Chapter 4: The Woman Who Disappeared
“James, if you find out who that woman was, you'll understand why Victoria has been terrified of your children since the day they were born.””
Michael's words hung between us.
Outside, Dr. Samuel Reed stood on the front porch, one hand resting against the doorframe, the other holding his phone. He wasn't knocking anymore. He was watching the windows.
Waiting.
“Who was she?”” I demanded.
Michael wiped his face with both hands.
“I don't know her name.””
“That's a lie.””
“I swear to you, James, I don't know her real name. Daniel only told me that a woman had carried an embryo connected to the clinic's investigation. She disappeared before the child was born.””
I stared at him.
“A woman carried one of the embryos?””
“That's what Daniel said.””
“And you didn't think to mention that when you told me about the donor records?””
“I thought it was unrelated.””
“You thought a missing pregnant woman connected to our fertility clinic was unrelated?””
Michael flinched.
Before he could answer, the doorbell rang.
Dr. Reed had stopped knocking.
Now he was using the doorbell, pressing it repeatedly.
Michael looked toward the hallway.
“Don't open it.””
I pulled out my phone and photographed the man through the narrow window beside the door.
Dr. Reed noticed.
His expression changed.
He stepped away from the entrance and began walking toward his car.
“Hey!”” I shouted through the glass.
“Samuel!””
He didn't turn.
I unlocked the door and stepped onto the porch.
“Dr. Reed!””
He finally looked back.
His face was thinner than I remembered, his hair uncombed, his tie hanging loose around his collar. He looked less like the confident physician who had congratulated us on our pregnancy and more like a man who hadn't slept in days.
“James,” he said, forcing a smile.
“I was hoping we'd have a chance to talk.””
“Then come inside.””
“Not here.””
“Why not?””
He glanced toward Michael's house.
“Because your brother is involved.””
Michael appeared behind me.
“That's a funny thing to say, considering you're the one standing outside my house.””
Dr. Reed's jaw tightened.
“Michael, I suggest you stay out of this.””
“I'm the donor you're trying to blame, aren't I?””
The physician looked startled.
Only for a moment.
Then he adjusted his tie.
“I don't know what you've been told, but this situation is considerably more complicated than you understand.””
“Then explain it,” I said.
Dr. Reed studied me.
“Not on a porch.””
“Fine. We'll go to the police station.””
I reached for my phone.
He raised a hand.
“Wait.””
The word came out almost desperately.
He looked at me, then at Michael.
“There's a woman named Hannah Pierce. She worked with the clinic's former laboratory director. She was involved in the original embryo transfer.””
“Is she the woman who disappeared?”” I asked.
His silence answered me.
“Where is she?””
“I don't know.””
“You were her doctor.””
“I wasn't her personal physician. I supervised the laboratory transfer process.””
“Stop hiding behind technical language!””
My voice echoed down the street.
Dr. Reed glanced at a passing car, then lowered his voice.
“Hannah was a surrogate. She agreed to carry an embryo for a couple who couldn't have children.””
“What couple?””
“I can't disclose that without authorization.””
I laughed bitterly.
“You're standing outside my brother's house after my wife assaulted our nanny, and you're still worried about authorization?””
He rubbed his forehead.
“The original agreement named a different intended mother.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
“Hannah was supposed to carry the embryo for a woman who had undergone a medical procedure that prevented her from carrying a pregnancy herself. The intended parents were legally approved through a private arrangement.””
“And Victoria?””
“She was never supposed to be involved.””
My stomach tightened.
“Then why is her name in the records?””
Dr. Reed looked toward the street.
“Because someone substituted a patient file.””
Michael stepped forward.
“Who?””
“I don't know who physically altered the records.””
“You signed the transfer approval,” I said.
“I signed the laboratory release. I didn't authorize the substitution.””
“Then why did you resign?””
His face crumpled.
“Because I discovered the truth too late.””
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
“I kept a copy of the original transfer ledger. It contains the embryo identification numbers, the intended recipient, and the dates of the procedures.””
I reached for it.
He pulled it back.
“Not here.””
I stared at him.
“You expect me to trust you?””
“No,” he replied.
“I expect you to understand that someone has already tried to destroy this evidence.””
A car horn sounded at the end of the street.
Dr. Reed turned sharply.
A dark SUV had pulled up behind his sedan.
Two men sat inside.
Neither moved.
Dr. Reed's face went pale.
“They found me.””
“Who?”” Michael demanded.
But Dr. Reed was already backing away.
“Meet me at the old medical records warehouse on Gaston Avenue at nine tonight. Come alone.””
“You just said someone is following you,” I replied.
“And now you're asking me to walk into an abandoned warehouse?””
“Because the original ledger is there.””
“Give it to me now.””
“I can't.””
“Why?””
He looked directly into my eyes.
“Because your wife's name isn't the only name on that ledger.””
Then he hurried to his car.
The SUV's engine started.
By the time Dr. Reed pulled away, the other vehicle was following him.
I watched until both disappeared around the corner.
Michael closed the door behind me.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I turned on him.
“What do you know about Hannah Pierce?””
“Nothing more than what Daniel told me.””
“Did you ever meet her?””
“No.””
“Did Victoria?””
Michael hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
“Michael.””
He sat down at the kitchen table.
“About two years ago, Victoria asked me whether I knew anyone who had worked in fertility medicine. She said she was researching treatment options for a friend.””
I stared at him.
“What friend?””
“She wouldn't say.””
“And you believed her?””
“She was your wife, James. I didn't think she was investigating a secret pregnancy.””
“What did you tell her?””
“That I'd donated sperm years earlier. I thought she was asking about the clinic's procedures.””
My hands curled into fists.
“You gave her the information she needed.””
“I didn't know that!””
He struck the table with his palm.
“I didn't know she would use it against you!””
The kitchen fell silent.
I wanted to believe him.
But I couldn't ignore the possibility that my brother had been involved from the beginning.
“Why would Victoria be afraid of her own children?”” I asked.
Michael stared at the floor.
“Because maybe they're not the children she expected.””
“What does that mean?””
He took a long breath.
“Daniel told me the clinic's investigation wasn't just about a stolen embryo. It was about a child who had been reported missing years ago.””
I felt my heart hammer against my ribs.
“How old?””
“He didn't know exactly. Maybe four. Maybe five.””
“And you think one of my newborns is that child?””
“No. That's not what I'm saying.””
“Then what are you saying?””
Michael looked at me with red eyes.
“I'm saying Hannah Pierce might not have been carrying the embryo everyone believed she was carrying.””
I stared at him.
He continued.
“If someone switched the embryo before implantation, the child born to Hannah could have been genetically related to an entirely different family. And if that child disappeared, the clinic might have spent years trying to conceal what happened.””
The room seemed to tilt.
I thought of the photograph.
The mismatched surname.
The altered transfer date.
The forged signature.
Every new fact opened another question.
“Why would Victoria be involved?””
Michael shook his head.
“I don't know.””
My phone rang.
The caller ID showed the hospital where my twins had been delivered.
I answered immediately.
“Mr. Cole?”” a woman asked.
“This is Nurse Angela from the maternity unit. I'm calling because we received a request to release copies of your children's neonatal identification records.””
“From whom?””
“Your wife.””
My throat tightened.
“When?””
“This morning. She claimed there was an error in the paperwork.””
“Did you release them?””
“No. The request was flagged because the signatures didn't match the originals.””
I closed my eyes.
“Thank you. Please preserve every document connected to that request.””
“We will.””
“And please don't release anything further without verifying it directly with me.””
“Understood.””
After the call, I looked at Michael.
“Someone is trying to change every record connected to my children.””
He nodded slowly.
“Then we need to find Hannah.””
I opened my phone and searched her name.
The first results showed an old professional profile and a handful of archived public records. The profile listed her as a registered nurse who had worked at a private reproductive health facility before leaving the profession.
Then I found an obituary.
Hannah Pierce's mother had died five years earlier.
The notice mentioned a surviving daughter, Hannah, but provided no contact information.
I searched court records next.
One result caught my attention: a petition filed several years earlier requesting an emergency protective order involving a child.
The case had been sealed.
But the filing date matched the year Daniel had mentioned.
I showed Michael.
His mouth fell open.
“That's it.””
“It's a sealed case. We can't assume it has anything to do with the clinic.””
“Then why would a nurse involved in a fertility procedure have a protective order involving a child?””
“Because there are thousands of possible explanations.””
He nodded, but his face had gone pale.
I zoomed in on the filing summary.
The petition had been filed under Hannah's name.
The respondent's identity was concealed.
But the court's public docket contained one additional entry: a hearing scheduled for the following morning.
Someone had reopened the case.
I called the courthouse and asked whether I could obtain information as a member of the public.
The clerk told me the file was restricted but confirmed that a supplemental filing had been submitted that afternoon.
The attorney of record was listed as *Victoria Cole*.
I stared at the screen.
My wife had filed a legal document connected to a missing child before I had even discovered the altered birth certificates.
“Michael,” I whispered, “Victoria has been looking for Hannah.””
He stood beside me, reading the docket over my shoulder.
Then his phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
Tell James to stop searching. If he wants to keep both children, he must come to the warehouse alone.
Michael looked at me.
I read the message twice.
Then a second message arrived.
It contained a photograph of our house.
The upstairs nursery window was visible.
Behind the glass, a shadow stood beside one of the cribs.
My blood turned to ice.
May you like
The message beneath it contained only seven words.
*You have until nine. One child leaves tonight.*
