Chapter 6: The Price of My Wife's Silence
I wanted to hit him.
I wanted to grab my brother by the collar and demand to know how a man could stand beside his own sister-in-law while she was being betrayed.
But I didn't move.
Because the woman I had loved for fifteen years might still be alive.
And every second I wasted arguing with Daniel was another second she could be in danger.
"Explain," I said.
Daniel stared at the floor.
"Marcus...""
"Don't say my name. Explain what you just admitted.""
Dr. Carter quietly stepped away from us.
Michael positioned himself between Daniel and the door.
"Mr. Reed, I strongly advise you to answer carefully.""
Daniel swallowed.
"Seven years ago, Harrison approached me with an investment opportunity.""
I laughed bitterly.
"Of course he did.""
"He was developing a private medical network. He wanted investors who could help him acquire properties and secure insurance partnerships.""
"And you joined him?""
"Yes.""
"Using our company?""
Daniel nodded.
My hands curled into fists.
"You used our company to finance his medical network?""
"I thought it was legitimate.""
"How much money?""
"About $600,000.""
I stared at him.
"Where did you get that money?""
"From the company accounts.""
The room became silent.
That money had belonged to our employees.
It had been reserved for wages, materials, and business expenses.
I stepped closer.
"You stole from our company.""
"I intended to repay it.""
"With what?""
Daniel didn't answer.
Michael interrupted.
"Let's stay focused. Dr. Harrison and Mr. Daniel, were you involved in the insurance amendment?""
Daniel nodded.
"Harrison told me Vanessa wanted financial security. He said Danielle had agreed to change the beneficiary.""
"Did you see Danielle sign?""
"No.""
"Then why did you approve the paperwork?""
"Because Harrison said he had her authorization.""
I looked at him.
"You signed a document transferring millions of dollars from my daughter to Vanessa without speaking to my wife?""
Daniel's eyes filled.
"I know how it sounds.""
"It sounds exactly like what you did.""
He looked away.
Dr. Carter returned to the conversation.
"There's another issue. Danielle wasn't the first patient whose records were altered.""
Michael immediately took out his notebook.
"How many?""
"I don't know. But I noticed unusual patterns in the files. Patients who were declared terminal sometimes disappeared from the system before their official death certificates were issued.""
My stomach twisted.
"What does that mean?""
"It means someone may have been using private medical facilities to conceal patients' actual locations.""
"Why?""
Dr. Carter hesitated.
"Insurance claims. Property transfers. Financial arrangements. I can't say more without the original records.""
Michael nodded.
"We'll need copies of everything connected to Danielle's admission.""
"I can arrange that.""
I turned to her.
"Can you tell me whether she was conscious when she left?""
Dr. Carter looked down.
"Yes.""
"Did she speak?""
"She asked for her daughter.""
My chest tightened.
"What did you tell her?""
"That she would be safe.""
"Was she?""
Dr. Carter's eyes filled.
"I don't know.""
I turned away.
For eleven months, I had imagined Danielle's final moments in that hospital.
I had imagined her lying peacefully in a bed, surrounded by doctors who had done everything possible.
Instead, she had been awake.
She had been frightened.
And she had been asking for our little girl.
Michael placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Marcus, we need to contact the authorities immediately.""
I nodded.
"Do it.""
While Michael stepped outside to make the call, I moved toward the window.
Daniel followed me.
"Marcus, please.""
I didn't look at him.
"How much did Harrison promise you?""
"Two hundred thousand.""
I turned.
"That's what you sold my wife for?""
"No.""
"That's what you sold my daughter for?""
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't know Vanessa was going to hurt Nia.""
"You knew she wanted the insurance money.""
"Yes.""
"You knew Danielle was afraid of Harrison.""
"Yes.""
"You knew my wife was being moved under a false identity.""
Daniel lowered his head.
"Yes.""
I stepped toward him.
"Then don't stand there and tell me you didn't know.""
He began crying.
"I thought it would end differently.""
"How?""
"Harrison promised Danielle would be treated privately until she recovered. He said the insurance money would be released temporarily to cover expenses. He said Vanessa was helping.""
"And you believed him?""
Daniel looked at me.
"I wanted to believe him.""
I shook my head.
"That's not an excuse.""
"No. It isn't.""
A phone vibrated in Daniel's pocket.
He pulled it out.
I noticed his expression change.
"Who is it?"" I asked.
"Nobody.""
"Show me.""
He hesitated.
Then I took the phone from his hand.
The message was from an unsaved number.
*You have thirty minutes to leave St. Catherine's. Marcus must not see the second file.*
Another message arrived.
*If he does, Nia will be next.*
I felt the blood drain from my face.
I showed Michael.
He immediately called the police.
Dr. Carter locked the consultation room door.
Daniel looked at me.
"I didn't send those messages.""
"Who did?""
"I don't know.""
"Whoever it is knows we're here.""
Michael returned.
"The authorities are on their way. Nobody leaves until they arrive.""
I looked at the doctor.
"You mentioned a second file. What is it?""
Dr. Carter hesitated.
Then she walked to a cabinet and unlocked a small drawer.
She removed a thin black folder.
"I kept this because I didn't trust the original transfer documentation.""
Inside were several pages.
The first was a patient movement record.
The second was a medication chart.
The third was a photograph.
I recognized Danielle immediately.
She was sitting in a wheelchair, wearing a hospital gown.
A man stood beside her.
I recognized him too.
Dr. Harrison.
But there was something else.
Behind them stood Vanessa.
She was holding a document.
I looked at the date.
It was two months after Danielle's supposed death.
I read the caption beneath the photograph.
*Patient: Elizabeth Morgan. Transfer authorized by legal guardian Vanessa Reed.*
I looked at Dr. Carter.
"Where was this taken?""
"At the facility's rear entrance.""
"Who took it?""
"A nurse who no longer works here.""
I examined the photograph more closely.
Danielle's face was turned slightly toward the camera.
Her lips were parted.
She was holding something in her right hand.
A piece of paper.
I zoomed in using my phone.
There were four words written across it.
*HE IS NOT MY BROTHER.*
I looked up.
Daniel was standing perfectly still.
"What does that mean?""
He didn't answer.
I held up the photograph.
"Who is the man standing beside Vanessa?""
Daniel's lips trembled.
Then he whispered:
"That's not Dr. Harrison's assistant.""
I frowned.
"Then who is he?""
Daniel looked at me.
"His name is Richard Cole.""
I felt my stomach drop.
"Richard Cole is dead.""
"That's what Vanessa told everyone.""
"Are you saying he's alive?""
Daniel nodded slowly.
"He's been working with Harrison since before Danielle became ill.""
I stared at the photograph again.
Richard Cole.
The first husband.
The man whose supposed death had made Vanessa a wealthy widow.
The man whose insurance money had helped finance the business arrangement that eventually brought Harrison into our lives.
I looked at Daniel.
"Why would he pretend to be dead?""
Daniel's voice became barely audible.
"Because he and Vanessa were never divorced. And because the woman you married wasn't Vanessa Cole.""
I stepped backward.
"What?""
Daniel pointed at the photograph.
"The woman standing beside Danielle is not the woman who married you.""
I looked again.
The woman's face was partially hidden by the angle of the camera.
But I could see the necklace.
A small gold heart.
Vanessa wore it every day.
Daniel continued.
"Marcus, the woman who married you was Vanessa's younger sister.""
My mind struggled to process the words.
"She told me her sister died years ago.""
"That's what they wanted everyone to believe.""
"Then who is the woman I married?""
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
"Her real name is Victoria Cole.""
The door suddenly rattled.
Someone was trying to open it from the outside.
Dr. Carter turned pale.
"That's impossible. Nobody should have access to this floor.""
Michael moved toward the door.
"Police! Open up!""
A man's voice answered.
"Medical administration. We need Dr. Carter immediately.""
Michael didn't open it.
He called the police again.
Then my phone rang.
Nia's school.
I answered immediately.
"Hello?""
A woman sounded breathless.
"Mr. Reed, this is Mrs. Thompson from the school office.""
"Is Nia okay?""
There was a pause.
"Your daughter was collected twenty minutes ago.""
My heart stopped.
"What?""
"Her stepmother came to collect her. She showed identification and said there was a family emergency.""
I gripped the phone.
"Vanessa is in police custody.""
The woman went silent.
Then she whispered:
"Mr. Reed, the woman who collected Nia wasn't Vanessa.""
I couldn't breathe.
"Who was it?""
"She said her name was Danielle.""
My knees nearly gave way.
"Did you see her face?""
"Yes, sir.""
The woman began crying.
"She looked exactly like your late wife.""
I looked at the photograph in my hand.
Then I heard a small voice behind me.
"Marcus.""
It was Dr. Carter.
She was staring at the computer monitor.
A new message had appeared on the screen.
*PATIENT TRANSFER CONFIRMED. DESTINATION: REED RESIDENCE.*
And beneath it was a photograph of Nia sitting in the back seat of a black car.
The timestamp was three minutes old.
May you like
My daughter was missing.
And whoever had taken her wanted me to know that Danielle was coming home.
