Chapter 5: The Missing Birth Record
The hospital administrator wouldn't look me in the eye.
That told me everything before she spoke.
We sat in a private conference room on the maternity floor.
Lily slept in a bassinet beside me while a nurse examined my incision.
Arthur had arrived twenty minutes earlier, still wearing the same charcoal suit he'd probably put on before sunrise.
Daniel stood at the door.
Across the table sat Dr. Evelyn Price, the hospital's chief administrator.
“Mrs. Hale—”
“Whitmore.””
She corrected herself.
“Ms. Whitmore, there appears to be an irregularity.””
Arthur leaned forward.
“What irregularity?””
Dr. Price folded her hands.
“Your daughter's preliminary birth worksheet was completed after delivery.””
“And?””
“It cannot currently be located.””
My mouth went dry.
“What does that mean?””
“It means the information needed for the formal state filing may not have been transmitted.””
Arthur's jaw tightened.
“Who accessed the record?””
“We're investigating.””
“That's not an answer.””
Dr. Price looked toward the door.
“We have logs.””
“Then show us.””
She hesitated.
Arthur placed his briefcase on the table.
“Dr. Price, someone may be attempting to interfere with an infant's legal identity for financial gain. This stopped being an administrative inconvenience several hours ago.””
That worked.
She opened a folder.
“Three employees accessed the maternity records system after Lily's delivery.””
She named two nurses.
Then she paused.
“And a temporary compliance consultant.””
Arthur's face hardened.
“Name.””
“Richard Cole.””
My chair scraped backward.
“No.””
Dr. Price flinched.
“He was credentialed through an outside auditing contractor.””
“He's not a hospital compliance specialist.””
“We know that now.””
Daniel pulled out his phone.
“I'm contacting investigators.””
Arthur looked at me.
“Claire, Richard couldn't erase the fact that Lily exists. There are medical records, witnesses, surgical records, newborn screenings—”
“But he can delay the official paperwork.””
“Yes.””
“Long enough to do what?””
Arthur didn't answer immediately.
I already knew.
“Challenge the trust.””
He nodded.
“Possibly.””
The nurse beside me said, “Your blood pressure is climbing.””
I barely heard her.
My phone rang.
Marcus.
Everyone saw the name.
Arthur shook his head.
“Don't.””
I answered.
“Where is my daughter's paperwork?””
Marcus breathed into the phone.
Then laughed softly.
“Straight to business.””
“Where is it?””
“You made a mistake today.””
“I came home.””
“You humiliated me.””
I stared at the wall.
“You threw your wife and newborn out while I was bleeding from surgery.””
“You froze my accounts!””
“Answer my question.””
Silence.
Then his voice lowered.
“Undo the protocols.””
“No.””
“Claire.””
“No.””
“Restore my corporate authority.””
“No.””
“And tell Bennett the succession amendment remains valid until Lily's registration is complete.””
Arthur reached for the phone.
I stopped him.
“You really think paperwork makes my daughter disappear?””
“I think the law cares about documents.””
“Richard told you that?””
Marcus went quiet.
There.
I had him.
“You don't understand what you're involved in,” I said.
“I understand perfectly.””
“No. You understand the version Richard sold you.””
His breathing changed.
“You always thought you were smarter than me.””
“I spent nine years pretending you were.””
Silence.
Arthur's eyebrows lifted.
I hadn't planned the sentence.
But I meant every word.
Marcus's voice became icy.
“Midnight.””
“I'm not meeting you.””
“Then maybe that birth worksheet never turns up.””
The call ended.
Daniel immediately asked, “Can it be traced?””
Arthur was already forwarding information.
“Authorities can handle that.””
My phone rang again.
This time it was Vanessa.
I answered.
“Claire.””
She sounded breathless.
“Where are you?””
“Why?””
“Marcus came back.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“To the mansion?””
“Yes. He thought I'd left.””
“What is he doing?””
“He's tearing apart the office.””
“Get out.””
“I can't.””
“Vanessa—”
“I found the red folder.””
Arthur stood.
“Where?””
“He hid it inside the lining of one of Claire's suitcases.””
Of course.
If security found it later, Marcus could claim I had taken it.
“Bring it to Daniel,” I said.
“I can't.””
A crash sounded.
Vanessa gasped.
Then Marcus's voice came faintly through the line.
“Vanessa?””
She whispered, “Oh God.””
“Hide.””
Footsteps.
A door opened.
“Vanessa!””
The call went dead.
Daniel was already moving.
“I'll send the team.””
“No.””
Everyone looked at me.
I pushed myself upright.
The nurse protested.
“You cannot leave.””
“I'm not going to the mansion.””
Arthur studied my face.
“What are you thinking?””
I looked at Lily.
Richard wanted me frightened.
Marcus wanted his authority restored.
Both men believed the red folder mattered more than anything.
So I needed to know why.
“Arthur, you said Dad's amendment only gave Marcus control if I died without an heir.””
“Yes.””
“Could the amendment contain anything else?””
“Possibly.””
“Something Richard doesn't want us to know?””
Arthur went still.
Then he opened his laptop.
“I have scanned correspondence from your father regarding the amendment.””
He searched.
Seconds passed.
Then his expression changed.
“What?””
Arthur turned the screen toward me.
There was an email from my father dated six weeks before his death.
One sentence had been highlighted.
If Richard ever attempts to invoke Marcus Hale as successor, Section Fourteen must be triggered first.
“What's Section Fourteen?”” I asked.
Arthur stared at the message.
“I don't know.””
“You drafted the trust.””
“I drafted most of it.””
My heart sank.
“Who drafted Section Fourteen?””
Arthur looked at me.
“Your father did.””
Then Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
His face hardened.
“What happened?””
He listened.
Then looked at me.
“Our team reached the mansion.””
“And Vanessa?””
“She isn't there.””
“Marcus?””
“Gone.””
My stomach tightened.
Daniel continued.
“But they found the red folder.””
Arthur stood.
“Bring it here.””
Daniel shook his head.
“There is a problem.””
May you like
“What?””
“The folder is empty.””
