Chapter 7: The Stranger Inside the Maternity Ward
For several seconds, nobody moved.
David stood beside me, holding my phone, while James repeatedly tried calling Richard Cole.
Every call went straight to voicemail.
"Who has access to the maternity ward?"" I whispered.
David handed the phone back.
"We're going to find out.""
"Richard said someone was paid to make sure my next appointment never happens.""
"I heard him.""
"What if he meant something worse?""
David crouched in front of me.
"Sarah, listen carefully. You're not going back to that clinic. You're not going anywhere without someone you trust. And nobody is making a medical decision for you.""
I nodded, but my hands were shaking.
James immediately contacted the police investigator handling the financial fraud case. He explained Richard's warning and requested an urgent security assessment.
Within twenty minutes, two officers arrived at David's house.
One was Detective Harris, a woman in her forties with a serious expression and a small notebook.
She listened to the recording of Richard's call.
"Did he identify the person?""
"No," I answered.
"Did he mention a department?""
"He said someone with access to the maternity ward.""
Detective Harris nodded.
"We'll contact the hospital directly. In the meantime, I want you to tell me about your previous appointments.""
I described every visit to Oak Creek Maternity Clinic.
The first had been normal.
The second had involved Dr. Bennett asking unusually detailed questions about my family history.
During the third, Mark had insisted on accompanying me.
He answered several questions before I could speak.
I remembered one particular moment.
Dr. Bennett had asked whether I had ever experienced dizziness.
I said no.
Mark immediately interrupted.
"She gets confused sometimes. Especially when she's stressed.""
The doctor had nodded and made a note.
At the time, I hadn't thought much about it.
Now I understood how easily someone could create a medical record that didn't reflect reality.
Detective Harris wrote everything down.
"Did you ever receive medication you didn't recognize?""
I shook my head.
"Not that I remember.""
"Did anyone ever ask you to sign consent forms without explaining them?""
"Mark brought several documents home. He said they were routine insurance paperwork.""
The detective looked up.
"Do you still have copies?""
"I don't know.""
David answered.
"We'll check the house with the officers. She won't enter it alone.""
Detective Harris nodded.
"Good.""
Then her phone rang.
She listened for several seconds.
Her expression changed.
"Understood. Send the information to my secure email.""
She ended the call.
"What happened?"" David asked.
"We contacted St. Mary's. Their security department reviewed the access logs.""
My stomach tightened.
"Did they find something?""
"Yes. An individual accessed your maternity file yesterday afternoon using Dr. Bennett's credentials.""
"Who?""
Detective Harris looked at her notes.
"His name is Daniel Price. He's a contracted medical records administrator.""
David frowned.
"Was he authorized to access her file?""
"Not according to the hospital's initial review.""
"Where is he now?""
"He's been placed on administrative leave pending investigation.""
I looked at the detective.
"Did he change anything?""
She hesitated.
"An emergency contact number was replaced. A note was added stating that the patient had requested privacy from her immediate family.""
I felt sick.
"That isn't true.""
"We know. The hospital has preserved the original access records.""
David paced across the room.
"Can they trace the device?""
"Possibly. We're working with their technical department.""
Then Detective Harris asked Vanessa to identify Daniel Price.
Vanessa opened her laptop.
After a moment, she found a photograph attached to one of Mark's emails.
She turned the screen around.
I recognized the man immediately.
He had stood beside Mark during one of my prenatal appointments.
I had assumed he was another medical employee.
Vanessa pointed to the message.
"Mark called him Danny.""
Detective Harris leaned closer.
"Was this meeting at the hospital?""
Vanessa nodded.
"Yes. Mark arranged it.""
She opened the email.
Danny, make sure the updated contact information is entered before Sarah's next appointment. She must not be able to reach anyone except the people listed on the revised authorization.
David read it silently.
Then another message appeared below.
Once the records are updated, nobody will question the transfer.
Detective Harris photographed the screen.
"That's important evidence.""
She looked at Vanessa.
"Did you communicate with Daniel directly?""
"Only once.""
"About what?""
Vanessa hesitated.
"He asked me to confirm Sarah's date of delivery.""
My stomach tightened.
"What did you tell him?""
"The scheduled date.""
"Why?""
"Mark told me the hospital needed it for paperwork.""
I closed my eyes.
Everyone had been collecting pieces of my life.
My medical records.
My appointments.
My signatures.
Even the date my daughter was expected to arrive.
And I had trusted the people holding those pieces.
Detective Harris stood.
"We're going to investigate this as a coordinated attempt to interfere with medical care. But I need you to understand something: we don't yet know what the intended outcome was.""
I nodded.
"I understand.""
She turned toward David.
"We also need to discuss your brother's potential exposure.""
David's face hardened.
"What about me?""
"Mark's petition contains allegations that you threatened him and attempted to take control of his wife's assets.""
"Those allegations are false.""
"We know. But there are messages attributed to you.""
David looked at me.
I remembered the note saying he needed to take the blame.
"He's framing my brother," I said.
Detective Harris nodded.
"That's one possibility we're examining.""
After the officers left, James returned with an update.
"Richard has contacted me.""
David immediately stood.
"Where is he?""
"He's willing to meet us, but he wants protection.""
"Then arrange it.""
James hesitated.
"He also says he has something that proves Mark and Victor were working together long before your marriage.""
I looked up.
"What?""
James opened his briefcase and removed a document.
It was a company registration.
The date was nearly four years earlier.
The directors listed were Mark Mercer and Victor Hale.
The company name was Northbridge Consulting.
The same company that had received my inheritance.
David studied the document.
"That's impossible. Northbridge wasn't incorporated until after Mark and Sarah married.""
James pointed to the registration number.
"It was incorporated under a different name first. The company changed its name eighteen months later.""
I felt my stomach turn.
"How much of my inheritance went there?""
James looked at me.
"According to the preliminary bank records, approximately three hundred and eighty thousand dollars.""
My eyes filled.
"Almost everything.""
David placed a hand on my shoulder.
"We'll recover it.""
But before anyone could say another word, my phone vibrated.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph.
I recognized the room immediately.
It was my old bedroom in the house I had shared with Mark.
The photograph showed my wardrobe, my dresser, and the small framed ultrasound picture beside the bed.
Someone had written a note on the photograph:
Your daughter belongs where she was planned to be.
A second message appeared.
Stop asking questions, Sarah. The next appointment is already arranged.
David took the phone.
His eyes moved across the screen.
Then he looked at Detective Harris's business card.
"Whoever sent this knows where we live.""
He called the police again.
But the next discovery was even worse.
The photograph had been taken less than five minutes earlier.
And in the reflection of the bedroom mirror, a man was visible.
He was holding a hospital identification badge.
Daniel Price.
The man who had accessed my medical records.
The man who had supposedly been suspended.
He wasn't hiding anymore.
May you like
He was sending us a warning.
And he knew exactly where to find me.
