Chapter 3 - LUKE’S SECOND LIFE
Detective Bennett didn’t want me seeing the photograph.
I insisted.
The picture had been taken through my hospital room window from the hallway.
I was holding June.
Eli was asleep on the couch.
Luke stood behind me.
Someone had circled June’s face.
My stomach twisted.
“What does ‘She knows nothing’ mean?”
“We’re working on that.”
“Was Rebecca planning to take June?”
“We don’t know.”
“That’s not good enough.”
Bennett didn’t argue.
“You’re right.”
She sat beside the bed.
“But I’d rather tell you what we know than invent answers.”
I respected her for that.
She opened a folder.
“Rebecca Vale was terminated after an internal investigation involving unauthorized access to infant records.”
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
“Why wasn’t she arrested?”
“The hospital believed she had accessed records improperly but found no evidence that any infant was harmed or removed.”
Dr. Hale looked ashamed.
“We reported the breach.”
Bennett continued.
“Rebecca disappeared afterward.”
“And Luke knew her.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“We found seventy-three calls between them.”
I felt physically sick.
“Seventy-three?”
“In six weeks.”
Eli was with a counselor in another room.
I was grateful he didn’t hear that.
“Were they having an affair?”
“We don’t know.”
I laughed once.
It sounded broken.
“My husband switches my newborn with another baby and secretly calls a fired maternity nurse seventy-three times.”
I looked at Bennett.
“I think we can stop protecting my feelings.”
She nodded.
“We also found bank transfers.”
My pulse jumped.
“How much?”
“Forty-eight thousand dollars.”
“To Rebecca?”
“Yes.”
I stared at June.
She slept peacefully against my chest.
Forty-eight thousand dollars.
Luke had told me we couldn’t afford to replace our leaking roof.
He had complained when Eli needed braces.
He had made me feel guilty for ordering a new crib instead of buying one secondhand.
And he had secretly transferred forty-eight thousand dollars to another woman.
“Why?”
“That’s what we’re trying to establish.”
A knock interrupted us.
One of Bennett’s officers entered.
He whispered something to her.
She looked at me.
“Luke wants to talk.”
I didn’t want to see him.
Then I realized I needed to.
They brought him into the room without handcuffs, but an officer remained outside.
Luke looked exhausted.
“Claire.”
“Sit.”
He sat.
“Tell me everything.”
“I can explain.”
“Start with Rebecca.”
Luke rubbed his hands together.
“I met her months ago.”
“How?”
“Online.”
“For what?”
He looked away.
“Luke.”
“I needed money.”
I almost laughed.
“You gave her forty-eight thousand dollars.”
“That came later.”
“What came first?”
He swallowed.
“A business arrangement.”
“What business?”
He couldn’t say it.
So I did.
“Babies?”
His silence answered me.
My stomach turned.
“What were you selling?”
“Nothing.”
“Then what?”
“Information.”
“What information?”
“Families.”
I stared at him.
He began talking faster.
“Rebecca knew people who wanted private adoption arrangements.”
“Stop calling it adoption.”
Luke flinched.
“You don’t secretly switch identification bands in a hospital during an adoption.”
“I never agreed to hurt anyone.”
“YOU TOOK JUNE.”
The monitor beside me began beeping faster.
Luke lowered his voice.
“Rebecca changed the deal.”
“What was the deal?”
He looked toward the door.
“She wanted access.”
“To what?”
“My company’s client database.”
Luke worked in insurance.
He handled policies for wealthy families.
Suddenly everything connected in the ugliest possible way.
“You gave her information about pregnant clients.”
Luke said nothing.
I felt disgust rise through me.
“How many?”
“Claire—”
“How many families?”
“Six.”
My mouth went dry.
Bennett had been listening from the doorway.
She stepped inside.
“Names.”
Luke looked at her.
“I want immunity.”
She almost smiled.
“You’re in no position to negotiate immunity.”
“I can give you Rebecca.”
“Then start talking.”
Luke’s shoulders collapsed.
“She wasn’t working alone.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know his real name.”
Bennett’s eyes sharpened.
“What did Rebecca call him?”
Luke hesitated.
“Doctor.”
Dr. Hale went completely still.
Bennett noticed.
“You recognize that?”
Dr. Hale looked toward June.
Then toward me.
“There was another unauthorized access incident last year.”
My heart sank.
“You said Rebecca was the first.”
“No.”
Dr. Hale’s voice was barely audible.
“The first involved a physician.”
“What physician?”
Before she could answer, the hospital intercom sounded.
“Dr. Hale to neonatal security immediately.”
Then came a second announcement.
This one was different.
“Code Pink.”
Camille stood instantly.
I had learned enough hospital language during pregnancy to know what that meant.
May you like
Infant abduction.
Someone was trying to take another baby.
