Chapter 3 — The Woman Wearing Emma's Coat
Chapter 3 — The Woman Wearing Emma's Coat
By sunrise, the entire third floor of Beacon Crest had become a fortress.
Security officers stood at every elevator.
Hospital administrators were moving between offices with sealed folders.
Doctors whispered behind closed doors.
And somewhere inside that chaos, my two babies were still fighting for their lives.
But I couldn't stop thinking about one thing.
The coat.
My ivory maternity coat.
The one Vanessa had worn into the NICU as if she had every right to be there.
The coat with Noah's and Elise's initials stitched inside the lining.
At first, I had thought it was simply another cruel gesture.
Now I wondered if it had been something else.
A message.
A clue.
Or a mistake.
My grandfather stood beside the NICU window, reading a report.
"Emma."
I turned.
"Yes?"
"We found Vanessa."
My heart tightened.
"Where?"
"She hasn't left the hospital."
"What?"
"Security intercepted her near the old maternity wing."
I stared at him.
"Why would she go there?"
"We're about to find out."
Vanessa was sitting alone in an empty examination room.
Her emerald handbag rested beside her.
Her hair was still perfectly arranged.
Her makeup was flawless.
But the woman I had seen earlier—the smug woman standing beside my husband—was gone.
Now she looked frightened.
Two security officers stood outside.
My grandfather entered first.
I followed.
Vanessa looked at me.
Her eyes immediately dropped to the floor.
Then she noticed the coat she was wearing.
She touched the sleeve.
Her fingers trembled.
"You want this back?"
I didn't answer.
My grandfather pulled out a chair.
"Take off the coat."
Vanessa looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because it doesn't belong to you."
She slowly removed it.
I stepped closer.
She held it out.
I took it.
The fabric still smelled faintly of her perfume.
I turned it inside out.
My initials were embroidered inside.
E.W.
Then beneath them:
N.E.
Noah.
Elise.
Vanessa stared at the stitching.
"I didn't know."
"You wore it anyway."
"Grant gave it to me."
"I know."
She looked at me.
"He told me it was his."
I laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
"Grant has lied to you about almost everything."
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
"Apparently."
My grandfather placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Vanessa wearing the coat three months earlier.
Standing outside a private clinic.
My stomach tightened.
"Where is that?"
Vanessa looked at the photograph.
"Why?"
"Answer."
She swallowed.
"Ravenwood Women's Clinic."
My grandfather glanced at Dr. Moore.
"That's the clinic that received the $2.4 million."
Vanessa's eyes widened.
"I didn't know about the money."
"But you were there."
"Yes."
"For what?"
She didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
"Vanessa."
She looked at me.
"I was there for an ultrasound."
My grandfather frowned.
"Your pregnancy?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
"When?"
"Six months ago."
I looked at her stomach.
"You're not six months pregnant."
Her expression changed.
"I know."
Silence.
"Then what happened?"
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
"The pregnancy ended."
I stared.
"What?"
"I miscarried."
The room went silent.
"When?"
"Six months ago."
"Then why are you still pretending to be pregnant?"
Vanessa looked at me.
"Because Grant told me to."
The words landed like a blow.
"Why?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"I don't know."
"You've been pretending for six months?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Clothes. Medication. Padding."
She touched her abdomen.
"Sometimes they used ultrasound images from another patient."
My grandfather's expression hardened.
"Who supplied them?"
"I don't know."
"Who knew?"
"Grant."
"Anyone else?"
Vanessa hesitated.
"Dr. Vale."
I felt a chill.
"Marcus Vale."
She nodded.
"Yes."
My grandfather turned to Dr. Moore.
"Find him."
"We're trying."
"Try harder."
I looked at Vanessa.
"Why did you wear my coat?"
She stared at the floor.
"Grant gave it to me."
"That isn't an answer."
She took a breath.
"He wanted me to look like you."
My chest tightened.
"What?"
"He said people would recognize the coat."
"Why?"
"Because he wanted hospital staff to think I belonged with him."
"Why would he need that?"
Vanessa looked at me.
"Because there was another woman."
I froze.
"What woman?"
"I don't know her name."
"Describe her."
"Dark hair. Late thirties. She worked here."
"Doctor?"
"Maybe."
"Nurse?"
"Maybe."
"What did she do?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"I only saw her once."
"When?"
"The night your twins were born."
My heart stopped.
"What did she do?"
Vanessa looked at me.
"She carried a baby."
The room seemed to tilt.
"Which baby?"
"I don't know."
"Where?"
"Near the old maternity elevators."
"Why was she carrying a baby?"
"I don't know."
"What happened?"
Vanessa swallowed.
"She gave the baby to Grant."
I couldn't breathe.
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"You expect me to believe my husband was carrying another woman's newborn while I was fighting for my life?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I saw him."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was terrified."
"Of Grant?"
"Of everyone."
I stared at her.
"What did the baby look like?"
She closed her eyes.
"Very small."
"Male or female?"
"I don't know."
"Was the baby wearing anything?"
Vanessa hesitated.
"A white blanket."
"Anything else?"
She looked at my coat.
Then whispered:
"A yellow wristband."
I felt cold.
My daughter had a yellow identification bracelet.
I turned toward Dr. Moore.
"Check Elise."
She immediately left.
My grandfather followed.
I remained alone with Vanessa.
"What are you hiding?"
"Everything."
"Then start telling the truth."
She began crying.
"I didn't know about the twins."
"What?"
"I knew Grant wanted something from the hospital."
"What?"
"He said there was a mistake."
"What mistake?"
"He never told me."
I waited.
She finally whispered:
"He said one of the babies couldn't stay."
My stomach dropped.
"Why?"
"Because the baby belonged to someone else."
"Whose?"
"I don't know."
"Then what did Grant do?"
"He told me to pretend I was pregnant."
"Why?"
"So nobody would question why he needed to be at the hospital."
I stared at her.
"That makes no sense."
"It didn't make sense to me either."
"Then why did you agree?"
She wiped her tears.
"Because I loved him."
I almost laughed.
"You loved a man who used you to deceive everyone."
"I know."
"You wore my coat."
"I know."
"You came into my children's NICU."
"I know."
"You watched him abandon us."
"I know."
"Why should I believe you now?"
Vanessa looked directly at me.
"Because I have something you don't."
"What?"
She reached into her handbag.
Pulled out a small memory card.
And placed it on the table.
"A recording."
My grandfather returned.
Dr. Moore was with him.
"Elise's bracelet is correct," Dr. Moore said.
I exhaled.
"Then what did you find?"
She looked at the computer.
"The hospital database was altered."
"By whom?"
"We don't know."
My grandfather saw the memory card.
"What is that?"
Vanessa answered.
"Proof."
He looked at me.
I nodded.
"Play it."
Dr. Moore inserted the card into a secure computer.
A video appeared.
The image was dark.
A hospital corridor.
The timestamp:
02:03 A.M.
The night my twins were born.
A man walked into frame.
Grant.
He was carrying something.
A baby.
My hand flew to my mouth.
He stopped beside a woman.
I couldn't see her face.
She took the baby.
Grant said something.
The audio was faint.
Dr. Moore increased the volume.
Grant's voice became clear.
"Nobody can know."
The woman replied:
"Your wife?"
Grant:
"Especially her."
My heart shattered.
The woman asked:
"And the other child?"
Grant looked down the corridor.
"Leave her."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
The woman disappeared with the baby.
Grant remained standing.
Then another figure entered.
A nurse.
She carried another infant.
A tiny baby girl.
My daughter.
Grant looked at her.
Then said:
"That one stays."
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
I stared at the blank screen.
"That one stays."
My grandfather closed his eyes.
"What did he mean?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"I don't know."
But I did.
Or at least I thought I did.
Grant hadn't been abandoning two babies.
He had been making a choice.
One child stayed.
One child disappeared.
But why?
The answer came twenty minutes later.
A hospital technician rushed into the room.
"Dr. Moore."
"What?"
"We found an archived file."
"Where?"
"Under a deleted patient directory."
He handed her a tablet.
She read the screen.
Her expression changed.
"What?"
She looked at me.
"Emma..."
"Tell me."
"The missing infant wasn't a newborn."
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"The record says the baby was transferred from another hospital."
My grandfather stepped forward.
"Which hospital?"
Dr. Moore looked at the screen.
"Whitmore Children's Hospital."
My grandfather froze.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"That hospital didn't exist yet."
Everyone stared.
"What?"
He pointed at the date.
The transfer record was dated twenty-nine years ago.
Three years before Whitmore Children's Hospital opened.
Dr. Moore looked confused.
"Then the file is fake."
My grandfather shook his head.
"No."
He looked at me.
"It's not fake."
"How do you know?"
"Because I remember the building."
He took a breath.
"Before it became a hospital, it was a private research facility."
I felt my blood run cold.
"What research?"
He didn't answer.
"Grandfather."
He looked away.
"Your family."
"What did they research?"
His silence told me everything.
"Was it genetic?"
He finally nodded.
"Yes."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because twenty-nine years ago, someone believed they could predict which children would inherit certain genetic traits."
"And?"
"They were wrong."
"Who?"
My grandfather looked at the memory card.
"Your grandmother."
I felt dizzy.
"What does this have to do with my children?"
He looked through the glass toward Noah and Elise.
"I don't know yet."
Then the hospital lights went out.
Every monitor in the corridor switched to emergency power.
A red alarm flashed.
The doors locked automatically.
Dr. Moore looked at the security panel.
"Someone has accessed the restricted network."
My grandfather's phone rang.
He answered.
"Yes?"
His expression changed.
He listened.
Then said:
"Lock down the entire hospital."
He hung up.
I stood.
"What happened?"
He looked at me.
"The original patient file has been accessed."
"By whom?"
"We don't know."
"Then find out."
He looked toward the security cameras.
"Someone inside this hospital knows the truth."
A monitor suddenly flickered on.
A message appeared.
STOP LOOKING FOR THE BABY.
Then another line.
LOOK AT THE COAT.
I looked down.
My ivory coat was still in my hands.
My fingers moved over the lining.
Noah's initials.
Elise's initials.
Then I felt something beneath the fabric.
A small, hard object.
Hidden inside the stitching.
I carefully opened the lining.
A tiny metal key fell into my palm.
My grandfather stared at it.
"Where did you get that?"
"It was sewn into my coat."
Vanessa suddenly stood.
Her face became terrified.
"That's not possible."
I looked at her.
"Why?"
She shook her head.
"Because I saw that key before."
"Where?"
Her lips trembled.
"On the night your twins were born."
I closed my fingers around it.
"What does it open?"
Vanessa whispered:
"The room where they kept the other baby."
And somewhere beneath Beacon Crest Medical Center...
a lock clicked.
Once.
Twice.
Then the lights came back on.
But the hallway camera showed something that made my blood freeze.
A man was standing at the end of the corridor.
Grant.
May you like
He was holding a newborn baby.
And he was walking toward the locked room.
