Chapter 5: The Doctor Who Signed My Wife Away
The security alarm continued blaring.
I handed Maisie's hospital bracelet to Elise.
"Take the girls into the adjoining room. Lock the door.""
"Mr. Caruso—"
"Now.""
She picked up Rosie and gently lifted Maisie from her crib.
I watched her disappear through the nursery's connecting door.
Then I grabbed my phone and called security.
"Who authorized Dr. Reed's entry?""
The head of security answered immediately.
"Nobody, sir. He used an old medical access credential.""
"Disable it.""
"Already done.""
"Where is he?""
"He's in the main foyer.""
I looked toward the staircase.
"Keep him there. I'm coming down.""
I left the nursery and hurried through the hallway.
The mansion was strangely quiet apart from the alarm.
At the bottom of the stairs, I found Dr. Samuel Reed standing beside the grand piano.
He was wearing a dark overcoat over his pajamas.
His gray hair was disheveled, and he was clutching a leather medical bag.
He looked older than I remembered.
But his eyes were exactly the same.
"Dominic," he said.
I stopped several feet away.
"Why are you here?""
He glanced toward the staircase.
"I need to speak with you privately.""
"You can speak right here.""
He swallowed.
"I understand you've been asking questions about Isabella.""
I laughed without humor.
"Questions? My wife called me ten minutes ago.""
His face lost its color.
"She called you?""
"Yes.""
He looked toward the entrance.
Then back at me.
"That's unfortunate.""
I took a step forward.
"Where is she?""
"I don't know.""
"You're lying.""
"Dominic, please. You need to understand that the circumstances surrounding your wife's delivery were extremely complicated.""
I grabbed his coat.
"WHERE IS MY WIFE?""
He stumbled against the piano.
"Let go!""
"Tell me where she is!""
Two security guards rushed into the foyer.
I released him.
"Search his bag," I ordered.
Reed immediately tightened his grip.
"You have no legal right to do that!""
"Then call your lawyer.""
One guard took the bag.
The doctor tried to grab it back, but the second guard restrained him.
Inside were several medical files, a prescription bottle, and a thick brown envelope.
I opened the envelope.
The first document was a hospital transfer authorization.
The second was a photograph.
It showed three newborn babies lying in separate bassinets.
I stared at them.
Three tiny faces.
Three identical hospital blankets.
Three bracelets.
And beneath the photograph was a handwritten note.
Infant C transferred to alternate guardianship. Authorization: V. Caruso.
My stomach twisted.
"Who were the guardians?""
Reed said nothing.
I held the paper up.
"WHO?""
He looked toward the ceiling.
Then he whispered, "A couple who had been waiting for a child.""
I stared at him.
"You gave my baby away?""
"It wasn't that simple.""
"YOU GAVE MY CHILD AWAY?""
The doctor flinched.
"Your mother said the child had no future in the family trust.""
I felt something break inside me.
"That's your excuse?""
"No. I was told the arrangement was temporary.""
"Where is the baby now?""
"I don't know.""
I slammed the file onto the piano.
"Stop saying that!""
Reed's eyes filled with tears.
"Dominic, I swear to you, I believed the child was being placed with a suitable family. Your mother arranged everything.""
"Why did you tell me my wife died?""
He lowered his head.
"Because I was ordered to.""
"By my mother?""
He nodded.
"Victoria told me Isabella had suffered a catastrophic medical event. She instructed the hospital to record her as deceased and arrange a private transfer.""
"But Isabella was alive.""
"Yes.""
I stepped backward.
The room seemed to shrink around me.
"How long did you know?""
"From the beginning.""
"Eight months?""
He nodded.
I turned away, struggling to breathe.
My mother had looked me in the eyes at the funeral.
She had hugged me while I cried.
She had held my daughters and told me they would grow up knowing how much their mother loved them.
All while knowing Isabella was alive.
All while knowing one of my children had disappeared.
"Where did you take Isabella?""
Reed hesitated.
"Your mother arranged a private medical facility outside the city.""
"Which facility?""
"I don't know the current location.""
I grabbed his collar again.
"You expect me to believe that?""
"She moved her twice. I only handled the initial transfer.""
"Then give me the original records.""
Reed looked toward his medical bag.
"I brought something else.""
He reached into the side pocket and removed a small digital recorder.
"I kept a recording of the meeting.""
"What meeting?""
"The night Victoria arranged the transfer.""
I pressed the button.
A woman's voice filled the foyer.
Victoria.
"If Isabella refuses to sign, we proceed without her consent.""
A man's voice answered.
"What about the third infant?""
My mother's reply was chilling.
"The child must disappear from every official record. Dominic must never know there were three.""
I stopped the recording.
My hands were shaking.
Then another voice appeared.
A voice I recognized immediately.
My own.
"Mom, what are you doing here?""
The recording continued.
My mother's voice softened.
"Darling, come inside. Your wife needs rest.""
I stared at the device.
I remembered that night.
I remembered walking into the hospital room.
I remembered my mother handing me a pen.
She had told me the paperwork was necessary to authorize emergency treatment.
Had I unknowingly signed away my own child?
I looked at Reed.
"What else is in that recording?""
He hesitated.
Then he said, "The name of the family who received your third baby.""
I reached for the recorder.
But before he could hand it to me, my phone rang again.
A text message appeared.
This time, it came from Elise.
*Mr. Caruso, please come upstairs. I found something in the girls' room.*
A second message followed.
*One of the twins has a medical bracelet with a different name.*
I looked at Reed.
He stared at the screen.
Then he whispered:
"That's impossible.""
I grabbed the recorder.
"Why?""
His face had gone completely white.
"Because the child Victoria arranged to disappear...""
May you like
He swallowed.
"...was supposed to be living with another family.""
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