Chapter 5: The Doctor Who Knew Too Much
“Her death certificate?””
The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
I looked at Claire.
Then at Ethan.
Then back at Claire.
“What do you mean?””
Claire’s face had lost all color.
She looked like someone who had just opened a door she had spent years trying to keep closed.
“I mean,” she whispered, “seven years ago, I was told my baby didn’t survive.””
The room felt colder.
“But you just said she was switched.””
Claire nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Then how could you have a death certificate?””
She looked down at her hands.
“Because someone needed me to believe my daughter was gone.””
A horrible silence filled the room.
Ethan stood.
“Claire.””
She looked at him.
“You knew.””
The accusation in her voice made him freeze.
“You knew there was something wrong.””
Ethan didn’t answer.
My heart sank.
Another secret.
Another piece missing.
I turned toward him.
“What is she talking about?””
Ethan looked exhausted.
“Lauren…”
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“I am done hearing my name followed by excuses.””
His jaw tightened.
“I knew Claire’s baby was alive.””
The sentence barely registered.
I stared at him.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“And you let her believe her child was dead?””
“I didn’t know how to prove it.””
I laughed bitterly.
“How convenient.””
Claire wiped her eyes.
“I found out two years ago.””
I looked at her.
“How?””
She took a shaky breath.
“I received a letter.””
“From who?””
She hesitated.
“Dr. Rebecca Hayes.””
The name again.
The woman at the center of everything.
“What did the letter say?””
Claire walked toward the table and picked up her purse.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“I never showed this to anyone.””
She placed it in front of me.
I looked at Ethan.
He looked afraid.
Not confused.
Afraid.
That told me everything.
I unfolded the paper.
The handwriting was messy.
Rushed.
Like someone had written it while terrified.
*Claire,*
*If you are reading this, then I failed to fix what I helped create. Your daughter was not lost. She was taken from you. The records were changed before anyone could stop it.*
My hands shook.
I kept reading.
*I made a terrible mistake. I thought I was protecting someone. I was wrong.*
The bottom of the page had a signature.
*Rebecca Hayes.*
I looked up.
“She admitted it.””
Claire nodded.
“Yes.””
“Then why isn’t she in prison?””
Claire gave a sad smile.
“Because she disappeared.””
I stared at the letter.
A doctor.
A missing doctor.
A switched birth record.
A child hidden from her own mother.
And Ethan somehow knew.
“How much did you know?”” I asked him.
He looked at the floor.
“Enough.””
My anger returned instantly.
“Enough?””
“I knew the records were wrong.””
“You knew a doctor changed my daughter’s identity.””
“I suspected.””
“You suspected?””
My voice echoed.
“Ethan, this isn’t a missing wallet. This isn’t a mistake on a form. This is a child.””
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
I pointed upstairs.
“You got to wake up every morning with Ava calling you Daddy while another mother spent seven years mourning a child who was alive.””
His eyes filled.
“I know.””
This time, he said it quietly.
And somehow that made it worse.
Because he knew.
He really knew.
Claire sat down.
“I didn’t come here tonight because of Ethan.””
I looked at her.
“Then why?””
She looked toward the stairs.
“Because of Ava.””
My expression hardened.
“What about her?””
Claire took a deep breath.
“Someone is looking for her.””
A chill moved through me.
“What?””
“I found evidence that someone has been watching your family.””
I stared at her.
“You’re saying someone has been watching my daughter?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“For months.””
My heart started racing.
“What kind of evidence?””
Claire opened her phone.
She showed me several photographs.
At first, I didn’t understand what I was looking at.
Then I did.
Ava.
At school.
Walking into the playground.
Sitting at a lunch table.
Leaving dance class.
My stomach turned.
“These were taken without my permission.””
Claire nodded.
“I know.””
“Who took them?””
“I don’t know.””
I looked at Ethan.
“Did you know about this?””
His silence answered.
I felt betrayed all over again.
“You knew?””
He rubbed his face.
“I found out three weeks ago.””
“And you didn’t tell me?””
“I was trying to handle it.””
I stared at him.
“Handle it?””
His voice became desperate.
“Lauren, you have to understand. Someone was asking questions about Ava.””
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I was scared.””
There it was again.
The same word.
Scared.
But this time, I understood what he meant.
Someone had been watching our daughter.
And Ethan had decided protecting his secret was more important than trusting me.
I turned away.
“You don’t get to protect me from the truth.””
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
I looked at Claire.
“What does Dr. Hayes have to do with this?””
Claire’s face changed.
“She wasn’t alone.””
The room went silent.
“What?””
Claire lowered her voice.
“She worked with someone.””
“Who?””
She looked at Ethan.
And Ethan immediately looked away.
My heart sank.
“You know.””
He didn’t answer.
“Ethan.””
Finally, he whispered:
“My father.””
I froze.
“What?””
“My father knew Dr. Hayes.””
I stared at him.
“Your father died before Ava was born.””
“Yes.””
“Then how?””
Ethan sat down.
“My father had connections at the hospital.””
“What kind of connections?””
He looked ashamed.
“The kind that made people disappear.””
The words hung in the air.
I felt a wave of fear.
Not anger.
Fear.
Because this had started feeling bigger than an affair.
Bigger than a lie.
This was something that had been hidden for years.
“Why would your father do this?””
Ethan shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
Claire spoke softly.
“Maybe because he knew something about Ava.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She hesitated.
Then she reached into her purse one more time.
This time, she pulled out an old photograph.
Not of Ethan.
Not of herself.
A hospital room.
Seven years ago.
I stared at it.
A nurse.
A doctor.
Two newborn babies.
And standing in the corner…
A man.
My breath stopped.
Because I knew him.
Ethan’s father.
But he wasn’t looking at the babies.
He was looking directly at the camera.
Like he knew someone was taking the picture.
Like he knew someday we would find it.
I looked at Ethan.
“You said your father had nothing to do with this.””
His face went pale.
“I thought he didn’t.””
I held up the photo.
“Then why is he in this picture?””
Ethan took it from my hand.
His fingers trembled.
“I’ve never seen this before.””
Claire leaned closer.
“Look at the date.””
I did.
The date was stamped in the corner.
The same night Ava was born.
Then I noticed something else.
A name written on the back.
A name that made Ethan step away.
A name that neither of us expected.
“What does it say?”” I whispered.
Claire looked at the handwriting.
Then she said:
“It says, ‘The first child was never supposed to survive.’”
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then, from upstairs, Ava screamed.
Not cried.
Screamed.
“Mommy!””
I ran.
I didn’t think.
I didn’t ask questions.
I rushed up the stairs, Ethan right behind me.
When I reached her room, the door was open.
Ava was standing beside her bed, shaking.
“What happened?”” I asked.
She pointed toward the window.
Her face was white.
“There was someone outside.””
My blood froze.
“What?””
She nodded.
“I saw a person looking at me.””
Ethan ran to the window.
He pulled back the curtain.
The backyard was empty.
Dark.
Silent.
Then Ava pointed at the glass.
“He left this.””
I stepped closer.
Written on the window with something dark were five words.
May you like
Five words that made my entire body go cold.
*YOU HAVE THE WRONG CHILD.*
