Chapter 6 - The Secret Doreen Buried For Twenty Years
The photograph was old.
The edges were damaged.
The colors had faded.
But the truth inside it was still clear.
Doreen Carver was holding a newborn baby.
A baby that was not Nathan.
I looked at Mae.
“What am I seeing?”
She flipped the page.
There were hospital records.
Adoption documents.
Medical reports.
Everything hidden.
For twenty years.
Simone leaned closer.
“Who is that child?”
Mae read the file.
Then her expression changed.
“His name was Ethan.”
“Ethan?”
“Doreen’s first child.”
I frowned.
“Nathan was her first child.”
Mae shook her head.
“No.”
“He was the second.”
The room became silent.
I felt a chill.
“Where is Ethan now?”
Mae kept reading.
Then stopped.
“He died.”
My stomach dropped.
“How?”
She looked at the medical report.
“Complications.”
But something was wrong.
I could feel it.
“What?”
Mae looked at me.
“The report was changed.”
“What?”
“Someone edited the original file.”
Simone stepped back.
“Why would someone hide a child’s medical records?”
Nobody answered.
Because we all knew.
There was a secret.
A secret Doreen had spent decades protecting.
Then I saw a note attached to the file.
A handwritten note.
My hands trembled as I picked it up.
The handwriting was unfamiliar.
But the words were clear.
Doreen Carver cannot be trusted with another child.
I stopped breathing.
Another child.
My child.
The baby in my arms.
Mae looked terrified.
“Leah.”
“What?”
“You need to leave.”
I looked at her.
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because this is bigger than custody.”
She closed the file.
“This woman has done this before.”
Before I could answer, the archive room door moved.
Someone was outside.
We froze.
A shadow appeared beneath the door.
Then a voice.
“Nurse Rowland.”
Mae’s face went pale.
It was the hospital administrator.
“Open the door.”
Nobody moved.
The handle turned.
Slowly.
Mae whispered.
“Hide.”
“There is nowhere to hide.”
She looked toward the old storage cabinet.
“Inside.”
I looked at her.
“You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
Simone helped me move.
The cabinet was small.
Barely enough space.
I held my newborn against my chest.
We stayed silent.
The door opened.
The administrator entered.
And another person walked behind him.
Doreen.
My heart stopped.
She looked around the room.
Calm.
Confident.
Like she already knew we were there.
“I know someone has been looking.”
The administrator lowered his voice.
“This is risky.”
Doreen smiled.
“Only if we get caught.”
I held my baby tighter.
Then Doreen spoke the words I would never forget.
“Leah cannot be allowed to leave this hospital with that child.”
My eyes filled with tears.
Because in that moment, I finally understood.
This was never about protecting me.
This was never about my mental health.
This was never about family.
It was about taking my son.
May you like
And Doreen was willing to destroy anyone standing in her way.
Including me.
