Chapter 16 - The HospitalWe raced back to the hospital.
Police cars surrounded the entrance.
Doctors shouted.
Nurses ran.
Ellie's room was empty.
My world stopped.
“Where is my daughter?”
Nobody answered.
Then a nurse grabbed my arm.
“They took her.”
“Who?”
“Two men dressed as federal agents.”
I felt my knees weaken.
My mother caught me.
“We have twenty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes for what?”
“To get her back.”
Dad was already moving.
“We need the security footage.”
The nurse led us to the control room.
Footage showed two men entering Ellie’s room.
One carried fake identification.
The other carried a medical transport bag.
They disconnected Ellie from the monitor.
Then walked out.
At the elevator, one man turned.
I recognized him.
Gary.
My scream echoed through the room.
“He has her.”
My mother shook her head.
“Not Gary.”
“What?”
“He's the decoy.”
The footage zoomed.
A third person stood behind the elevator doors.
A woman.
I froze.
Linda.
I looked at the screen.
“She's helping them.”
My mother shook her head.
“No.”
Then she pointed.
“Look.”
Linda wasn't carrying Ellie.
She was carrying an empty blanket.
She was distracting the cameras.
The actual person carrying Ellie was the nurse behind them.
I recognized her too.
Dr. Mason's assistant.
Dad slammed his fist onto the desk.
“Where did they go?”
The security guard checked the system.
“Garage level three.”
We ran.
At the garage, a van was leaving.
Ben jumped into the nearest car.
Dad drove.
My mother sat beside me.
I clutched the flash drive.
“What is on this?”
“Everything.”
“About Ellie?”
“About us.”
The chase ended at an abandoned medical center.
The van was empty.
Ellie was gone.
Then my phone rang.
Daniel.
“You're too late.”
“Where is my daughter?”
“You have something I need.”
“The drive?”
“No.”
“What?”
“You still don't understand what Ellie is.”
My mother's face changed.
Daniel continued.
“Her birth record is false.”
I stopped.
“What?”
“She wasn't supposed to be born.”
My mother stared at the phone.
“Daniel…”
He laughed.
“Tell her.”
My mother closed her eyes.
I felt ice in my veins.
“What did he mean?”
My mother whispered:
“Ellie isn't your biological daughter.”
Everything went silent.
I could barely breathe.
Daniel said:
May you like
“Now we can finally stop pretending.”
The call ended.
