Chapter 3 - The Secret File Hidden Under The Hospital Floor
I thought betrayal had a face.
I thought betrayal looked like Doreen.
Cold eyes.
Perfect smile.
Expensive clothes.
I was wrong.
Betrayal looked like everyone who stayed silent.
The doctors.
The nurses.
The people who watched.
The people who knew something was wrong.
And did nothing.
After Simone confessed, I could barely speak.
“You were paid?”
She nodded.
“Three months ago.”
“By who?”
She looked toward the door.
Then whispered.
“Your husband.”
The room spun.
Nathan.
Again.
Always Nathan.
The man I married.
The man who promised me forever.
The man who stood beside me during our wedding vows.
He had hired someone to destroy my credibility.
“Why?”
Simone looked miserable.
“Because Doreen told him you were becoming dangerous.”
I laughed.
But there was no humor in it.
“Dangerous?”
“She said pregnancy changed you.”
“She said you became suspicious.”
“She said you would eventually hurt yourself or the baby.”
I stared at her.
“That’s insane.”
“I know.”
“Then why help her?”
Simone looked down.
“Because I was desperate.”
“She offered me money.”
“She told me nobody would get hurt.”
I looked at the sleeping baby beside me.
“Someone always gets hurt.”
Simone nodded.
“Yes.”
“Usually the person nobody believes.”
That afternoon, Mae Rowland came into my room.
She closed the door behind her.
“We need to talk.”
Simone stood immediately.
“I should leave.”
Mae looked at her.
“You already know?”
Simone nodded.
Mae sighed.
“Then we have less time than I thought.”
I looked between them.
“What is happening?”
Mae placed a folder on my bed.
My name was written across the front.
LEAH CARVER.
My hands shook.
“What is this?”
“Your medical file.”
“I already have a medical file.”
“No.”
Mae looked serious.
“This is the other one.”
I opened it.
Inside were notes.
Private notes.
Notes that were never written by my doctors.
“She is emotionally unstable.”
“She demonstrates obsessive attachment.”
“She may require psychiatric intervention after delivery.”
My stomach twisted.
“These are lies.”
Mae nodded.
“I know.”
“Who wrote them?”
Mae hesitated.
Then answered.
“Your husband.”
I closed my eyes.
The pain was worse than childbirth.
Because physical pain ends.
But betrayal stays.
Then Mae pulled out one more document.
A signature.
A legal form.
I recognized the name immediately.
Nathan Carver.
The title was simple.
Temporary maternal incapacity request.
I whispered.
“He already signed it.”
Mae nodded.
“He filed it three days before you gave birth.”
The room became silent.
Then my baby started crying.
A small sound.
A helpless sound.
I picked him up.
And something inside me changed.
The fear disappeared.
Only one thing remained.
Determination.
“They are not taking my son.”
Mae looked at me.
“They will try.”
I looked at the door.
“Then they will have to fight me.”
At that moment, the hospital lights suddenly went off.
The room went dark.
A second later, the emergency lights turned on.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
One message.
I opened it.
And my entire body froze.
The message contained only five words.
“Your husband knows you know.”
I looked at Mae.
She had seen my face change.
“What happened?”
I slowly turned the phone toward her.
Mae read the message.
May you like
Then whispered:
“They found us.”
