Chapter 8: The Hospital Room Was Empty
Claire didn't remember leaving the police station.
One moment, she was holding Lily beneath the reception desk.
The next, she was running through the hospital entrance with Detective Brooks.
“Where is he?”” she demanded.
A nurse hurried toward them.
“Mrs. Harper, please calm down.””
“Where is my husband?””
The nurse pointed toward the intensive care unit.
“His room is empty.””
Claire ran.
Nathan's bed was stripped.
The oxygen equipment had been disconnected. One monitor lay on the floor, and the IV line had been pulled from his arm.
A small pool of blood stained the white sheet.
Claire felt her legs weaken.
“No.””
Brooks examined the room.
“Who was on duty?””
A nurse named Collins stepped forward.
“I was checking another patient. When I returned, Mr. Harper was gone.””
“Did anyone enter the room?””
“I saw a man wearing hospital scrubs.””
“Did you recognize him?””
She shook her head.
“He had a mask on.””
Claire gripped the bedrail.
“Was Nathan able to walk?””
“Not without assistance.””
“Then someone took him.””
Brooks examined the disconnected monitor.
“Get security footage from every entrance. Immediately.””
The nurse hurried away.
Lily stood in the doorway, holding Emily's hand.
“Is Daddy gone?””
Claire turned.
She hadn't realized Lily had followed them.
“Daddy?””
Lily looked at her.
“I heard Mommy say he was your husband.””
Claire knelt.
“Yes. He's my husband.””
Lily looked down.
“Is he going to die?””
Claire swallowed.
“No. We're going to find him.””
But even as she said it, she noticed the blood on the sheet.
And the empty oxygen mask.
She was terrified.
A few minutes later, Detective Brooks received a call.
He listened silently.
Then his expression hardened.
“What do you mean the footage was deleted?””
He turned toward Claire.
“Someone accessed the hospital's security system from inside the building.””
“Who?””
“We're checking the login.””
His phone rang again.
This time, he answered immediately.
“Brooks.””
A voice spoke on the other end.
He listened.
Then he looked at Claire.
“We found the vehicle.””
“Where?””
“Three blocks from the hospital.””
“Was Nathan inside?””
“No.””
Brooks paused.
“Your husband left the hospital voluntarily.””
Claire stared at him.
“What?””
“The footage shows him walking out through the rear entrance with another person.””
“That's impossible. He could barely stand.””
Brooks showed her the screen.
The recording was blurry, but the man's face was visible.
Nathan.
He was wearing a dark coat over his hospital clothes.
Beside him was a woman with short blond hair.
Claire recognized her immediately.
“Dr. Collins?””
The nurse standing behind them gasped.
“That's not me.””
Brooks looked at her.
“Then who is it?””
The nurse leaned closer.
“That's Dr. Vanessa Cole. She was covering the night shift yesterday.””
Claire frowned.
“Why would a doctor take my husband?””
Brooks didn't answer.
His phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
It was from an unknown number.
A photograph showed Nathan sitting in the back of a car.
His face was pale, and his hands were tied.
Beneath the photograph was a message.
If you want your husband alive, bring the original trust to the old Harper estate. Come alone.
Claire stared.
“It's Robert.””
Brooks nodded.
“Most likely.””
Emily stepped forward.
“They don't want the trust.””
Brooks turned.
“What makes you say that?””
“Robert already knows where it is. He took the copy from the station.””
“Then what does he want?””
Emily looked at Claire.
“He wants the original document because it contains something Margaret never told Nathan.””
“What?””
Emily hesitated.
“Your father changed the inheritance agreement shortly before he died. The company shares are only part of it.””
Claire looked at Lily.
“What else is there?””
Emily swallowed.
“The entire Harper estate. The land, the buildings, and the private investment portfolio. Everything was placed under your name.””
Claire stared.
“How much is that worth?””
“More than forty million dollars.””
Brooks shook his head.
“That explains the motive. But it doesn't explain why they need Claire.””
Emily looked at Lily.
“Because the original agreement requires two witnesses to activate the final clause.””
Claire frowned.
“Who?””
“You and Lily.””
Claire's stomach tightened.
“She's eleven.””
“Exactly. The document includes a provision protecting the inheritance until both daughters reach legal adulthood. But Robert believes he can force you to sign a transfer agreement before that clause becomes active.””
Brooks shook his head.
“He can't legally do that.””
“He doesn't care about legality,” Emily replied.
Claire looked at Nathan's photograph again.
She could barely breathe.
“I'm going.””
Brooks immediately shook his head.
“No.””
“He has my husband.””
“Which is exactly why you don't go alone.””
“He specifically asked for me.””
“Then we'll use that.””
Claire looked at him.
“What do you mean?””
Brooks lowered his voice.
“We'll arrange surveillance, establish a safe perimeter, and make sure you aren't exposed.””
Claire nodded.
But as they prepared to leave, Lily tugged at her sleeve.
“Claire?””
“Yes, sweetheart?””
“Can I tell you something?””
Claire crouched.
Lily glanced toward Emily.
Then she whispered.
“Uncle Robert told me something before he brought me here.””
“What?””
“He said my mother wasn't the only person he had hidden.””
Claire's heart pounded.
“Who else?””
Lily reached into her backpack.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
It contained a list of names.
At the top was Elizabeth Carter.
Below it was another name.
Nathan Harper.
And beneath Nathan's name was a third.
*Thomas Bell.*
Claire stared.
“The funeral director?””
Lily nodded.
“Uncle Robert said he was helping them.””
Claire remembered Thomas's pale face at the funeral.
His warning.
His insistence that she shouldn't trust Margaret.
Had it all been an act?
Brooks took the paper.
“Where did you get this?””
“Mommy gave it to me.””
“When?””
“Before she disappeared.””
Claire looked at Lily.
“Did your mother say anything else?””
Lily nodded.
“She said Mr. Bell was the only person who knew where the original death certificate was.””
Brooks looked up sharply.
“What original death certificate?””
Lily pointed to the list.
“The one that says my daddy died.””
Claire felt a chill.
Nathan hadn't simply been declared dead.
Someone had created an entire false medical record.
And Thomas Bell might have helped make it possible.
Brooks immediately called his officers.
“Find Thomas Bell. I want him brought in for questioning.””
A second later, his phone rang.
He answered.
“What?””
His expression changed.
“Where?””
He looked at Claire.
“Thomas Bell is at the Harper estate.””
Claire's blood ran cold.
“Why?””
Brooks listened.
Then he slowly lowered the phone.
“Because Margaret Harper has been released from custody.””
Claire stared.
“That can't be possible.””
“She was transferred to a hospital after her injury. Someone signed her out.””
“Who?””
Brooks looked at the screen.
“Thomas Bell.””
Outside, the rain began falling harder.
Claire looked at Nathan's photograph.
Then at Lily.
She finally understood.
This wasn't simply a fight over money.
May you like
It was a carefully planned operation involving people who had been manipulating her family for decades.
And the person who had helped bury her husband was now helping the woman who wanted to finish the job.
