Chapter 3 - THE ACCOUNT WITH MY SON'S NAMEFor several seconds, I couldn't breathe.
“My son doesn't have an account.”
Diana pulled out her phone.
“The account was opened yesterday.”
“Yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“He wasn't even born.”
“I know.”
I stared at the screen.
A newborn's name appeared on it.
My son's name.
The account was registered under a trust.
Trustee:
Julian Sterling.
Beneficiary:
My son.
I felt a cold sensation crawl through me.
“Why would they do that?”
Diana's expression hardened.
“To create a legal shield.”
“For what?”
“Money.”
I stared at her.
“They're moving money into my son's name?”
“Five million so far.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does if they expect the rest of the Sterling assets to be seized.”
The room suddenly felt too small.
I looked toward the NICU window.
My tiny son was fighting for his life.
And somewhere outside that hospital, powerful people were turning him into a financial hiding place.
Diana lowered her voice.
“There’s more.”
Of course there was.
“What now?”
“The trust documents were signed electronically.”
“By Julian?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
She turned the screen toward me.
My name appeared.
Audrey Sterling.
Authorized trustee.
I stared at the signature.
It looked exactly like mine.
Except for one detail.
I had never signed it.
Diana said, “We believe someone has been building a digital copy of your identity.”
“How?”
“Your credentials were used to access state systems.”
“I never gave anyone my credentials.”
“I know.”
“Then someone inside the system helped them.”
Diana didn't deny it.
That was the first thing that truly frightened me.
“You think there’s an insider?”
“We don't think anymore.”
She pulled out a second folder.
“We know.”
Before I could ask who, the hospital room door opened.
A nurse hurried in.
“There are reporters outside.”
Diana stood.
“Why?”
“They're asking for Audrey Sterling.”
My blood ran cold.
“How did they know?”
The nurse hesitated.
“They say a source leaked that the Sterling family was raided tonight.”
Diana looked at me.
“They shouldn't know you're here yet.”
“They know my name?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
The nurse looked uncomfortable.
“They're calling you the whistleblower.”
Diana's jaw tightened.
“That information was sealed.”
A phone buzzed.
Not mine.
Diana checked hers.
“Someone leaked the warrant.”
I stared at her.
“To the press?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Her answer came slowly.
“Someone inside law enforcement.”
My heart pounded.
Then another nurse appeared.
“Mrs. Sterling?”
I looked up.
“Yes?”
She held a small package.
“This was left at the nurses' station for you.”
Diana immediately stepped between us.
“Who delivered it?”
“No idea.”
“What is it?”
The nurse handed over a sealed envelope.
My name was written across the front.
In black ink.
Diana opened it carefully.
Inside was one photograph.
A picture of me.
Taken while I was pregnant.
Sleeping in my bedroom.
I felt sick.
Someone had been inside my house.
There was a second photograph.
My son.
In the NICU.
The picture had been taken less than an hour earlier.
The nurse gasped.
Diana went perfectly still.
Then the final page slid from the envelope.
Four words.
YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED QUIET.
Diana immediately called hospital security.
“Lock the floor down.”
The nurse ran.
I stared at the photograph of my son.
“Who could get close enough to take this?”
Diana did not answer.
She was looking at the hallway camera feed on the wall monitor.
A man in a dark coat stood near the elevator.
He wasn't wearing a hospital badge.
He wasn't holding flowers.
He wasn't talking to anyone.
He was simply standing there.
Watching.
Diana picked up her phone.
“Agents are coming.”
The man turned toward the camera.
May you like
Then smiled.
And walked away.
