Chapter 12 - THE WOMAN IN THE FILE
Ethan stood motionless.
The baby’s mother.
Victoria had never said anything strange about the newborn’s birth. She had been present for every appointment, every test, and every hospital visit.
But Sarah’s file contained several pages about the adoption agency.
Detective Ruiz read through them.
“Your wife was investigating a woman named Clara Bell.”
“Who is she?”
“A client who claimed her newborn was taken from her.”
Ethan searched the papers.
Clara’s baby had been born on the same day as his son.
The hospital name was the same.
So was the delivery room.
Ethan felt his chest tighten.
“No. Victoria was the mother.”
“Were you in the delivery room the entire time?”
Ethan hesitated.
Victoria had insisted on a private procedure. Ethan had been in the hallway for almost an hour.
He had heard crying.
He had signed paperwork.
He had never seen the birth certificate until weeks later.
Detective Ruiz found an old hospital photograph in the file.
A nurse had taken it for evidence.
The infant in the photograph wore the same blue bracelet as Ethan’s son.
But the woman beside the baby was not Victoria.
It was Clara Bell.
Ethan stepped back.
“Victoria stole him.”
“Looks that way.”
“Why did she want me to believe he was hers?”
“To make you emotionally attached before she took control of your estate.”
Lily stared at the photograph.
“Is the baby’s real mother looking for him?”
Ruiz’s face softened.
“She has been searching for seven months.”
Ethan remembered Victoria telling him Clara had abandoned the baby.
He had believed her.
A phone rang again.
This time, Detective Ruiz answered.
The caller was Clara Bell.
She had seen the photograph and recognized her son’s bracelet.
She told them Victoria had kidnapped the baby directly from the hospital and threatened to destroy Clara if she went to the police.
“Where is Victoria now?” Ruiz asked.
Clara gave them an address.
A motel near the state line.
Ethan grabbed his coat.
“We’re going.”
Ruiz stopped him.
“We have to move carefully. Victoria may have hostages.”
Ethan looked at Lily.
His daughter had already endured enough.
“I’m bringing her somewhere safe.”
As they left the attic, Ethan noticed a piece of paper beneath the metal box.
It was a map.
One location had been circled in red.
The address was not the motel.
It was Ethan’s own house.
May you like
And written across the top were the words:
The final signature will happen where it started.
