Chapter 11: The Doctor Who Buried a Living Child
I read the death certificate until the words became meaningless.
My father had signed it.
Not as a witness. Not as a relative.
As the attending physician.
But my father had never been a doctor. He had spent his entire life in business, building construction projects and managing investments. He wouldn't have been authorized to certify anyone's death.
“That's impossible,” I told Detective Harris.
He nodded.
“That's why we're treating the document as suspicious. Someone may have used your father's identity or forged his signature.””
“Then why does it have an official hospital seal?””
“We're investigating that.””
Nora stood beside me, holding my hand.
“Does this mean the other baby is dead, Daddy?””
I crouched beside her.
“We don't know yet.””
“But Vanessa said I wasn't supposed to be your daughter.””
I brushed a strand of hair from her face.
“Vanessa has lied about many things. We're going to find out what's true.””
The detective arranged for us to return to the hotel under police protection. Ryan met us there with fresh clothes for Nora and a bag of food neither of us had the appetite to eat.
Rachel was waiting in the sitting room.
The moment she saw Nora, she crossed the room and embraced her.
“Are you all right?””
Nora nodded.
“Daddy came to get me.””
Rachel held her for a long time before looking at me.
“What happened at the warehouse?””
I placed the photograph and copies of the records on the table.
Rachel examined them in silence.
When she reached the death certificate, her fingers began to tremble.
“Where did you get this?””
“From the hospital archives. It says my father certified the death of Elise Mercer's daughter.””
Rachel sat down slowly.
“Oh, Ethan.””
I stared at her.
“You know something.””
She looked toward Nora.
“Sweetheart, could you sit with Uncle Ryan for a few minutes? Your father and I need to talk.””
Nora hesitated.
“Are you going to keep secrets again?””
Rachel closed her eyes.
“No. I promise I'm not going to hide anything from you anymore.””
Nora studied her face, then followed Ryan into the adjoining room.
I waited until the door closed.
“Tell me,” I said.
Rachel pressed both palms against the table.
“After your father died, I found a letter in his study. It mentioned a hospital, two babies, and a promise he had made to someone named Elise.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I couldn't understand what it meant. I thought it was connected to the financial investigation, and I was afraid that opening it would expose Nora to danger.””
“What did the letter say?””
Rachel stared at the photograph.
“Your father wrote that he had made a terrible mistake. He said a child had been taken from her mother, and he was trying to find a way to return her.””
My chest tightened.
“Which child?””
“I never found out.””
“Did you keep the letter?””
Rachel nodded.
“I hid it in a storage box before the accident. When I woke up in the hospital, I tried to contact someone who could retrieve it, but I was being watched. I never got the chance.””
I stood and paced across the room.
“My father forged a death certificate, possibly helped switch two babies, and then wrote a letter about returning a child. What exactly are we supposed to believe?””
Rachel's eyes filled with tears.
“I believe your father regretted something terrible. I don't know whether he caused it or tried to fix it.””
A knock interrupted us.
Detective Harris entered with a woman carrying a leather briefcase.
“Ethan, this is Dr. Helen Brooks. She was the hospital's records director when the original files were transferred to the state archive.””
The woman shook my hand.
“I reviewed the documents your detective provided. The death certificate is not a normal hospital record.””
“Meaning?””
“It was entered into the system after the fact. The physician's signature was added later, and the original file contains a handwritten correction.””
She opened her briefcase and placed a photocopy on the table.
The correction read:
Infant alive at discharge. Identity disputed. Transfer authorized by legal guardian.
I stared at it.
“Who authorized the transfer?””
Dr. Brooks pointed to the bottom of the page.
“Daniel Mercer.””
Rachel covered her mouth.
I looked at Detective Harris.
“So the baby wasn't dead.””
“No,” he said.
“The record suggests she was alive when she left the hospital.””
“And someone made it look as though she had died.””
Dr. Brooks nodded.
“Someone also changed the mother's address and removed a second page from the file.””
“Can we find that page?””
“We're trying. But the hospital's original records were transferred decades ago, and some documents were stored off-site.””
Detective Harris leaned forward.
“There's another issue. The death certificate was used to support a court filing concerning a family trust.””
My stomach dropped.
“What court filing?””
He slid a document across the table.
The filing claimed that Elise Mercer's daughter had died, leaving no direct descendants entitled to a particular inheritance. The estate was subsequently transferred to a different branch of the family.
I read the beneficiary's name.
Daniel Mercer.
“So he benefited from declaring his own daughter dead?””
“That's what the filing suggests,” Harris replied.
“But we need the complete records before we can establish who knew what.””
Rachel gripped the table.
“Daniel told me his brother's family had been destroyed by an accident. He said there were no children left.””
“Michael Mercer had a daughter,” I said.
“Nora's birth certificate names him as her father.””
Dr. Brooks shook her head.
“The certificate you found may be connected to the same identity dispute, but it doesn't prove Nora is that child.””
“Then who is?””
Nobody answered.
My phone rang.
The caller was Mr. Whitmore, my father's estate attorney.
“Ethan, I've reviewed the original trust instructions,” he said.
“There's a clause that may explain why Vanessa was so desperate to obtain the documents.””
“What clause?””
“Your father named a contingent beneficiary. If the original heir could not be located, the inheritance would remain in trust until the heir's identity was established.””
“Who is the heir?””
“Your father never wrote the name in the public documents. He referred to the beneficiary as the child who was wrongly declared dead.””
I looked at Rachel.
She had gone completely still.
Mr. Whitmore continued.
“The sealed letter contains a separate instruction. It says that if the child is ever found, the estate must be used to restore her legal identity and compensate her mother.””
“Her mother?””
“Yes.””
I thought of Elise Mercer.
I thought of the missing baby.
Then I thought of the photograph in the warehouse, with two newborn girls lying side by side.
“Mr. Whitmore, do you know whether the child was adopted?””
“I found a reference to a private adoption agency. Its records were sealed under a court order. But there's a name attached to the final transfer.””
“What name?””
He hesitated.
“Margaret Ellis.””
Rachel rose so quickly that her chair toppled backward.
“The woman who helped me after the accident?””
“Yes,” Mr. Whitmore replied.
“The same woman.””
The room went silent.
The person who had hidden Rachel might also have been responsible for moving the missing child.
I looked at Detective Harris.
“We need to find her.””
“We're already working on it,” he said.
Then his phone rang.
He listened, and his expression darkened.
When he ended the call, he looked directly at Rachel.
“Margaret Ellis has been located.””
“Where?”” I asked.
“An assisted-living facility outside Columbus.””
“Then let's go.””
The detective shook his head.
“We can't question her tonight. She's been admitted to a hospital.””
“Why?””
He paused.
“Someone tried to kill her three hours ago.””
Rachel sank into her chair.
I felt a chill crawl up my spine.
Because the person who had helped Rachel disappear had now become the next target.
And before Detective Harris could say another word, my phone received a message from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of Margaret lying in a hospital bed.
May you like
Beneath it were nine words.
*Ask her who she gave your daughter to, Ethan.*
