear.”
“You gave me the tea,” I shouted.
Silence.
Then my mother whispered:
“You weren't supposed to drink it.”
The room went dead quiet.
Detective Morgan stepped into the hallway.
“You weren't supposed to drink what?”
My mother didn't answer.
Then she ran.
“Stop!”
Detective Morgan chased her.
Hospital security joined.
Ethan turned to me.
“She admitted it.”
I nodded.
But something wasn't right.
My mother had always been controlling.
Greedy.
Manipulative.
But terrified?
I'd never seen her like this.
A few minutes later, Detective Morgan returned.
Without my mother.
“She escaped through the stairwell.”
“Did she leave the building?”
“Unknown.”
Then the nurse rushed in.
“Detective?”
“What?”
“We found this outside the patient's room.”
She held up a small envelope.
No name.
No stamp.
Just my initials.
C.C.
I looked at Ethan.
“Don't open it.”
Detective Morgan put on gloves.
She opened the envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
It showed me as a child.
Standing beside my grandmother.
On the back, someone had written:
YOUR GRANDMOTHER KNEW.
Underneath:
ASK HER WHAT HAPPENED IN 2004.
I stared at the photograph.
“2004?”
“That was the year my grandmother changed her will.”
Detective Morgan looked at me.
“What happened then?”
“I don't know.”
“You're sure?”
“My grandmother never talked about it.”
Ethan picked up his phone.
“I'll search the family records.”
Then his face changed.
He stared at the screen.
“What?”
He turned it toward me.
There was a message from Noah.
I found the original video.
Another message appeared.
Your father is in it.
Then a third.
And you need to see what he does after your sister kicks you.
My hands trembled.
“Noah, send it.”
A video loaded.
The footage showed the backyard.
Vanessa approached me.
She shouted.
She kicked me.
I fell.
People screamed.
But then, in the background, my father walked toward the garden table.
He didn't look at me.
He didn't look at Vanessa.
He looked directly at something hidden beneath the table.
Then he bent down.
Pulled out a black bag.
And handed it to the same mysterious man from the hospital.
My father whispered:
“It's done.”
I watched the video twice.
Then Ethan noticed something.
“Pause.”
I did.
He pointed.
“The bag.”
“What about it?”
“There’s a logo.”
I zoomed in.
A gold emblem.
A black crown.
Detective Morgan stared at it.
“I know that symbol.”
My heart sank.
“Who uses it?”
She looked at us.
“A private medical research company.”
May you like
Then she added the words that made my blood run cold.
“And they specialize in experimental procedures on unborn children.”
