Chapter 5: The Night My Mother Died
David didn't speak.
For several seconds, he simply stared at the phone as though Martin had announced that Eleanor herself had returned from the dead.
Jasmine gripped the desk.
“Martin, are you certain?””
“The hospital record lists Jessica's full name. It identifies her as the adult responsible for collecting the infant.””
“Collecting?”” Jasmine repeated.
“Like she picked up a parcel?””
“I understand how it sounds,” Martin replied.
“But the record is incomplete. We don't yet know whether Jessica was legally authorized to take the child, whether the record refers to Charlotte, or why the discharge occurred.””
David finally found his voice.
“Did Eleanor authorize it?””
“I don't know.””
“Was Jessica acting as a guardian?””
“The record doesn't say.””
David's face hardened.
“Find out.””
“I will. I've also contacted a specialist solicitor who handles disputed adoption records. We need to establish whether a lawful adoption ever took place.””
Jasmine looked at her father.
“Dad, Jessica took Charlotte from the hospital on the day Mum died.””
“We don't know that she took her unlawfully,” he said, but the words sounded forced even to him.
“She told you Charlotte was dead.””
“Yes.””
“And there was no death registration.””
David closed his eyes.
“I know.””
Jasmine's voice trembled.
“What if Mum found out? What if she knew Jessica had Charlotte and couldn't get her back?””
The question struck him hard.
David sank into the desk chair.
For eleven years, he had carried the memory of Eleanor's last night like a sealed room inside his mind. He remembered the hospital's antiseptic smell, the fluorescent lights, and the nurse who had told him to sit down before delivering the news.
He remembered Jessica holding him in the corridor.
He remembered crying into her shoulder.
But he also remembered something else.
A nurse had approached him shortly before he left Eleanor's room that evening. She had asked whether he had authorized the release of a baby from the maternity ward.
At the time, he had been too exhausted to understand what she meant.
He had told her Eleanor's baby had died years before.
The nurse had looked confused.
Then Jessica had appeared beside him and said there must have been a mistake.
The nurse had apologized and walked away.
David had forgotten the encounter until now.
“Jasmine,” he said slowly, “there was something strange at the hospital that night.””
She moved closer.
“What?””
“A nurse asked me about a baby. She said someone had been released into the care of a woman whose paperwork was incomplete.””
Jasmine stared at him.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because Jessica said the nurse had confused two patients. Eleanor was in a different ward, and the hospital was busy. I thought it was an administrative error.””
“Did the nurse say the woman's name?””
David shook his head.
“No. I didn't ask. I was on my way to see your mother.””
Jasmine pressed a hand against her mouth.
“And Jessica was with you?””
“Yes.””
“Then she heard the conversation.””
David nodded.
The silence that followed felt unbearable.
Jasmine walked to the window and stared at the garden.
“Dad, I want to go to the hospital.””
“Why?””
“Because I want to know what happened that night. I want to see the original records. I want to find out whether Charlotte was really there.””
David rose.
“Then we'll go together.””
They left within the hour.
St. Catherine's Hospital had been renovated twice since Eleanor's death, but the older wing remained largely unchanged. The corridors still smelled of disinfectant and floor polish. A row of plastic chairs stood beneath a wall-mounted television, where a daytime program played to an empty waiting room.
At the records office, a woman named Helen Price introduced herself as the archive manager.
She was in her fifties, with silver-framed glasses and a patient expression that changed when David explained why they had come.
“Mrs. Mitchell's case is very old,” Helen said.
“Some of the records are still on paper, and access is restricted because they involve a child.””
“Charlotte was my wife's daughter,” David replied.
“Do you have proof of your relationship to the child?””
David showed her the photograph, the certificate, and the copy of Eleanor's diary entry.
Helen examined them carefully.
“I can review the archived discharge register, but I cannot disclose protected adoption information without the appropriate authorization.””
Jasmine leaned forward.
“We're not asking you to break the law. We're asking you to confirm whether a child named Charlotte was discharged on October 14.””
Helen studied her face.
“Are you her sister?””
“Yes.””
Helen's expression softened.
“Wait here.””
She disappeared through a secured door.
David paced the small office.
Jasmine watched the second hand on the wall clock move around its face.
After twenty minutes, Helen returned carrying a thick file.
“I found a record matching the date,” she said.
“But I need to be careful about what I share.””
She opened the file on the desk.
The page was yellowed around the edges. Several handwritten entries had faded, but the names remained legible.
David bent over it.
Jasmine read the first line.
*Infant: Charlotte Eleanor Mitchell.*
Beneath it was a date of birth matching the one on the photograph.
The discharge date was October 14.
The authorized recipient was listed as Jessica Mitchell.
And beside the signature was a note:
*Release approved following written consent from attending physician. Guardian documentation to follow.*
Jasmine looked up.
“What does that mean?””
Helen pointed to the next line.
“The file indicates that the required guardian documentation was never added.””
David's face darkened.
“Then why was the baby released?””
“That's what we need to investigate.””
“Who approved it?””
Helen turned the page.
A physician's name had been entered in the register.
Dr. Peter Lang.
David recognized it.
“He treated Eleanor.””
Helen nodded.
“He was the attending physician on the ward that day.””
“Is he still alive?””
“I believe he retired several years ago. We can try to locate him, but we cannot guarantee that he will be willing or able to discuss the case.””
Jasmine looked at the signature again.
“Did my mother know Jessica was taking Charlotte?””
Helen hesitated.
“The register doesn't establish that. But there is a note attached to the discharge entry.””
She turned another page.
The note was short, written in hurried handwriting.
Mother requested that the infant remain in hospital care pending verification of family arrangements.
Jasmine felt her knees weaken.
“Mother,” she whispered.
“That means Eleanor.””
Helen nodded.
David gripped the desk.
“Then Jessica took the baby against my wife's wishes.””
“We cannot conclude that from one incomplete note,” Helen said gently.
“But it raises serious questions.””
Jasmine stared at the paper.
Her mother had asked for Charlotte to remain in the hospital.
Someone had released her anyway.
And the woman who collected her had later married Jasmine's father.
“Was there another record?”” David asked.
Helen flipped through the file.
“There's a reference to a sealed envelope sent to the hospital administrator three days after the discharge. It was logged as a complaint concerning the release.””
“Who made the complaint?””
Helen checked the index.
“Eleanor Mitchell.””
Jasmine's breath caught.
“My mother filed a complaint?””
“Yes.””
“Do you have it?””
Helen shook her head.
“The envelope was transferred to the hospital's legal archive when the department was reorganized. I can't access that collection without formal authorization.””
David placed both hands on the desk.
“Then tell us how to request it.””
Helen wrote down the relevant department and procedure.
As they prepared to leave, she hesitated.
“There is one more thing.””
Jasmine turned.
“What?””
Helen lowered her voice.
“The discharge record was reviewed internally a year after the incident. Someone requested that the original entry be amended.””
David stared at her.
“Amended how?””
“The recipient's name was not changed. But the note about missing guardian documentation was crossed out, and the file was marked as resolved.””
“Who ordered the amendment?””
Helen examined the margin.
“There is an authorization number, but no name. The approval was processed through hospital administration.””
Jasmine felt a sickening certainty settle over her.
Someone had known that the paperwork was incomplete.
Someone had gone back and changed the record.
And someone had wanted the entire matter to disappear.
Outside, the sky had darkened.
David stood beside the car, looking down at the hospital records Helen had been permitted to copy.
“I should have questioned Jessica that night,” he said.
Jasmine slipped her arm through his.
“You didn't know.””
“I was her husband. I should have known.””
“You were grieving. Mum was dying. Jessica took advantage of that.””
David shook his head.
“I let her tell me what happened. I let her tell me who was dead and who was alive.””
He looked at his daughter.
“And now I'm wondering how much of my life with her was built on a lie.””
Jasmine had no answer.
Her phone rang.
An unknown number.
She answered cautiously.
“Hello?””
A woman's voice came through the speaker.
“Is this Jasmine Mitchell?””
“Yes. Who is this?””
“My name is Rachel Bennett. I used to work at St. Catherine's Hospital. I heard you were asking about a baby discharged eleven years ago.””
Jasmine stopped breathing.
“How did you hear that?””
“Someone at the hospital told me you were looking for the original records. I wasn't supposed to keep a copy of what I found, but I couldn't bring myself to destroy it.””
David moved closer.
Jasmine put the call on speaker.
“What did you find?”” she asked.
“A note written by your mother. It was attached to the complaint she filed after the baby was released.””
“What did it say?””
Rachel hesitated.
Then her voice broke.
“It said Jessica had threatened to take Charlotte out of the country unless Eleanor agreed to sign something.””
David's face went white.
“Sign what?”” he demanded.
Rachel continued.
“I don't know. But there's a name at the bottom of the note. Someone your family may want to speak to.””
Jasmine gripped the phone.
“Who?””
“Dr. Peter Lang.””
David closed his eyes.
“Where can we find him?””
“I have an address. But before I give it to you, there's something else you should know.””
Jasmine's heart hammered.
“What?””
“Dr. Lang didn't approve the discharge alone. Another signature appears on the original order.””
“Whose?””
Rachel took a shaky breath.
“David Mitchell.””
The world seemed to stop.
David snatched the phone.
“That's impossible. I never signed anything.””
“I believe you,” Rachel said quickly.
“But the signature is there. And according to the note, your wife claimed you had personally authorized Jessica to take the baby.””
David's voice became hoarse.
“Send me the address.””
“I will. But please, be careful. Someone called the hospital archive this morning asking whether you had found the records.””
The call ended.
Jasmine slowly turned toward her father.
He looked as though he might collapse.
“Dad?””
He shook his head.
“I never signed that order.””
“I believe you.””
“But if my signature is on it, someone must have copied it.””
Jasmine thought of the property transfer.
The forged authorization.
The stolen trust money.
The hospital record that had been altered a year after Charlotte disappeared.
The same method. The same careful attention to detail.
Someone had spent eleven years making sure that every official record told a different story from the truth.
Then David's phone buzzed.
A message from Martin.
*The lender has provided the initial mortgage file. There is a second guarantor listed alongside the estate.*
David opened the attachment.
Jasmine leaned over his shoulder.
The document contained two names.
David Mitchell.
And Charlotte Eleanor Mitchell.
Beneath Charlotte's name was a signature dated three weeks earlier.
A signature belonging to a woman who, according to the certificate David had kept for eleven years, had died as an infant.
Jasmine stared at it.
“She's alive.””
David looked at the signature, his hands trembling.
May you like
“Yes,” he whispered.
“And someone has been using her name.””
