Chapter 6: The Photograph in the Hospital File
Ethan stood frozen in the hospital corridor.
The words echoed in his mind.
She's the child I was paid to protect.
Hannah watched him carefully.
“Call her back.””
He did.
The call went straight to voicemail.
He tried again.
Nothing.
Then he opened his messages and typed furiously.
*What do you mean you were paid to protect Grace?*
No reply.
He turned toward Hannah.
“Do you understand what she's saying?””
Hannah shook her head.
“No. But I think Claire might.””
They found Claire in a small family consultation room near the neonatal unit.
She was sitting beside the window, holding a paper cup of untouched tea.
When Ethan entered, she stood.
“Where is my daughter?””
Ethan stopped.
“Which daughter?””
Claire's face crumpled.
“Isabella.””
“Savannah says you're the surrogate.””
Claire let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
“Of course she does.””
“Is that true?””
“No.””
Ethan looked at Hannah.
Claire wiped her cheeks.
“I was twenty-four when I became pregnant. I was working two jobs, and my boyfriend had left me. I didn't have much money.””
She took a breath.
“A woman approached me through an agency. She said she knew a wealthy couple who wanted to adopt a baby privately.””
“Who?”” Ethan asked.
“Savannah.””
Ethan frowned.
“Why would she approach you?””
“She told me she couldn't carry a pregnancy to term. She said she had lost a baby and wanted another chance to become a mother.””
Hannah felt a chill.
Claire continued.
“I agreed to meet her. She was kind. She bought me lunch, paid for my medical appointments, and promised that the baby would have a wonderful life.””
Ethan shook his head.
“That's not what happened.””
“No,” Claire whispered.
“It wasn't.””
She looked at him.
“When I gave birth, Dr. Reeves told me my daughter had breathing difficulties. He said they needed to transfer her to another hospital.””
“Was the baby alive?””
“Yes.””
“How do you know?””
“Because I heard her cry.””
Claire's voice broke.
“I heard my daughter crying. Then they took her away.””
She covered her mouth.
“The next morning, Dr. Reeves told me she had died.””
Hannah sat beside her.
“Did you see a death certificate?””
Claire shook her head.
“They said it was being processed. Savannah came to see me and told me she would pay for the funeral.””
Ethan stared at her.
“Why didn't you question it?””
“I did!””
Claire's voice rose.
“I asked to see my baby. I asked where she was buried. I asked for the hospital records. They told me I was traumatized and needed rest.””
She reached into her handbag.
“Then I received this.””
She handed Ethan a folded letter.
It was dated eight months after the birth.
The letter stated that Claire had no further legal or financial claim to the child.
At the bottom was her signature.
Ethan looked up.
“You signed this?””
Claire nodded.
“But I didn't know what it meant. Savannah told me it was a document allowing her to pay for the funeral expenses.””
Hannah examined the signature.
“Did you have a lawyer?””
“No.””
“Did anyone explain the document?””
“No.””
Ethan's face hardened.
“That's fraud.””
Claire looked at him.
“Your wife did it.””
He looked away.
For a moment, the room was silent.
Then Claire continued.
“Three months ago, I received a photograph.””
Hannah leaned forward.
“Of Isabella?””
Claire nodded.
She took out her phone and opened an image.
It showed a little girl standing beside a white staircase.
She had strawberry-blonde hair.
A gray dress.
And a small silver bracelet around her wrist.
Hannah recognized the staircase immediately.
It was inside the Whitmore mansion.
The little girl was Grace.
Claire touched the screen.
“I knew it was her.””
Ethan stared at the photograph.
“Why didn't you come to me?””
“I tried.””
“When?””
“Twice.””
“When?””
“Last month. I called your office. Your assistant said you refused to speak to me.””
Ethan frowned.
“My assistant never told me.””
Claire looked at him.
“Then someone made sure you never found out.””
Hannah remembered Rebecca's statement.
The payments.
The lawyer's letter.
The strange medical records.
There was a pattern.
Someone had been controlling information for years.
A knock interrupted them.
Detective Foster entered.
“I need to speak with everyone.””
He looked at Ethan.
“Mr. Whitmore, we've received preliminary information from St. Catherine's.””
Ethan stood.
“What information?””
“The hospital's records show that Claire Bennett delivered a female infant three years ago. The infant was recorded as deceased.””
Claire began crying again.
Detective Foster continued.
“However, we haven't found a corresponding death certificate.””
Hannah looked at him.
“Then what happened to the baby?””
“We're investigating.””
“Did you find Dr. Reeves's records?””
The detective nodded.
“We have requested access to the original files. There are discrepancies.””
Ethan rubbed his forehead.
“What discrepancies?””
“The newborn's identification number appears in two separate records.””
Hannah felt her pulse quicken.
“Two records?””
“Yes. One under Isabella Bennett. Another under a different surname.””
“What surname?””
Detective Foster looked at his notes.
“Whitmore.””
Ethan went pale.
“That's impossible.””
The detective continued.
“The second record lists the infant as having been transferred to a private residence under a temporary guardianship arrangement.””
“Whose residence?””
The detective paused.
“An address belonging to Savannah Whitmore's mother.””
Ethan stared at him.
“My mother-in-law?””
“Yes.””
Hannah slowly sat back.
Savannah's mother had died eighteen months earlier.
But the record was dated three years ago.
Detective Foster turned another page.
“There's also a medical authorization signed by Savannah. It permitted a second procedure to be performed on the infant.””
Claire covered her mouth.
“What procedure?””
The detective looked uncomfortable.
“An emergency operation involving the removal of a congenital mass.””
Hannah remembered the scar beneath the newborn's shoulder.
“Was that the mark we saw?””
“We don't know yet.””
Ethan paced across the room.
“Why would Savannah have a child operated on under a different identity?””
The detective looked at him.
“That's what we're trying to establish.””
Hannah suddenly remembered something.
The birthmark.
The scar.
And the photograph Rebecca had shown her.
“Detective, I have a question.””
“Go ahead.””
“Did the original hospital records include photographs?””
“Yes.””
“Can we see them?””
The detective hesitated.
“Not without the proper authorization.””
Ethan immediately spoke.
“I'm the child's legal father.””
The detective looked at him.
“Then we'll arrange the necessary process.””
At that moment, a nurse entered.
“Mr. Whitmore?””
Ethan turned.
“Yes?””
“The neonatal specialist has reviewed the baby's previous medical history.””
“What history?””
The nurse looked down at her clipboard.
“There's a record of an operation performed when the child was approximately six months old.””
Ethan frowned.
“Six months?””
“Yes. The procedure involved removing a small congenital mass near the left shoulder.””
Hannah felt a chill.
“Who authorized it?””
The nurse checked the file.
“Mrs. Savannah Whitmore.””
Claire began shaking.
“That was my baby.””
The nurse continued.
“There's something else. The child was registered under the name Isabella at the time of surgery.””
Ethan slowly turned toward Claire.
“Then why did Savannah call her Grace?””
Nobody answered.
The nurse looked uncomfortable.
“There's also a note from the attending surgeon.””
“What note?”” Hannah asked.
The nurse read it.
“Patient's biological identity requires confirmation before future procedures.””
Detective Foster stepped closer.
“Who wrote that?””
The nurse checked the signature.
“Dr. Samuel Reeves.””
Ethan looked toward the door.
“Where is he?””
The detective's expression changed.
“He was released pending further questioning.””
“When?””
“About twenty minutes ago.””
Ethan pulled out his phone.
He called the doctor.
No answer.
Then Hannah's phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
It showed a hospital corridor.
At the end of the corridor stood Dr. Reeves.
He was speaking to a woman wearing a dark coat.
Hannah enlarged the image.
The woman's face became visible.
Savannah.
But she was supposed to be recovering in another ward.
A message appeared beneath the photograph.
*They're moving the baby tonight. If you want to know which child belongs to whom, find the original birth certificate.*
Hannah looked at Detective Foster.
“Someone is trying to move the newborn.””
The detective immediately reached for his radio.
“Lock down the neonatal unit. Nobody leaves with that child without authorization.””
Ethan grabbed Hannah's arm.
“Which child?””
She turned toward him.
“What?””
He pointed at the message.
“Which child belongs to whom?””
Hannah looked at the photograph again.
Then she noticed something in the background.
A second hospital bed.
A little girl sleeping beneath a white blanket.
She recognized the strawberry-blonde hair.
It was Grace.
But the date printed on the photograph was three years earlier.
Hannah's blood ran cold.
There had been two children.
Two identities.
And the newborn lying in the neonatal unit might not be the baby everyone believed she was.
Detective Foster looked at the image.
“Where did you get this?””
“I don't know.””
He studied it carefully.
Then his radio crackled.
An officer's voice came through.
“Detective, we have a problem.””
“What is it?””
“The maternity ward just reported that a child is missing.””
Ethan stopped breathing.
“Which child?””
The officer hesitated.
May you like
Then came the words nobody in the room was prepared to hear.
“Grace Whitmore. She's disappeared from her hospital bed.””
