Chapter 12: The Woman Who Tried to Steal My Daughter Before She Was Born
By the time I returned to the hospital, I was exhausted.
The doctors had approved a short visit to the neonatal intensive care unit.
A nurse wheeled me through the corridor while Michael walked beside me.
When we entered the unit, I saw Sophie inside her incubator.
She was so small.
Her fingers were barely bigger than my wedding ring.
A tiny knitted hat covered her head.
I reached through the opening and gently touched her hand.
"Hi, sweetheart," I whispered.
Her fingers moved around mine.
I started crying.
Michael stood behind me, wiping his eyes.
"She's a fighter," he said.
I looked at our daughter.
"She shouldn't have had to fight this hard.""
He bent down and kissed my hair.
"Neither should you.""
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
*Unknown:* You need to stop listening to Richard Hale.
I stared at the message.
Another arrived.
*Unknown:* He isn't telling you everything.
I showed Michael.
His face tightened.
"Who is this?""
Before I could answer, a third message appeared.
*Unknown:* Ask him what happened to your mother.
My stomach dropped.
My mother.
The woman who had raised me alone.
The woman who told me my father died before I was born.
The woman who passed away from a sudden stroke when I was twenty-two.
I looked at Michael.
"Something happened to my mother?""
He took the phone.
"We need to show Detective Bennett.""
An hour later, Detective Bennett returned.
She read the messages and immediately contacted the technical team.
"Don't respond to the sender," she instructed.
"Could it be Diane?"" Michael asked.
"Possibly. But we won't assume that.""
I looked at her.
"I need to know what happened to my mother.""
Detective Bennett nodded.
"We're checking the old records.""
She stepped outside and made several calls.
When she returned, she carried a file.
"Emily, your mother's death certificate lists a stroke as the cause of death. However, there was an earlier emergency department visit six months before her death.""
I frowned.
"What kind of visit?""
"She reported dizziness, confusion, and difficulty remembering recent events.""
My throat tightened.
"She was sick?""
"Apparently, she believed she was being followed. She also reported receiving threatening phone calls.""
I stared at the file.
"Nobody told me.""
Detective Bennett continued.
"There's an additional note. Your mother requested that a particular person not be allowed to visit her.""
"Who?""
The detective turned the page.
*Diane Carter.*
I felt the air leave my lungs.
Michael looked at me.
"Your mother knew her?""
I nodded slowly.
"Apparently.""
Detective Bennett placed another document on the table.
"It's a statement your mother gave to a hospital social worker.""
She read the relevant passage aloud.
"'A woman named Diane has been asking questions about my daughter. She says she has a right to know where Emily is. I am afraid she will take her away.''"
My hands began trembling.
"Why didn't anyone investigate?""
"The hospital recorded the concern, but there was no formal police report.""
I closed my eyes.
All those years, I'd thought my mother was simply afraid of being alone.
Now I wondered whether she'd spent the final years of her life afraid that Diane would find me.
Michael pulled his chair closer.
"Emily, I'm sorry.""
I shook my head.
"I don't understand how she could do this.""
Detective Bennett looked toward the door.
"There's something else. We found a former employee from the nursing facility where your mother spent her final week.""
"What does that have to do with anything?""
"She remembers a visitor who came to see your mother shortly before her death.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Who?""
The detective looked at me.
"Diane Carter.""
Michael stood abruptly.
"She visited Emily's mother?""
"Yes. And according to the employee, Diane claimed she was a relative.""
I covered my mouth.
"Did my mother speak to her?""
"We don't know. But the employee remembers hearing an argument.""
"What kind of argument?""
The detective opened her notebook.
"Your mother reportedly said, 'You already took everything from me. Leave my daughter alone.''"
I began crying.
Michael wrapped his arms around me.
I had spent years wishing I could ask my mother one more question.
Now I knew there had been something enormous she hadn't been able to tell me.
That evening, Detective Bennett received a call from the technical team.
The anonymous messages had been traced to a temporary phone account.
The account had been activated using identification belonging to Daniel Mercer.
"Can you locate him?"" Michael asked.
"We're trying.""
Then the detective's phone rang again.
This time, she listened without speaking.
Her expression changed.
"What do you mean he's missing?""
She ended the call.
"Daniel Mercer hasn't been seen at his office since yesterday morning.""
Michael looked alarmed.
"Did he run?""
"His assistant says he left after receiving a phone call.""
"From whom?""
The detective checked her notes.
"Your mother.""
My blood ran cold.
Then she added:
"We also received a message from Richard Hale's attorney. Richard has disappeared from the secure location where he was staying.""
Michael grabbed the edge of the table.
"What?""
"His protection officer found the room empty. There was no sign of forced entry.""
I stared at Detective Bennett.
"Does that mean Diane got to him?""
"We don't know.""
A nurse entered the room.
"Mrs. Carter, I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's someone asking to see you.""
I looked up.
"Who?""
The nurse hesitated.
"She says she's your husband's mother.""
Michael immediately stepped in front of me.
"She's not coming in.""
The nurse nodded.
"There's something else. She left an envelope at the reception desk.""
Detective Bennett took it.
My name was written across the front.
Inside was a photograph.
It showed Sophie inside her incubator.
My heart stopped.
The picture had been taken from inside the hospital.
On the back, Diane had written a single sentence:
*You should have accepted my offer before your daughter was born.*
I clutched Michael's arm.
Detective Bennett immediately called hospital security.
But before she could finish, another message appeared on my phone.
This time, it came from Diane's number.
*Diane:* You think you've won because the baby survived?
A second message followed.
*Diane:* You still don't understand why I needed you gone.
Then a final message appeared.
*Diane:* Sophie was never the only person I wanted.
I stared at the screen.
Michael read the words over my shoulder.
"What does that mean?""
I couldn't answer.
Because suddenly, I remembered the original insurance application.
The one created before Michael and I ever met.
The one listing Richard Hale as the beneficiary.
And the one that had been connected to my identity since childhood.
Diane hadn't simply wanted my inheritance.
She had wanted something connected to me long before I became Michael's wife.
Detective Bennett's phone rang again.
She answered, listened, and slowly turned toward us.
"Emily, we've found Richard.""
I grabbed the edge of the bed.
"Is he alive?""
"Yes.""
"Where is he?""
The detective looked at Michael.
"He's at the police station.""
I exhaled.
Then she continued.
"He came in voluntarily. He says he finally remembered what your mother-in-law did with the original inheritance documents.""
I swallowed.
"What did she do?""
Detective Bennett opened her notebook.
"She didn't destroy them.""
She paused.
"She hid them inside the one place Diane believed nobody would ever search.""
Michael frowned.
"Where?""
May you like
The detective looked directly at me.
"Your childhood home.""
