Chapter 6: Room 317
At 6:30 the following morning, Emma and Arthur drove toward St. Agnes Medical Center.
Lily sat in the back seat, wrapped in a blanket.
She had barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her father's face in the coffin.
Then she remembered the photograph of Claire.
The woman who had given birth to her.
The woman who had died before Lily could remember her.
And the sister who had spent eleven years believing she had been abandoned.
“Emma?””
The young woman turned around.
“Yes, sweetheart?””
“Did Daddy love me?””
Emma's eyes softened.
“More than anything.””
“Even though I wasn't really Victoria's baby?””
“Especially because you were his baby.””
Lily looked down at her hands.
“Did he love you too?””
Emma smiled sadly.
“Yes.””
“Then why couldn't we all live together?””
Emma stared through the windshield.
“That's a question I've been asking myself for years.””
Arthur cleared his throat.
“Daniel wanted that more than anything.””
Emma turned toward him.
“Then why didn't he make it happen?””
Arthur's grip tightened on the steering wheel.
“Because he discovered something about Thomas that made him afraid to move too quickly.””
“What?””
Arthur didn't answer.
He pulled into the hospital parking garage.
“Let's find Eleanor first.””
St. Agnes was an old hospital with a newer glass extension attached to its eastern wing.
The original building had been constructed in the 1940s.
Its corridors smelled of disinfectant and coffee.
A receptionist looked up as they approached.
“Good morning. Can I help you?””
Arthur placed a photograph on the counter.
“We're looking for Eleanor Price. She worked here in the maternity ward.””
The receptionist studied it.
“Ms. Price retired several years ago.””
“When did you last see her?””
“I'm afraid I can't give out personal information.””
Emma leaned forward.
“She's missing.””
The receptionist's expression changed.
“I'm sorry?””
“She was supposed to meet someone here yesterday morning. She never arrived.””
The woman looked uncomfortable.
“Please wait.””
She picked up the phone.
After a short conversation, she directed them toward the hospital archives.
Lily held Emma's hand as they walked.
They passed the maternity ward.
A baby cried somewhere behind a closed door.
Lily stopped.
“Was I born here?””
Emma nodded.
“Yes.””
“Was Mommy Claire here?””
“Yes, sweetheart.””
Lily looked at the rows of small rooms.
“Did she hold me?””
Emma squeezed her hand.
“I believe she did.””
They continued.
The archives department was located in the basement.
An elderly administrator named Mr. Collins met them at the door.
Arthur introduced himself.
“We need access to records from November 2019.””
Mr. Collins frowned.
“That's a private medical record.””
“We have authorization from Daniel Carter's estate.””
Arthur handed him a signed document.
The administrator studied it carefully.
Then he looked at Emma.
“Are you the daughter of Claire Bennett?””
Emma nodded.
“Yes.””
Mr. Collins took a slow breath.
“Your mother was a very brave woman.””
Emma's eyes filled.
“Did you know her?””
“I worked in medical records at the time.””
He unlocked the archive room.
“There's something you should see.””
Inside, rows of filing cabinets stretched along the walls.
He pulled out a thick folder.
“Your mother gave birth to two children on the same night.””
Emma froze.
“Two?””
Mr. Collins nodded.
“One was you. The other was Lily.””
Lily looked up.
“I have a twin?””
Emma's fingers tightened around hers.
Mr. Collins continued.
“The second child was delivered several minutes after the first. Both were healthy, but there were complications with Claire.””
Emma swallowed.
“What complications?””
“She experienced severe bleeding. The doctors worked for hours.””
“Did she survive?””
Mr. Collins looked down.
“No.””
Emma closed her eyes.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then she asked:
“Why was Lily raised by Victoria?””
Mr. Collins opened the folder.
“According to the record, Daniel Carter signed temporary guardianship documents. Victoria Carter was listed as the child's intended caregiver.””
“Temporary?”” Emma repeated.
“Yes. The documents were supposed to be reviewed after Daniel completed a separate legal process.””
Arthur stepped forward.
“What legal process?””
Mr. Collins turned several pages.
“There's a note here about a sealed custody agreement.””
Emma looked at Arthur.
“Did you know?””
Arthur shook his head.
“No.””
Mr. Collins placed another document on the desk.
“But the most unusual part is this.””
It was a copy of a hospital discharge form.
The mother's signature appeared at the bottom.
Claire Bennett.
Emma stared.
“My mother signed this?””
Mr. Collins nodded.
“She requested that the children remain together.””
Emma looked confused.
“What?””
He pointed to a handwritten sentence.
*THE GIRLS MUST NEVER BE SEPARATED.*
Lily leaned closer.
“Then why were we?””
Nobody answered.
Mr. Collins turned another page.
“There's a second note. It was added after your mother died.””
He read it aloud.
“‘If Daniel Carter cannot be reached, contact Nurse Eleanor Price immediately. She holds the original consent documents.’”
Emma looked at Arthur.
“So Eleanor knows what happened.””
Arthur nodded.
“That's why we need to find her.””
Mr. Collins closed the folder.
“There's something else.””
He walked to another cabinet and removed a smaller envelope.
“This was placed in the file by Nurse Price. It was never scanned into the digital records.””
The envelope was addressed to Daniel.
The handwriting was Claire's.
Emma touched it.
“Can I open it?””
Mr. Collins hesitated.
Then he nodded.
Emma carefully unfolded the letter.
Daniel,
If you are reading this, I hope you have finally stopped allowing other people to make decisions about our daughters.
I know you love Emma. I know you will love Lily.
But please remember something.
They are not two separate pieces of your life.
They are sisters.
They belong together.
If anything happens to me, promise you won't let money, family pressure, or fear separate them.
And please don't let Thomas near the documents.
He knows what happened.
Emma stopped reading.
Arthur looked up.
“What?””
Emma handed him the letter.
Arthur read the final sentence twice.
Then his face hardened.
“He knew.””
“Who?”” Lily asked.
Arthur looked at her.
“Thomas.””
Emma sat down heavily.
“Thomas knew our mother was dying?””
Arthur nodded slowly.
“Apparently, he knew more than we realized.””
Mr. Collins suddenly looked toward the archive entrance.
“Someone's coming.””
Footsteps echoed in the corridor.
A man entered.
He wore a dark blue suit and carried a leather folder.
“Mr. Collins?””
The administrator stood.
“Yes?””
The stranger displayed an identification card.
“I'm representing the Carter estate. I've been instructed to collect all records concerning Daniel Carter's family.””
Arthur stepped forward.
“By whom?””
The man looked at him.
“Thomas Carter.””
Emma laughed.
“Thomas is under investigation.””
The stranger remained expressionless.
“I'm acting on instructions received before his questioning.””
He reached for the folder.
Mr. Collins pulled it back.
“I'm afraid I can't release confidential medical records without proper authorization.””
The man opened his leather folder.
“Then perhaps this will help.””
He placed a document on the desk.
It carried the signature of Daniel Carter.
And beneath it was an authorization allowing the release of all records connected to Claire Bennett.
Emma stared at the signature.
“That's my father's handwriting.””
Arthur examined the date.
His expression changed.
“This was signed yesterday.””
Lily frowned.
“But Daddy is dead.””
The stranger closed his folder.
“Exactly.””
Emma stood.
“Who gave you this?””
The man looked directly at her.
“A woman named Victoria Carter.””
Silence.
“Your mother?”” he asked Lily.
Lily shook her head.
“She isn't my real mommy.””
The man seemed surprised.
Then he looked at Emma.
“Perhaps you should ask her why she signed it.””
Arthur stepped closer.
“Where is Victoria?””
The stranger shrugged.
“I was told she would be at the Carter estate.””
Emma immediately pulled out her phone.
She called Victoria.
No answer.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Then a message appeared.
**VICTORIA: Emma, I need you to come home. I found something in Daniel's office. Something that changes everything.
Please bring Lily. Don't trust Arthur.**
Emma showed the message to him.
Arthur's face tightened.
“Don't go.””
“She's Lily's guardian.””
“She may also be the person Thomas is using to reach you.””
Emma looked at Lily.
“Then we need to know what she found.””
Arthur shook his head.
“Daniel specifically warned me about Victoria.””
Lily looked up.
“Why?””
Arthur hesitated.
Then he finally said:
“Because the woman who raised you may have helped Thomas hide what happened to your father.””
Emma stared at him.
Before she could respond, the hospital administrator returned with another document.
“There's one more thing.””
He placed it on the desk.
It was a record of a second appointment made at St. Agnes three days before Daniel's death.
The patient name was blank.
But the attending physician's signature was visible.
And beside it was a handwritten instruction:
*DO NOT RELEASE THE PATERNITY RESULTS TO THOMAS CARTER.*
Emma looked at Arthur.
“Paternity results?””
Arthur went pale.
Lily's voice was barely audible.
“Whose?””
Mr. Collins turned the page.
The patient's name appeared.
*DANIEL CARTER.*
And beneath it was a note that none of them had expected.
*URGENT DNA COMPARISON — CHILD: LILY CARTER.*
Emma slowly looked at Lily.
Arthur took a step backward.
Because the test had been ordered just three days before Daniel died.
And whatever it revealed was the one truth Thomas had been desperate to keep hidden.
Lily looked at the paper.
Then she whispered:
“Why did Daddy need a test to know I was his daughter?””
Neither Emma nor Arthur answered.
Outside the archive room, a phone began ringing.
It was the hospital's internal line.
Mr. Collins picked it up.
His expression changed after only a few seconds.
He slowly lowered the receiver.
“There's someone downstairs asking for you.””
“Who?”” Emma asked.
The administrator swallowed.
“Victoria Carter.””
May you like
Then he added:
“She says she's brought the original DNA results.””
