Chapter 7: The Baby Who Was Never Supposed to Be There
I read Luke's message until the words stopped looking like words.
June is my daughter—but if you find out whose baby is in that bassinet, you'll understand why I had to switch them.
My husband had finally admitted what Ethan had been saying from the beginning.
The babies had been switched.
But instead of explaining where June was, Luke had given me another warning.
I looked at Detective Cole.
“He says June is his daughter.””
“That may be true,” she replied.
“But we need to verify everything he tells us.””
“He says he switched them.””
“Yes.””
“Then why is he still hiding?””
Detective Cole held out her hand for my phone.
“May I see the full message?””
I passed it to her.
She photographed the screen, recorded the time, and handed the phone back.
“Has he contacted you like this before?””
“No. Not about anything like this.””
“Would he have a reason to believe someone might be monitoring his communications?””
I thought about the unknown number that had sent him the message about the baby no longer being where he'd left her.
“I don't know.””
Detective Cole nodded toward the hallway.
“I need to speak with the security team. Please don't delete anything or respond to him without discussing it with me.””
She stepped outside to make a call.
I sat frozen against my pillows, staring at the infant in the bassinet.
She was so small.
Her cheeks were full and soft, her eyelids resting peacefully beneath the hospital light. One tiny hand had escaped the edge of her blanket, and her fingers opened and closed as she slept.
She looked like June.
At least, she looked like the baby I had expected to meet that morning.
But Ethan had seen something different.
Denise had recognized the pink blanket.
The identification band had been tampered with.
And now Luke was telling me that the baby beside my bed belonged to another family.
I turned toward Camille.
“Can you tell me whether the baby is healthy?””
Camille checked the newborn's chart.
“She's stable, and her immediate observations have been reassuring. The pediatric team will continue monitoring her while the identification issue is investigated.””
“Does she need anything?””
“She's being cared for.””
I swallowed hard.
“Then please make sure she knows she's safe.””
Camille looked at me for a moment.
“I will.””
I didn't know what else to say.
I was terrified for my own daughter, but I couldn't make myself hate the little girl in the bassinet. She hadn't chosen any of this. Neither had June.
They were both newborns, unable to understand why strangers were searching for them or why their mothers were crying.
Ethan tugged gently at my sleeve.
“Mom?””
I turned toward him.
“Do you think Dad is telling the truth now?””
I looked at his frightened face.
“I think he's finally telling us part of the truth.””
“Why only part?””
“Because I don't think he wants us to know everything.””
Ethan stared at the bassinet.
“Is that baby somebody else's sister?””
My throat tightened.
“Maybe.””
“Then she should go home too.””
I pulled him against me.
“Yes, baby. She should.””
A few minutes later, Detective Cole returned with a second officer.
“We've received an update from the search team,” she said.
“A staff member has confirmed seeing a man carrying a newborn carrier through the service corridor shortly before ten this morning.””
My heart leaped.
“Was it Luke?””
“The witness couldn't identify him with certainty. The man was wearing a surgical mask and a hospital jacket.””
“Where did he go?””
“The corridor leads toward the loading area, but we haven't confirmed that anyone exited the building carrying a baby.””
I clutched the bedrail.
“Could June have been taken outside?””
“It's possible. The hospital has secured the relevant exits, and officers are reviewing the available footage.””
“Then why are you standing here?””
Detective Cole didn't react to my anger.
“Because we've also found evidence that may explain why the records were altered.””
She placed a printed page on the table beside my bed.
It contained a series of electronic entries, each marked with a time and a staff identification code.
“The original identification number assigned to the infant in your room was entered at 8:42 a.m. At 9:03, that number was replaced. Eleven minutes later, the amended record was approved using Dr. Reed's credentials.””
I looked at the page.
“Who changed it?””
“We're tracing the account activity.””
“Could it have been Luke?””
“He wouldn't ordinarily have access to the hospital's medical record system. But someone may have entered the change on his behalf.””
“Dr. Reed?””
“That's one possibility.””
I thought about Tasha's account of Luke arguing with the doctor.
You promised she'd never find out.
“What did they mean by that?”” I whispered.
Detective Cole pulled another chair closer.
“That's what we're trying to establish.””
My phone vibrated again.
Everyone looked at it.
Another message from Luke.
*Ask Denise what happened three years ago.*
I read it aloud.
Denise's face changed.
The tissue in her hand slipped to the floor.
“No,” she whispered.
I turned toward her.
“Denise?””
She shook her head.
“No. He doesn't get to do this.””
Detective Cole stood.
“Denise, do you know what he's referring to?””
Denise looked at the detective, then at me.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Three years ago, I had a little boy.””
The room fell silent.
“What happened?”” I asked.
Denise pressed both hands against her mouth before forcing herself to continue.
“His name was Caleb. He was born prematurely. He spent several weeks in the neonatal unit, and then he developed an infection.””
She paused, struggling to breathe.
“The doctors tried everything. He died when he was six weeks old.””
I felt my anger soften into something else.
“I'm so sorry.””
Denise nodded, but she wasn't looking at me anymore.
“After Caleb died, I couldn't go near the hospital. I couldn't hear a baby cry without thinking about him. When I found out I was pregnant again, I was terrified.””
Her hands trembled.
“My husband left me during the pregnancy. He said he couldn't go through losing another child. I told him I wasn't going to spend nine months preparing to lose someone who hadn't even arrived yet.””
She wiped her face.
“I had Amara without him. I thought I was finally getting another chance.””
Detective Cole spoke gently.
“Did you know Luke Carter before today?””
Denise shook her head.
“Never.””
“Did you know Dr. Reed?””
“No.””
“Did anyone contact you before the birth about your pregnancy or your medical history?””
Denise hesitated.
“Yes.””
I leaned forward.
“Who?””
“A woman from the hospital's patient support department. She called me about two weeks ago. She said someone had requested additional information about my previous delivery because of a possible medical-record review.””
Detective Cole's expression sharpened.
“Did she tell you who made the request?””
“No. She said it was routine.””
“Did you authorize the release of your previous records?””
“I signed a general hospital consent form when I was admitted. I didn't agree to let strangers examine my old records.””
Detective Cole wrote something down.
“Do you remember the woman's name?””
Denise closed her eyes, trying to recall it.
“Angela. Angela something.””
I stared at the message on my phone.
Ask Denise what happened three years ago.
Luke knew about Caleb.
How?
Had he researched Denise before the birth?
Had he known she was vulnerable because of what happened to her first child?
Or had something about Caleb's death connected Denise to our family long before today?
“Denise,” I asked carefully, “did Caleb's father have any connection to my husband?””
She shook her head.
“I don't think so.””
“Did he ever mention Luke?””
“No.””
Her answer was immediate, but something in her expression made me pause.
Detective Cole noticed too.
“Is there something you're uncertain about?””
Denise stared at her hands.
“Caleb's father worked for a private medical transport company. He drove patients between hospitals. After Caleb died, I found some paperwork in his apartment that didn't make sense.””
“What kind of paperwork?””
“Documents about medical transfers. Names, dates, hospital codes. I thought it was related to his work, so I put everything in a box and never looked at it again.””
“Do you still have the documents?””
Denise nodded slowly.
“They're at my apartment.””
“Could they relate to this hospital?””
“I don't know.””
Detective Cole exchanged a glance with the officer.
“We'll arrange for someone to speak with you about those documents. Don't alter them or throw anything away.””
Denise looked at me.
“Do you think my baby is missing because of Caleb?””
“I don't know,” I answered honestly.
But the possibility was suddenly impossible to ignore.
A dead infant.
A medical transport company.
Altered hospital records.
And a man who had switched two newborns while claiming he was trying to protect his own family.
Detective Cole's phone rang.
She listened for several seconds, then asked the caller to repeat the information.
Her expression changed.
“Where was it found?””
Another pause.
“Secure the area. Don't move anything until the forensic team arrives.””
She ended the call.
“What happened?”” I asked.
“The search team found a hospital identification band in a service stairwell near the basement.””
My heart began pounding.
“Whose band?””
“They're checking the serial number.””
I grabbed Detective Cole's sleeve.
“Please. If it's June's, tell me.””
She looked down at my hand.
Then she gently covered it with hers.
“I will tell you as soon as we know.””
A few minutes later, an officer appeared at the doorway holding a small evidence bag.
Inside was a hospital identification band.
The plastic fastening had been torn open.
I stared at it.
The officer handed Detective Cole a report.
She read the number, then looked toward the bassinet.
“Mrs. Carter, we have a preliminary match.””
My breath caught.
“It's June's?””
“The band matches the identification number originally assigned to your daughter.””
For one terrible moment, I couldn't hear anything else.
Then the question that had been haunting me escaped my lips.
“Where is the rest of her?””
Detective Cole's face tightened.
“We haven't located June yet.””
I covered my mouth.
Ethan began crying again.
Denise reached for my hand, and I held hers as tightly as I could.
Then Detective Cole turned toward the officer.
“Check the stairwell cameras again. I want every frame between the time the band was last recorded and the moment it was discovered.””
The officer nodded.
Before he left, he added one detail.
“There was something else beside the band.””
Detective Cole looked up.
“What?””
“A small piece of paper. It appears to have been torn from a medical file.””
He handed her a photograph.
The paper contained a handwritten name.
Not June's.
Not mine.
Not Luke's.
Detective Cole read it once, then looked at Denise.
“Caleb Brooks.””
Denise's knees buckled.
Camille caught her before she fell.
And as the detective called for an immediate review of Caleb's old medical records, I realized that our missing daughter might be connected to a secret that had been buried for three years.
May you like
A secret my husband had somehow discovered.
And one he was desperate to keep buried.