Chapter 4: The Truth in the Hospital Records
I didn’t remember leaving the mansion.
I only remembered the rain.
Cold drops hitting my face as I stood outside, unable to breathe.
Alexander’s words kept repeating in my mind.
“I was the reason he died.””
The man I was supposed to marry had just admitted he was connected to his brother’s death.
And somehow, after six years, the woman who spent years in prison was the only person trying to tell me the truth.
The next morning, I went back to St. Mary’s Hospital.
I needed answers from someone who didn’t love Alexander.
Someone who didn’t fear him.
The old records department was almost empty.
An elderly woman named Margaret sat behind the desk, sorting files.
When I mentioned Daniel Vale’s name, her hands stopped moving.
“You’re Emma, aren’t you?””
I froze.
“How do you know me?””
She looked uncomfortable.
“Because I was there the day everything changed.””
My stomach tightened.
“What day?””
She slowly removed her glasses.
“The day baby Hope was taken.””
I sat down.
“Tell me everything.””
Margaret looked around before lowering her voice.
“Daniel and Lena were happy. They had plans. They were going to get married. When their daughter was born, Daniel was the happiest man I had ever seen.””
She smiled sadly.
“He carried that baby around the hospital like she was made of glass.””
I swallowed.
“And Alexander?””
Her expression changed.
“Alexander visited often.””
“Because he cared about his brother?””
Margaret hesitated.
“No.””
The answer was quiet.
But it carried weight.
“Why was he there?””
She opened an old file.
“He wanted control.””
I stared at the documents.
“Control over what?””
Margaret pulled out a copy of a report.
“Daniel had discovered something about the family company.””
My heart sank.
“What kind of something?””
She looked directly at me.
“Financial fraud.””
Everything suddenly connected.
The fear.
The secrets.
The chest.
Margaret continued.
“Daniel threatened to expose everything. He said he would go to the police.””
“And then?””
“Two days later, Daniel died.””
I felt sick.
“What did the police say?””
“Car accident.””
“But you don’t believe that.””
She looked away.
“No.””
The room was silent.
Then she pushed another paper toward me.
“This was never supposed to leave the hospital.””
I picked it up.
It was a medical record.
My eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
The patient name wasn’t Daniel.
It was Lena.
There was a handwritten note at the bottom.
*Child transferred under emergency order.*
My hands shook.
“Transferred where?””
Margaret whispered:
“That’s what nobody could explain.””
A shadow fell across the desk.
I looked up.
Alexander stood there.
My heart jumped.
“How did you find me?””
He didn’t answer.
He looked at Margaret.
“Leave us.””
She immediately stood.
“No.””
Alexander’s eyes narrowed.
“Margaret.””
She stepped back.
“I spent six years afraid of you.””
Then she looked at me.
“But I won’t let you do to her what you did to Lena.””
Alexander’s expression changed.
He looked furious.
“Everyone always thinks they know the truth.””
I stood.
“Then tell me yours.””
He stared at me.
For a moment, he looked like the man I loved.
Broken.
Lost.
Almost human.
Then his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
His face changed.
“What?”” I asked.
He didn’t respond.
The color drained from his face.
Slowly, he handed me the phone.
On the screen was a message from an unknown number.
There was only one sentence.
*I found Hope.*
And beneath it was a photograph.
A little girl standing in front of a house.
May you like
A girl with Lena’s eyes.
And Alexander’s exact smile.
