Chapter 11: Two Mothers, One Secret
Sarah stood perfectly still.
The woman who had once helped us bring our newborn son home was now telling us she had adopted another baby from the same hospital.
A baby who might have been connected to our family.
“Where is Ethan?”” I asked.
Patricia looked at Ramirez.
“Safe.””
“Where?””
“At my sister's house.””
“Why isn't he with you?””
“Because Michael knows about him.””
I stepped closer.
“Why would Michael care about a baby you adopted?””
Patricia wiped her cheeks.
“Because Ethan wasn't the only child involved in the exchange.””
Ramirez pulled out her notebook.
“Start from the beginning.””
Patricia sat beside the window.
She took several breaths.
“Fourteen months ago, I was working night shifts at St. Catherine's Medical Center. Your son was born there. So was another baby boy.””
Sarah gripped the edge of the bed.
“Were they born on the same night?””
“Yes. Within twenty-three minutes of each other.””
I looked at Sarah.
She remembered that night perfectly.
The long labor.
The rain against the windows.
The doctor telling us we had a healthy baby boy.
Patricia continued.
“Your mother-in-law, Linda, had a close relationship with one of the hospital administrators. She had been making donations for years. She knew which staff members were vulnerable.””
Sarah shook her head.
“My mother worked in a school library. She didn't have that kind of influence.””
“She didn't need to. Michael arranged the financial side.””
Patricia opened her handbag and removed several photocopied documents.
“The other baby was born to a young woman named Rebecca Holloway. She was unmarried and had very little family support. Michael convinced her that her son had died during delivery.””
Sarah covered her mouth.
“What?””
Patricia nodded.
“She was sedated after complications. By the time she woke up, the hospital had given her a death certificate.””
I felt sick.
“Was the baby actually alive?””
“Yes.””
“Where was he?””
“In the nursery. His identity had been altered.””
Ramirez examined the documents.
“Who authorized the changes?””
Patricia hesitated.
“Dr. Warren and a hospital administrator named Thomas Bell.””
Sarah looked at her.
“And my mother?””
“She came to the hospital the following morning. She told me the baby had been abandoned and that she had arranged a private adoption.””
“Why would she do that?””
Patricia looked down.
“Because Rebecca's baby was connected to the Carter family.””
I frowned.
“What connection?””
Patricia pulled out another document.
A birth record.
The father's name had been left blank.
But there was a handwritten notation beside the mother's name.
*Rebecca Holloway — maternal granddaughter of Margaret Carter.*
I stared.
Margaret Carter was my father's mother.
My grandmother.
She had died when I was twelve.
“Rebecca was our cousin?””
Patricia nodded.
“Your father's niece.””
Sarah sank onto the chair.
“So the other baby was related to us.””
“Yes.””
“Then why did they give him a false identity?””
Patricia looked at Leo.
“Because someone wanted to control the inheritance.””
I felt my jaw tighten.
“What inheritance?””
“Your father had established a private trust for children born into his extended family. The trust was supposed to protect them if their parents couldn't.””
Ramirez turned a page.
“Was this connected to the Red Mesa account?””
“Yes.””
Patricia explained that the trust had originally been created to support Caleb and Noah.
But after my father discovered that money was being diverted, he began investigating the accounts.
He had also learned about Rebecca's pregnancy.
He suspected the family was hiding another child.
Then he died.
And the people managing the trust had gained access to everything.
“Why would switching babies help them?”” I asked.
Patricia looked directly at me.
“Because the trust required biological verification before releasing certain funds. By altering the records, they could make it appear that the wrong child had been born into the family.””
Sarah shook her head.
“That's monstrous.””
Patricia nodded.
“I tried to stop it. I confronted Dr. Warren.
He threatened to report me for stealing medication. I had taken a few doses of painkillers after a workplace injury, and he knew I had made a mistake.””
“Did you steal the baby?”” Ramirez asked.
Patricia shook her head.
“No. I adopted the baby through an emergency placement after Rebecca was declared medically unable to care for him. I thought I was saving him.””
“Did Rebecca know?””
Patricia lowered her eyes.
“Not at first.””
I stood.
“Then why did you disappear?””
“Because Michael came to my apartment. He told me he knew where Ethan was. He said if I contacted the police, the child would disappear.””
I stared at her.
“And you believed him?””
She nodded.
“I had already seen what happened to Caleb.””
Sarah's voice trembled.
“Where is Rebecca now?””
Patricia looked at her.
“I don't know.””
Then she took out her phone.
There was a photograph of a woman sitting in a hospital bed.
She looked exhausted.
A small child stood beside her.
Sarah leaned closer.
“Who is that?””
“Rebecca.””
I studied the photograph.
The little boy beside her was perhaps four years old.
A dark-haired child with a distinctive red birthmark on his left shoulder.
Leo's description.
I looked at Patricia.
“That's not Ethan.””
“No.””
“Then who is he?””
Patricia swallowed.
“His name is Oliver.””
I felt another wave of confusion.
“Where does he fit into this?””
She looked toward Leo.
“He's the child Michael was looking for.””
Ramirez leaned forward.
“Why?””
Patricia took a shaky breath.
“Because Oliver is the only person who witnessed what happened to Rebecca after she discovered the adoption records.””
Sarah stared at her.
“What happened to Rebecca?””
Patricia's eyes filled.
“She was taken from her home.””
The room went silent.
“By whom?”” I asked.
Patricia didn't answer.
Instead, she looked at the hospital door.
Then she whispered:
“By the same person who came to see Leo yesterday.””
I turned toward the hallway.
Nobody was there.
“Who?””
Patricia's voice dropped.
“Linda.””
Sarah grabbed the phone.
“My mother is dead.””
Patricia shook her head.
“No, Sarah.””
She looked terrified.
“Your mother is alive.””
Sarah stared at her.
“That's impossible. I attended her funeral.””
Patricia nodded.
“I know. I was there.””
“Then what are you saying?””
Patricia leaned forward.
“The woman buried under your mother's name wasn't your mother.””
Before anyone could speak, a nurse rushed into the room.
“Officer Ramirez?””
Ramirez stood.
“What happened?””
“We just received a call from the emergency entrance.””
“Who called?””
The nurse swallowed.
“A woman claiming to be Sarah's mother.””
Sarah's face drained of color.
The nurse continued.
“She said she has something important to tell her daughter.””
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Then she added:
“She also said the child in this room is in danger.””
