Chapter 5 - The Woman in the Hospital Records
Lily was unharmed.
Security found no intruder.
The bedroom window had been forced open from outside, and the note had been placed beneath Lily's pillow.
Adrian ordered additional guards.
He also moved Lily into the secure wing of the mansion.
Claire refused to leave her side.
At dawn, Adrian entered the temporary bedroom.
"She's asleep?"
Claire nodded.
"She woke up twice. She's frightened."
He looked at his daughter.
Then at Claire.
"Thank you."
It was such a simple statement.
Yet Claire realized he rarely said those words.
At nine that morning, Adrian's attorney arrived with the first hospital records.
His name was Daniel Price.
He had represented the Mercer family for fifteen years and had known Rebecca since before her marriage to Adrian.
He spread the documents across the desk.
"St. Catherine's reported Rebecca's death on October fourteenth," Daniel explained. "The official cause was complications from an aggressive neurological illness."
Adrian stared at the paperwork.
"And?"
Daniel removed another folder.
"According to the hospital's archived records, Rebecca was discharged three days before her reported death."
Adrian looked up.
"That's impossible."
"That's what I thought."
"Where did she go?"
"There's no discharge destination listed."
Daniel placed another document on the table.
"There's also a second patient record under Rebecca's name. It was created six months later."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Someone used her identity."
"Possibly."
Claire stood near the doorway, listening.
Daniel glanced at her.
"Should we continue?"
Adrian nodded.
"She's staying."
Daniel opened the second file.
The patient had been admitted under the name Rebecca Hale.
Age: thirty-four.
Medical condition: temporary amnesia following a traumatic incident.
Emergency contact: Vincent Mercer.
Claire felt a chill.
"Why would Vincent be her emergency contact?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Adrian stood so abruptly his chair scraped backward.
"Find him."
Vincent arrived at the mansion an hour later.
He entered the office without knocking.
"What's the emergency?"
Adrian placed the medical record on the desk.
Vincent glanced at it.
Then he laughed.
"Seriously?"
"Explain."
"It's an old file."
"Why were you listed as Rebecca's emergency contact?"
Vincent shrugged.
"She was confused. You were busy."
"Busy doing what?"
"Running the company. Keeping the family together. Everything you were doing while your wife was falling apart."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Where is she?"
Vincent's smile disappeared.
"Who?"
"Rebecca."
For the first time, Vincent looked afraid.
It lasted only a second.
Then he recovered.
"Your wife is dead, Adrian."
"Then why does this file exist?"
"Ask the hospital."
"I am asking you."
Vincent leaned against the desk.
"You've become paranoid."
Adrian grabbed his brother's jacket.
"Don't lie to me."
Vincent's voice dropped.
"Careful. You don't know what you're digging into."
The brothers stared at each other.
Then Vincent pulled away.
"Ask yourself why Rebecca was afraid of you."
He walked out.
That evening, Claire took Lily into the garden.
The snow had stopped.
The little girl wore a pink coat and held Claire's hand.
"Do you think Mommy is alive?" Lily asked.
Claire stopped walking.
She wanted to give her an easy answer.
But she remembered what she had promised herself.
Never give Lily pretty lies.
"I don't know, sweetheart."
Lily looked down.
"Sometimes I hear her singing."
Claire crouched.
"When?"
"At night."
"Where?"
Lily pointed toward the old greenhouse.
"Over there."
Claire looked at the building.
It had been closed since Rebecca's death.
Adrian had told the staff that the structure was unsafe.
But Lily continued.
"Mommy said she was waiting for me."
Claire's heart began racing.
"Did you see her?"
Lily shook her head.
"No. But somebody puts white flowers outside the door."
Claire looked toward the greenhouse entrance.
There was a small bouquet resting beneath the window.
Fresh white roses.
She approached carefully.
Something was tucked beneath the ribbon.
A folded piece of paper.
Claire opened it.
Three words were written in elegant handwriting.
Ask about Emma.
Adrian examined the note in his office.
"Emma," he repeated.
Daniel looked through the records.
"There was a nurse named Emma Collins assigned to Rebecca's case."
"Where is she?"
"She disappeared six months ago."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Find her."
Daniel nodded.
Then Claire noticed something on the back of the paper.
A faint impression.
Someone had written something on the sheet above it.
She tilted it toward the desk lamp.
The pressure marks became visible.
A phone number.
Adrian called immediately.
The line rang four times.
Then a woman answered.
Her voice was frightened.
"Hello?"
"This is Adrian Mercer. I'm looking for Emma Collins."
Silence.
Then the woman whispered:
"Mr. Mercer?"
"Where is Rebecca?"
The line went dead.
A second later, Adrian received a text.
If you want the truth, come alone. Your brother is not the only person who knows what happened to your wife.
Attached was a photograph.
Rebecca stood outside a small white house.
She looked older.
Thinner.
May you like
But unmistakably alive.
And standing beside her was a little girl who wasn't Lily.
