Chapter 6: The Man Who Paid for the Missing Child
Owen arrived at Rachel's house forty minutes later.
He looked like a man who hadn't slept in days.
His shirt was wrinkled.
His hair was uncombed.
There were dark circles beneath his eyes, and he kept looking over his shoulder as if someone might be following him.
Rachel opened the door.
"Owen.""
He nodded.
"Is Emily here?""
"Yes.""
He walked inside.
I was standing beside the kitchen island with Frank's notebook open in front of me.
Owen stopped when he saw it.
"Where did you get that?""
"From Evelyn's garage.""
He looked down.
"Frank kept records.""
"You knew?""
"Yes.""
"How long?""
He pulled out a chair.
"Six months.""
I stared at him.
"Then start talking.""
Owen rubbed his face.
"Claire and I were trying to have a baby for years.""
I said nothing.
"We went through tests. Consultations. Everything. She told me she couldn't carry a pregnancy because of a medical condition.""
"She lied.""
"I know that now.""
He swallowed.
"Last year, I found a receipt from a private fertility clinic. I thought it was for an appointment she'd hidden from me.""
"What did you do?""
"I called the clinic.""
I looked at him.
"And?""
"They couldn't tell me anything. But a woman from the records department called me back later.""
"Who?""
"Margaret Hale.""
I glanced at Frank's notebook.
"She was the patient liaison.""
"Yes. She told me Claire had given birth to twins.""
Owen looked down at his hands.
"I thought she was joking.""
I felt a painful ache in my chest.
"What did you do?""
"I went home and confronted Claire.""
"What did she say?""
"She denied everything. Then she cried. Then she told me the babies had been born through a private arrangement.""
"Did she say who the father was?""
He nodded.
"Damon.""
I closed my eyes.
Owen continued.
"She said Damon had offered to help because I couldn't have children.""
I looked at him.
"Did you believe that?""
"At first.""
He leaned forward.
"Then she told me one of the girls had been placed with another family.""
"And the second?""
"She said she died.""
I stared at him.
"Did you believe that?""
"No.""
"Why?""
"Because Margaret told me the second baby was alive.""
I felt my pulse quicken.
"Where?""
Owen shook his head.
"She wouldn't say.""
"Then why is your name in Frank's notebook?""
He looked toward the hallway.
"Because I paid Margaret to find the child.""
Rachel frowned.
"How much?""
"Thirty thousand dollars.""
I stared.
"Thirty thousand?""
"I wanted to know where the baby was.""
"Why?""
He looked at me.
"Because I believed the child might have been mine.""
I froze.
"What?""
Owen lowered his voice.
"Claire told me she had been seeing Damon before the pregnancy. But she also told me the fertility clinic had used my sperm.""
I stared at him.
"Did it?""
"I don't know.""
He took a folded paper from his pocket.
It was a laboratory report.
The heading showed the name of a fertility clinic.
Below it were two entries.
One for Damon Carter.
One for Owen Bennett.
I looked at the dates.
The samples had been collected within the same week.
"Why are there two men listed?""
Owen shook his head.
"That's what I paid Margaret to find out.""
I read the report again.
There was a handwritten note at the bottom.
*Donor source discrepancy.*
My stomach tightened.
"What does that mean?""
"It means the clinic may have used the wrong sample.""
Rachel sat down.
"Are you saying one of the twins might be yours?""
Owen nodded slowly.
"Yes.""
I looked at the report.
Then at the photograph of the two newborns.
One girl had been taken by Evelyn.
The other had disappeared into the Northbridge system.
If the clinic had mixed up the samples, neither Damon nor Owen might know which man had fathered which child.
But the documents showed something even more disturbing.
My eggs had been used.
My genetic material.
My body.
Without my knowledge.
I pressed a hand against my stomach.
"What happened to the missing girl?""
Owen pulled another document from his jacket.
It was a payment receipt.
The recipient was a company called Silver Pines Holdings.
The payment had been made four months after the twins were born.
The amount was $75,000.
I looked at him.
"Who owns this company?""
Owen shook his head.
"That's what I've been trying to find out.""
Rachel took the paper.
"There's a registration number.""
She typed it into her laptop.
A few seconds later, she turned the screen toward us.
The company was registered to a woman named Margaret Hale.
But the listed director was someone else.
*Evelyn Carter.*
I stared.
"She paid for the second child.""
Owen shook his head.
"No. That's what I thought too.""
He took the laptop and enlarged the company information.
"Look at the registration date.""
The company had been established two years earlier.
Before the twins were born.
Before Damon had told me he was traveling to Chicago.
Before Claire had shown me the sapphire camisole.
Someone had planned this long before the birth.
I felt sick.
"Why would Evelyn establish a company for a baby who didn't exist yet?""
Owen looked at me.
"Because the baby wasn't the real purpose.""
"What was?""
He pointed to the next page.
There was a bank transfer from Silver Pines Holdings to Carter Medical Consulting.
The same company Damon controlled.
The amount was $210,000.
The transaction description read:
*Medical research partnership.*
Rachel frowned.
"What research?""
Owen shook his head.
"I don't know.""
I looked at Frank's notebook.
He had written something beneath the same account number.
Possible illegal tissue procurement. Confirm with clinic records.
My stomach dropped.
"Wait.""
Rachel looked at me.
I turned to Owen.
"Why would my eggs be used without my consent?""
He didn't answer.
"Why would they create embryos and transfer them to Claire?""
Owen rubbed his forehead.
"Emily, I think you need to understand something.""
"What?""
"The clinic wasn't just treating infertility.""
He took out another document.
It was a brochure from Brookfield Fertility Center.
The cover advertised advanced reproductive genetics services.
I turned it over.
Inside was a page about embryo selection and genetic screening.
There were several handwritten notes.
One phrase appeared repeatedly.
*Inherited neurological markers.*
I looked at Owen.
"What does that mean?""
He shook his head.
"I don't know. But Margaret told me the second child was especially important to someone.""
"Who?""
He hesitated.
"She said a wealthy family had offered to pay for her.""
The room went silent.
Rachel looked horrified.
"You're saying someone wanted to buy a baby?""
Owen nodded.
"That's what it sounded like.""
I felt a wave of nausea.
"Why?""
"I don't know.""
I looked down at the photograph of the little girl.
Her dark curls.
Her yellow dress.
The crescent-shaped birthmark.
She looked like a normal, happy child.
She had no idea that adults had been fighting over her since before she was born.
My phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
*Unknown:* You need to stop meeting Owen.
I looked up.
"Did you tell anyone you were coming here?""
Owen shook his head.
"No.""
Another message appeared.
*Unknown:* We know about the notebook.
Rachel immediately locked the front door.
Owen stood.
"Someone is watching us.""
"Who?"" I asked.
He shook his head.
"Could be Damon. Could be Margaret.""
My phone rang.
Damon.
I answered.
"What?""
His voice was unusually calm.
"Emily, where are you?""
"Why?""
"Mom called me.""
I glanced at Owen.
"What did she tell you?""
"That you found Dad's notebook.""
I didn't respond.
Damon sighed.
"Listen to me. That notebook contains things you don't understand.""
"Then explain them.""
"Not over the phone.""
"Why not?""
"Because there are people involved who could get hurt.""
I felt a chill.
"Who?""
He was silent.
Then he said:
"Emily, I need you to bring the notebook to me.""
"No.""
"Please.""
"No.""
His voice hardened.
"You're making a mistake.""
I looked at the photograph of the twins.
"Which baby are you afraid I'll find?""
He exhaled sharply.
"Don't do this.""
"Where is the second girl?""
"I don't know.""
"You're lying.""
"I'm telling you the truth.""
"Then why did you pay Northbridge?""
He went silent.
I pressed harder.
"Why did you pay $210,000 through Silver Pines Holdings?""
I heard a sharp breath.
Then Damon said:
"Who showed you that?""
I ended the call.
Rachel stared at me.
"He knows.""
Owen nodded.
"He's been hiding something bigger than the affair.""
I looked at the documents.
There were too many names.
Too many companies.
Too many signatures.
And every path led back to the same people.
Damon.
Claire.
Evelyn.
Margaret.
I felt the baby move.
A small flutter beneath my ribs.
I placed my hand over my stomach.
"I need to know whether my daughter is safe.""
Rachel came beside me.
"She is.""
I nodded, though I wasn't convinced.
Then Owen reached into his jacket and removed a small USB drive.
"I found this in Claire's desk.""
I looked at him.
"What is it?""
"An audio recording.""
"Of what?""
"Claire and Damon talking about the second baby.""
He connected it to Rachel's laptop.
A recording opened.
The audio was distorted, but the voices were unmistakable.
Claire spoke first.
"She can't stay with your mother forever.""
Damon replied.
"She's safe there.""
"That's not what we agreed.""
"Claire, lower your voice.""
"You promised me we'd get both girls back.""
There was a pause.
Then Damon said something that made my blood run cold.
"We can't bring the second one back until Emily gives birth.""
Claire laughed bitterly.
"And if she doesn't?""
"Then we find another way.""
The recording continued.
Claire's voice became quieter.
"What if she remembers?""
Damon answered:
"She won't.""
I stared at the screen.
"What does he mean?"" Rachel whispered.
The recording played on.
Claire said:
"She already remembers more than you think.""
Damon replied:
"Then we need to move her before the delivery.""
The audio ended.
Nobody spoke.
I looked at Owen.
"What delivery?""
He swallowed.
"Your delivery.""
My hand flew to my stomach.
Damon wasn't simply hiding a child.
He was planning something around the birth of the daughter I was carrying.
Rachel immediately called Michael.
While she spoke, Owen searched through the remaining files on the USB.
There was a folder titled *TRANSFER — FINAL STAGE*.
He opened it.
Inside were scanned documents.
One was a hospital admission request.
It listed my name.
My expected delivery date.
My doctor.
My medical record number.
And a requested transfer to a private maternity facility.
I had never heard of the facility.
*Westbrook Women's Pavilion.*
The form included a note.
*Patient to be transferred upon onset of labor. No family notification required.*
I stared at the words.
"Why would they transfer me?""
Owen opened the next document.
It was a payment authorization.
The recipient was Westbrook Women's Pavilion.
The amount was $125,000.
The payment had been approved by Damon.
But the person who had signed as the medical sponsor was not Damon.
It was Margaret Hale.
Rachel ended her call and looked at the screen.
"Michael is coming.""
I couldn't take my eyes off the document.
There was one more attachment.
A photograph.
It showed a maternity room.
A hospital bed.
A newborn bassinet.
And beside it stood Margaret Hale.
She was holding a clipboard.
On the bed was a woman wearing a hospital gown.
Her face was turned away.
But I recognized the cream winter coat hanging over the chair.
My coat.
The one Claire had been hiding behind in my closet.
I zoomed in.
The woman on the bed was wearing my wedding ring.
Then I noticed the date printed at the bottom.
It was three weeks in the future.
My expected delivery date.
A final message appeared on the screen.
*Patient identity transfer approved.*
I felt the room spin.
"Rachel?""
She took my hand.
"Yes?""
I pointed at the screen.
"Why are they planning to move me to another hospital?""
Nobody answered.
Then Owen looked at the bottom of the document.
His face turned white.
"Emily...""
"What?""
He pointed to the line beneath the transfer authorization.
*Newborn recipient: Margaret Hale.*
I stared.
"They're planning to take my baby?""
Owen shook his head.
Then he whispered:
"No. They're planning to make it look like you never gave birth to her.""
My phone vibrated again.
This time, the message came from Claire.
*Claire:* Emily, I know you've been talking to Owen.
Another message followed.
*Claire:* Please don't trust him.
Then a third.
*Claire:* The baby Damon wants isn't the one you think.
I stared at the screen.
May you like
Before I could respond, Claire sent one final message.
*Claire:* Your daughter isn't the only child they're planning to take from you.
