CHAPTER 3 — THE GIRL BEHIND THE WALL
Sophie was sixteen years old.
At least, that was what she believed.
There was no official record of her birth under the name Sophie Lane. No school enrollment, no medical history and no social security number.
On paper, she did not exist.
At the hospital, Marcus questioned her while Evie sat nearby.
Sophie refused to speak unless Evie remained in the room.
“They brought me to the house six months ago,” Sophie said. “Richard said he was helping me find my real family.”
“Where were you living before that?” Marcus asked.
“With a foster family in Indiana.”
“And how did Richard contact you?”
“He sent me a picture of my birth mother.”
Sophie pulled a folded photograph from her pocket.
It showed a young woman holding a newborn outside St. Catherine’s Clinic.
“He said my mother was alive,” Sophie continued. “He promised I could meet her. But when I got here, they locked me downstairs.”
Evie leaned forward.
“Why?”
“Because I recognized Diane.”
“From where?”
Sophie’s breathing quickened.
“From a video.”
She explained that a former nurse from St. Catherine’s had contacted her through an online adoption group. The nurse claimed dozens of babies had been declared dead and secretly transferred to wealthy couples.
Before the nurse could release the evidence publicly, she disappeared.
“What was her name?” Marcus asked.
Sophie looked directly at Evie.
“Laura Bennett.”
Evie knew that name.
Laura had been their housekeeper when Evie was a child.
She had vanished when Evie was eleven. Diane said Laura had stolen jewelry and fled the state.
Sophie opened her hand.
Inside was a tiny memory card.
“She gave me this before she disappeared.”
Marcus took it to the digital forensics lab.
The card contained one video.
The footage was grainy, filmed through a partially open office door inside St. Catherine’s Clinic.
Diane stood beside a hospital administrator. Richard was there too, though he had never officially worked at the clinic.
A frightened young mother sat across from them.
“You said my baby died,” the woman cried.
Diane’s voice was cold.
“The medical report is final.”
“I heard her crying.”
Richard placed an envelope of cash on the desk.
“You’re grieving. Go home.”
The young woman shoved the money away.
“I’m calling the police.”
Richard glanced toward the camera.
Then the recording ended.
Marcus paused the final frame.
A third man stood reflected in the office window.
Evie recognized him immediately.
Dr. Samuel Voss.
The family physician who had treated Evie since childhood.
The same doctor who signed the report claiming she suffered from paranoia.
“He helped them build the lie about me,” Evie said.
Marcus nodded.
“And he may have helped them steal you.”
An officer entered the room.
“Detective, we have a problem.”
Richard and Diane had been transported separately to the county detention center.
Diane arrived.
Richard did not.
The police vehicle carrying him had been struck at an intersection by a black pickup truck. The driver escaped. One officer was injured.
Richard was gone.
Marcus turned to Sophie.
“Did Richard ever mention where he would go if something happened?”
Sophie shook her head, then suddenly stopped.
“There was a phone in the basement. He called someone every night.”
“Did you hear a name?”
“No. But he kept saying the same thing.”
“What?”
Sophie swallowed.
“Prepare Room Seven.”
Evie remembered the old abandoned wing beneath St. Catherine’s Clinic.
Her mother used to call it a storage area.
Marcus was already reaching for his coat when Evie’s phone vibrated.
The message came from an unknown number.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
It showed Diane sitting alone in an interrogation room.
A red laser dot rested in the center of her forehead.
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Beneath the image were six words:
BRING SOPHIE TO ROOM SEVEN. ALONE.
