Chapter 6: The Baby Nobody Remembered
For several seconds, David couldn't speak.
He stared at the phone.
Then he slowly lowered it.
Rachel was standing beside the table, gripping its edge so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
“What other baby?”” David asked.
Rachel shook her head.
“Don't listen to him.””
“Rachel.””
“He's trying to confuse you.””
“Then explain the photograph.””
Rachel looked at the picture again.
The blurred woman wearing the silver bird necklace.
Then she looked at the black notebook.
“I don't know what Richard means.””
David stepped closer.
“Did you have another child?””
“No.””
“Did the hospital record another birth?””
“No.””
“Then why would he say that?””
Rachel pressed both hands against her forehead.
“Because Richard knows exactly which words will hurt us most.””
Sophie moved toward the window.
“We need to get out of here.””
David turned.
“Where's Marcus?””
“I don't know.””
“You were watching the girls with him.””
“I went inside to get their jackets. When I came back, he was gone.””
David's eyes narrowed.
“You let him leave with information about where we are?””
Sophie looked offended.
“I didn't let him do anything.””
Rachel stepped between them.
“Stop. Both of you.””
A small voice came from the hallway.
“Mommy?””
All three turned.
Harper stood near the kitchen entrance.
Maya was behind her.
They had heard everything.
Harper looked at Rachel.
“Are we in trouble again?””
Rachel immediately knelt.
“No, sweetheart.””
“Why does everybody keep talking about babies?””
Maya touched her necklace.
“Is there another little girl?””
Rachel's expression softened.
“I don't know, honey.””
Maya looked at David.
“Can we find her?””
David crouched beside them.
“If there's another child who needs help, we'll do everything we can.””
Harper nodded seriously.
“Then we'll need more pancakes.””
David almost laughed.
Rachel pulled both girls into a hug.
But when she looked over their heads at David, the fear in her eyes had returned.
They left the farmhouse twenty minutes later.
Sophie drove an old silver station wagon.
David sat in the passenger seat while Rachel stayed in the back with the girls.
He had insisted they abandon the SUV because Marcus might have been followed.
They headed toward a small town several miles away.
Rachel said there was a motel where they could stay without using their real names.
David hated the idea.
He wanted to call the police, contact his lawyers, and put a security team around his daughters.
But Rachel had explained that Richard had connections inside several agencies.
Until they knew whom to trust, they couldn't risk exposing the girls' location.
As they drove, David examined the photograph from the notebook.
He recognized himself.
He recognized Richard.
He recognized Adrian Vale.
But the fourth person remained a mystery.
“Rachel,” he said, turning around, “did you ever meet another woman at the hospital?””
Rachel looked at the photograph.
“Not that I remember.””
“What about another patient?””
“No.””
“Did you share a room?””
Rachel shook her head.
“I was in a private maternity suite.””
David looked at Sophie.
“Did you know about the twins?””
Sophie nodded.
“I was there when Rachel told me.””
“Did you ever hear about a third child?””
“No.””
“Then why did Richard say it?””
Sophie hesitated.
“There was something strange about the hospital paperwork.””
Rachel turned.
“What?””
Sophie looked uncomfortable.
“I never told you because I thought it was a mistake.””
David's voice sharpened.
“What paperwork?””
Sophie reached into her handbag and pulled out a folded document.
It was a photocopy of an old maternity ward log.
She placed it on the center console.
“After the funeral, I went back to St. Catherine's. I wanted to get Rachel's original medical records.””
David studied the page.
There were several entries.
Rachel Mitchell.
Delivery time: 12:18 a.m.
Twin A: Female.
Twin B: Female.
He stopped.
“Twin A and Twin B?””
Sophie nodded.
“That's what I found.””
David continued reading.
A third line appeared beneath the twin entries.
Additional neonatal observation.
Female infant.
Time: 12:41 a.m.
He stared at it.
“That says three babies.””
Rachel grabbed the paper.
“No.””
Her fingers trembled.
“This is impossible.””
Sophie looked at her.
“That's why I thought it was an administrative error.””
Rachel shook her head repeatedly.
“I had two babies.””
David looked at the document again.
The third entry had a handwritten note beside it.
Transferred to special care. Authorization: R.A.
David's eyes narrowed.
“R.A. Richard Ashford?””
Sophie nodded.
Rachel's breathing became uneven.
“David, I never saw a third baby.””
“Did the doctor tell you there were only two?””
“Yes.””
“Did you see both girls?””
“Yes.””
“Then how could there be another?””
Rachel stared out the window.
“I don't know.””
David looked back at the record.
There was something else.
A small identification number.
He typed it into his phone's notes.
Then he noticed the name of the nurse who had signed the entry.
Nurse Patricia Moore.
He remembered her.
She had been the nurse who brought Harper to him after the delivery.
He remembered her kind smile and soft voice.
He also remembered her telling him that Rachel had asked for both girls to be placed beside her.
David looked at Rachel.
“Do you remember Patricia Moore?””
Rachel nodded.
“She was wonderful.””
“Do you know where she is now?””
“I heard she retired.””
Sophie shook her head.
“She didn't retire.””
Both looked at her.
“What do you mean?”” David asked.
Sophie lowered her voice.
“She disappeared three days after Rachel's funeral.””
They reached the motel shortly after sunset.
It was a small roadside property with faded blue doors and a flickering sign. Sophie paid cash for two adjoining rooms.
David didn't like it, but there weren't many alternatives.
He checked the locks, examined the windows, and moved a heavy chair in front of the connecting door.
Rachel helped the girls change into pajamas.
Harper had already decided that Maya would sleep in her bed.
Maya had agreed after insisting that her stuffed rabbit should have its own pillow.
For a little while, everything felt almost normal.
Then Harper asked a question.
“Mommy?””
Rachel looked up from the blanket.
“Yes, sweetheart?””
“Did you know I had a sister?””
Rachel sat on the edge of the bed.
“Yes.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
Rachel looked at David.
He stepped closer.
“Sometimes grown-ups make terrible mistakes, sweetheart.””
Harper thought about that.
“Did you make one?””
Rachel's eyes filled.
“Yes.””
Harper reached for her hand.
“It's okay. You found us now.””
Rachel kissed her forehead.
“Thank you, my love.””
Maya climbed onto the bed.
“Does that mean we can all live together?””
Rachel looked at David.
He nodded.
“If we have anything to say about it, yes.””
The girls smiled.
David stood by the doorway, watching his family.
For the first time in six years, he could imagine a future that didn't involve an empty chair at the dinner table.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
He opened it.
A photograph appeared.
It showed a small hospital nursery.
Three bassinets stood beside one another.
Two contained newborn girls.
The third contained a baby wrapped in a pale yellow blanket.
Below the photograph was a message:
You were told there were twins. You were never told the truth about the third child.
David's stomach dropped.
A second message arrived.
Ask Rachel what she heard at 12:41 a.m.
He looked at his wife.
“Rachel?””
She turned.
“What is it?””
He showed her the photograph.
The moment she saw it, her hand flew to her mouth.
“No.””
David stepped closer.
“You recognize this?””
Rachel stared at the yellow blanket.
Then she began shaking.
“I've seen that blanket before.””
“Where?””
“In the hospital.””
David's voice dropped.
“Did you hear another baby crying?””
Rachel looked at him.
For a long moment, she couldn't speak.
Then she nodded.
“I remember hearing a baby.””
David felt his chest tighten.
“Why didn't you tell anyone?””
“Because the nurse told me it was coming from another room.””
“Which nurse?””
Rachel's eyes moved toward the window.
“Patricia.””
David looked at the phone again.
A new message appeared.
This time, it contained a video.
He pressed play.
The image was grainy, clearly taken from a hospital security camera.
A nurse walked through a corridor carrying a newborn in a yellow blanket.
She stopped outside Rachel's room.
Looked both ways.
Then entered.
Thirty seconds later, she emerged carrying an empty blanket.
The timestamp showed 12:43 a.m.
David watched it twice.
Then he noticed something.
The nurse wasn't alone.
A man stood at the far end of the corridor.
His face was partially visible.
But David recognized his posture.
His broad shoulders.
The way he held his left hand slightly lower than his right.
It was Marcus.
David immediately called him.
No answer.
He tried again.
Voicemail.
Rachel was crying now.
“David, please. Don't let him take them.””
“I'm not.””
He turned to Sophie.
“Can you identify where this video came from?””
Sophie examined the message.
“It's from an old hospital security archive. Someone must have copied it.””
“Can you find out who?””
“I'll try.””
David looked at Rachel.
“Did you ever see that third baby?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Did anyone tell you the baby was yours?””
Rachel's face crumpled.
“No.””
David returned his attention to the video.
He paused it on the moment the nurse entered the room.
Then he zoomed in on the man's face.
Marcus.
There was no doubt.
He had been there.
He had watched the nurse carry the baby away.
And he had never told David.
Suddenly, another message arrived.
This one was longer.
Your security chief didn't steal the third baby. He was ordered to protect her.
David stared at the screen.
A final line appeared.
The child is alive. Her name is Lily.
Rachel let out a strangled cry.
David turned.
“Do you know that name?””
Rachel shook her head.
But something in her expression told him she wasn't telling the whole truth.
He stepped toward her.
“Rachel.””
She covered her face.
“I heard that name once.””
“Where?””
“Before I disappeared.””
“When?””
Rachel slowly lowered her hands.
“Richard came to see me three days after the girls were born. He told me that if I ever tried to contact you, he would make sure I never saw Harper or Maya again.””
David listened.
“He said there was another child. A little girl. He said she had been taken somewhere safe.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I thought he was lying.””
David stared at her.
“Do you believe him now?””
Rachel nodded.
Then she whispered:
“Lily was the name I chose for our third daughter.””
The room went silent.
Harper stirred in her sleep.
Maya rolled over and reached for her sister's hand.
David looked at the three empty spaces in the story of his family.
Two daughters had been stolen from him in different ways.
And somewhere, a third child might have been growing up without knowing either parent.
He looked at Rachel.
“We're finding her.””
Rachel nodded through her tears.
But before either could say another word, someone knocked on the motel door.
Three slow knocks.
Then a familiar voice spoke from the hallway.
“David? It's Marcus.””
David moved toward the door.
Rachel grabbed his wrist.
“Don't open it.””
Marcus spoke again.
“I know you saw the video.””
David looked through the peephole.
Marcus was standing alone.
His face was bruised.
His shirt was stained with blood.
And in his arms was a little girl wrapped in a pale yellow blanket.
Marcus raised his eyes toward the peephole.
“David, please,” he whispered.
“She's running out of time.””
Rachel covered her mouth.
Because the little girl in his arms had the same silver bird necklace as Harper and Maya.
May you like
And on her left cheek was the same tiny dimple.
*Lily had finally come home.*
