Chapter 9: The Night My Mother Disappeared
The letter changed everything.
I read it once.
Then again.
Vanessa's handwriting was unmistakable.
Now that Daniel believes Lily is dead, we can finally proceed with the plan.
But the date was wrong.
It had been written six months before my mother's accident.
I looked at Daniel.
"How could you believe Lily was dead before the accident?""
He took the letter.
His expression darkened.
"I didn't.""
I frowned.
"What?""
"Vanessa told me Lily had died after the accident. But this letter was written months earlier.""
Eleanor examined the paper.
"Which means she had already been preparing the story.""
Brianna stood beside me.
Her hands were trembling.
"She planned to separate us before we were even old enough to understand?""
Nobody answered.
I looked around the storage unit.
My mother's belongings filled the shelves.
Her sketches.
Her business records.
The little dresses she had made for us.
And now the proof that someone had been planning to destroy our family long before the night she died.
I picked up the letter.
"There's more.""
The second paragraph mentioned a meeting with Richard.
It referred to an arrangement involving a temporary guardianship, a false medical report, and a transfer of company assets.
At the bottom was another name.
*Dr. Samuel Price.*
Eleanor went pale.
"Do you know him?"" I asked.
She nodded slowly.
"He was the physician who signed the hospital discharge papers.""
Daniel looked up.
"He's still alive?""
"I believe so.""
Brianna moved closer.
"Did he help Vanessa?""
Eleanor folded the letter.
"We need to establish that.""
A police officer approached the doorway.
"Detective Morgan is on the phone.""
Eleanor took the call.
"Hello?""
She listened.
Then she looked at me.
"Yes. We found it.""
Another pause.
"No, don't release anything.""
Her expression changed.
"What?""
She turned away from us.
"Are you certain?""
When she ended the call, she looked shaken.
"The hospital has recovered part of the missing archive.""
"Which part?"" Daniel asked.
"The security footage from the night your mother died.""
I stepped forward.
"Can we see it?""
"Not yet. The police are preserving the original recording.""
"Why?""
Eleanor hesitated.
"Because it contains images of someone entering your mother's hospital room after midnight.""
My stomach tightened.
"Who?""
She looked at me.
"Vanessa.""
We returned to the police station.
Detective Morgan met us in a secure viewing room.
A technician had prepared several clips from the recovered hospital footage.
The first showed a corridor outside the maternity ward.
The clock read 11:42 p.m.
A nurse walked past.
A cleaner pushed a cart down the hallway.
Then Vanessa appeared.
She was wearing a dark coat and carrying a handbag.
She entered the maternity ward.
The next camera showed her approaching the nurses' station.
She spoke to someone behind the desk.
Then she handed over a document.
I leaned forward.
"What is she giving them?""
The technician paused the recording.
"Looks like a folder.""
Detective Morgan nodded.
"Continue.""
The footage resumed.
Vanessa walked toward the nursery.
She stopped outside a glass door.
Then she entered.
A few minutes later, she emerged carrying a baby.
My hands flew to my mouth.
Brianna whispered, "Oh, my God.""
The camera followed Vanessa down the corridor.
She disappeared through a side exit.
Then, thirty-two minutes later, she returned.
This time, she was carrying an empty blanket.
She entered the nursery again.
When she came out, she was alone.
I stared at the screen.
"Where did she take the baby?""
Detective Morgan paused the footage.
"We're still investigating.""
Daniel looked devastated.
"That was Lily.""
The detective nodded.
"Based on the records, yes.""
I turned toward Brianna.
She had gone completely pale.
"Mom took me away?""
Detective Morgan didn't answer immediately.
Then she said, "The footage suggests that a baby was removed from the nursery without the proper authorization.""
Brianna covered her mouth.
"Where did she take me?""
Eleanor stepped closer.
"She may have taken you to her sister's house, where she initially arranged for you to be raised.""
Brianna looked at me.
"I was eleven minutes younger.""
I nodded.
"Yes.""
"Did you miss me?""
The question was so quiet I almost didn't hear it.
I stared at her.
"I didn't know you existed.""
She began crying.
"I know.""
For a moment, I wanted to comfort her.
Then I remembered the broken trophy.
The ruined wings.
The years of cruelty.
I could feel compassion without pretending those things hadn't happened.
"I wish we had known," I said.
She nodded.
"Me too.""
Detective Morgan restarted the footage.
At 1:18 a.m., another person entered the hospital.
A man.
He wore a dark jacket and carried a small medical bag.
The technician zoomed in.
Daniel stood abruptly.
"That's Dr. Price.""
Eleanor looked at the screen.
"Yes.""
The doctor entered Margaret's room.
He remained inside for almost twenty minutes.
Then he emerged carrying a folder.
He looked toward the nursery.
Then toward the exit.
He walked away.
The recording continued.
At 2:06 a.m., a nurse entered Margaret's room.
At 2:11 a.m., the nurse ran into the corridor.
Two other staff members followed.
The camera captured frantic movement.
A doctor arrived.
Then a security guard.
And finally, a stretcher was pushed out of the room.
I couldn't look away.
"What happened to my mother?""
Detective Morgan paused the footage.
"We need the medical records to establish that.""
"But she died that night.""
"That's what the official report states.""
Eleanor leaned forward.
"There's something else.""
She pointed at the time stamp.
"Look at the hallway clock.""
The technician zoomed in.
The clock showed 2:11 a.m.
But the hospital report stated that Margaret had been pronounced dead at 1:52 a.m.
I stared.
"That's impossible.""
Detective Morgan looked at the technician.
"Can you verify the timestamp?""
The technician checked the system.
"It's accurate. The footage was recorded using the hospital's central server.""
Daniel stood.
"Then what happened?""
Nobody answered.
Eleanor slowly opened the folder she had brought from the archive.
Inside was a medical report.
She read it.
Then her face changed.
"Margaret wasn't pronounced dead at 1:52.""
I looked at her.
"What?""
"The official report was altered.""
Daniel grabbed the document.
"Read it.""
Eleanor swallowed.
"The original report says Margaret was transferred to another hospital at 2:24 a.m.""
I felt the room spin.
"Transferred?""
She nodded.
"Her condition was critical, but she was alive.""
I turned toward Daniel.
"Then where is she?""
His eyes filled.
"I don't know.""
Detective Morgan immediately stood.
"We need to secure the remaining medical records.""
The technician pulled up another file.
It contained the transfer destination.
A private medical facility outside the city.
The name appeared at the bottom.
*St. Catherine's Recovery Center.*
Eleanor shook her head.
"That facility closed years ago.""
"Can we find its records?"" Daniel asked.
Detective Morgan was already making a call.
By six that evening, the police had located an archived patient register from St. Catherine's.
The records were incomplete.
But one entry matched Margaret Carter's date of birth.
The patient had been admitted under a different surname.
The name was unfamiliar.
*Margaret Ellis.*
I stared at the screen.
"Why would she use another name?""
Eleanor looked at Daniel.
"Someone may have wanted to hide her identity.""
The record showed that Margaret had remained at the facility for eleven days.
Then she had been transferred again.
The destination was missing.
Daniel gripped the edge of the desk.
"Eleven days.""
His voice was barely audible.
"She was alive for eleven days, and nobody told me.""
I looked at the next page.
There was a note in the margin.
Patient requested contact with husband and children.
I stopped breathing.
"She asked for us.""
Eleanor nodded.
"Yes.""
The note continued.
Request denied pending authorization from legal guardian.
I looked up.
"Who was the legal guardian?""
Detective Morgan turned the page.
The name appeared.
Vanessa Carter.
My stomach dropped.
"She had control over whether Mom could contact us?""
"According to this record, yes.""
Daniel closed his eyes.
He looked as though someone had taken the last ten years and placed them on his shoulders all at once.
I touched his arm.
"She was alive.""
He nodded.
"Yes.""
"She wanted to see us.""
His voice broke.
"Yes.""
I turned toward Detective Morgan.
"Where is she now?""
The detective looked through the remaining pages.
"The last entry says she was discharged into private care.""
"Whose care?""
Detective Morgan read the line.
Then she looked up.
"Vanessa Carter.""
Silence.
I stared at the page.
My mother had survived the accident.
She had been transferred to a private facility.
She had asked to see her husband and children.
And Vanessa had been given legal control over her care.
"Where did Vanessa take her?"" I asked.
Nobody answered.
Then Eleanor noticed a handwritten notation on the bottom of the discharge form.
It was a phone number.
And beneath it was an address.
A small residential property in the countryside.
Daniel recognized the address immediately.
His face drained of color.
"What is it?"" I asked.
He looked at me.
"That's the house Vanessa bought six months after your mother died.""
I felt sick.
"Why would she buy a house there?""
He swallowed.
"Because it was isolated.""
Detective Morgan immediately called for a search warrant.
But before she could finish the call, my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello?""
A woman's voice came through.
Weak.
Shaking.
But familiar in a way that made my heart stop.
"Nia?""
I couldn't breathe.
"Who is this?""
The woman began crying.
"My darling...""
I gripped the phone.
"Mom?""
Daniel looked up.
The voice continued.
"Please listen to me. Don't trust Vanessa.""
I started shaking.
"Where are you?""
There was a long silence.
Then she whispered:
"Your mother is alive, sweetheart.""
I closed my eyes.
"I know.""
The woman sobbed.
"No, Nia. I'm not talking about Margaret.""
My heart stopped.
"What?""
She took a shaky breath.
"Margaret isn't the only person Vanessa told you was dead.""
I looked at Daniel.
The voice continued.
"Your mother gave birth to three babies that night.""
I felt the floor disappear beneath me.
"Three?""
"Yes.""
A pause.
"And the third child...""
The connection crackled.
Then the woman whispered a name.
A name I had never heard before.
*"Is living with your stepmother right now.""*
The call disconnected.
I stared at my phone.
Daniel took it from my hand.
"Who was that?""
I shook my head.
"I don't know.""
Eleanor looked horrified.
"Three babies?""
Detective Morgan immediately began tracing the number.
Then my phone vibrated again.
A message appeared.
It contained a photograph.
A little girl stood in front of Vanessa's current house.
She looked about eight years old.
She had dark hair.
And she was wearing a tiny crimson dress.
May you like
On the back of the photograph was a handwritten sentence.
The third Carter daughter has been waiting for you.
