Chapter 13 — The Secret Inside the Hospital Records
Chapter 13 — The Secret Inside the Hospital Records
The hospital archive was supposed to be impossible to access.
That was what the director told me.
He was wrong.
Because when Rebecca placed Daniel's court filing on the table, the room changed completely.
Lily Carter was not Daniel's biological daughter.
According to Daniel's statement, Lily was the biological daughter of Chloe Morgan and Alexander Vale.
And if that was true, then everything we had uncovered about the genetic trust was wrong.
I looked at Alexander.
He wouldn't meet my eyes.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“Did you ever sleep with Chloe?”
“No.”
“Then why would Daniel name you?”
“I don't know.”
Chloe began shaking her head.
“He's lying.”
“About you?”
“About everything.”
I looked at Rebecca.
“What do we do?”
She closed the folder.
“We stop guessing.”
“How?”
“We find the original hospital records.”
The hospital where Lily was born had changed ownership twice.
The maternity wing had been renovated.
The original doctors had retired.
Several paper records had supposedly been destroyed during a flood.
But Rebecca had discovered something.
The hospital's electronic system had never been completely replaced.
Some of the oldest files were stored on an isolated server beneath the medical records department.
And one file still existed.
Patient: Jennifer Carter.
Admission: June 14.
Delivery: June 15.
Infant: Female.
Name: Lily.
I stared at the screen.
My daughter's birth.
The moment I had thought was the happiest day of my life.
Now it looked like the beginning of a conspiracy.
“Open it,” I said.
The technician hesitated.
“This record is sealed.”
Rebecca showed him the court order.
“Not anymore.”
He entered the authorization code.
The file opened.
The first page was ordinary.
Blood pressure.
Medication.
Delivery notes.
Then we reached the genetic section.
I stopped breathing.
Maternal sample: unavailable.
I frowned.
“That's impossible.”
Rebecca leaned closer.
“Why?”
“I gave blood.”
“Then why does it say unavailable?”
I looked at the technician.
“Who entered this?”
He checked the audit log.
His expression changed.
“Dr. Martin.”
“Who is that?”
“Dr. Samuel Martin.”
“Where is he now?”
“Dead.”
I felt cold.
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“How?”
“Car accident.”
I looked at Rebecca.
Another dead witness.
Another missing answer.
But we continued.
The next record was worse.
Paternal sample: Daniel Carter.
I stared.
“That's the sample they used for the first DNA test.”
“Yes,” Rebecca said.
“Then Daniel lied when he said it wasn't his?”
“Maybe.”
I opened the audit trail.
The sample had been collected the day after Lily's birth.
But the digital timestamp showed something impossible.
The sample had been created two days before Lily was born.
I looked at Rebecca.
“That can't happen.”
“No.”
“Someone entered it early.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
The technician scrolled.
“Dr. Martin.”
Again.
I leaned back.
“Then the hospital record was manipulated before Lily was even born.”
Rebecca nodded.
“Which means someone planned this.”
We requested the original paper file.
After three hours of searching, the hospital archivist returned carrying a cardboard box.
Dust covered the lid.
The label read:
CARTER — MATERNITY — CONFIDENTIAL
My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside were forms.
Consent papers.
Blood tests.
Ultrasound images.
Birth records.
Then I found a handwritten note.
I recognized the handwriting immediately.
My father's.
“Do not trust the electronic record.”
My heart stopped.
Rebecca took the paper.
“When did he write this?”
The date was June 13.
Two days before Lily was born.
I looked at my mother.
She had followed us to the hospital.
She looked terrified.
“Did you know about this?”
“No.”
“Mom.”
“I swear.”
I turned the page.
Another note.
“If Lily survives, the hospital records will become the key.”
I stared at the sentence.
“Survives?”
My voice cracked.
“What was supposed to happen to her?”
Nobody answered.
Then the archivist spoke.
“There is another file.”
He placed a smaller envelope on the table.
The envelope had no patient name.
Only a number.
14.
My heart began pounding.
I opened it.
Inside was a neonatal transfer form.
But Lily had never been transferred.
At least not officially.
The form stated:
Infant 14 — transferred to genetic research unit.
Date:
June 14.
One day before Lily's birth.
I looked at the archivist.
“What is this?”
He shook his head.
“I've never seen it.”
Rebecca studied the document.
“It's authentic.”
“How can an unborn child be transferred?”
“Unless this wasn't Lily.”
I looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
She pointed to the identification number.
“Infant 14 was created before birth.”
My heart stopped.
“Created?”
“Embryonic transfer.”
I suddenly remembered the laboratory.
The embryos.
The genetic files.
The seven hidden subjects.
Everything was connected.
Then we found the most important document.
A neonatal identification bracelet.
BABY GIRL — CARTER
The barcode had been manually altered.
Underneath the original number was another.
14-07-21.
Rebecca stared.
“That's not a hospital number.”
“What is it?”
“A genetic batch number.”
I looked at the technician.
“Can you trace it?”
He entered the code.
The computer returned one result.
Project Lily.
I closed my eyes.
My daughter had never been treated like a child.
She had been treated like an experiment.
Then the screen displayed something else.
A list of names.
Source A — Victor Carter
Source B — Jennifer Carter
Source C — Chloe Morgan
Source D — Alexander Vale
I stared.
“All four?”
The technician nodded.
“Apparently.”
I felt sick.
“Why would all four DNA sources be connected to one infant?”
Rebecca looked at me.
“Because someone was testing combinations.”
“Which means Lily…”
“Wasn't the only embryo.”
My blood ran cold.
“Then where are the others?”
The technician looked at the database.
“There are fourteen.”
Fourteen.
Not seven.
Not six.
Fourteen.
My father had created fourteen potential heirs.
And Lily was only one of them.
Then the hospital alarm sounded.
Everyone froze.
The lights flickered.
The computer went black.
“What's happening?”
The technician looked terrified.
“Someone is remotely accessing the archive.”
Rebecca pulled out her phone.
“Can you stop them?”
“No.”
The files began disappearing from the server.
One by one.
Lily's records.
The genetic records.
The transfer documents.
The audit logs.
Someone was erasing everything.
“Save the files!” Rebecca shouted.
The technician connected an external drive.
“I'm trying.”
A progress bar appeared.
Downloading… 31%.
Then 47%.
Then 62%.
The system crashed.
The screen went black.
Silence.
I looked at Rebecca.
“How much did we get?”
She checked the drive.
“Seventy-two percent.”
“Is that enough?”
She opened the recovered folder.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She turned the screen toward me.
One file had survived.
A file nobody had tried to erase.
MATERNAL EXCHANGE RECORD.
I opened it.
My blood froze.
The document stated:
Original maternal source: Jennifer Carter.
Replacement maternal source: Chloe Morgan.
Authorized by: Daniel Carter.
I stared at the signature.
Daniel's.
Real.
Verified.
And beneath it:
Reason: Protection of subject from succession claim.
I couldn't breathe.
Daniel had changed Lily's biological identity.
Not to steal her.
To hide her.
But then I noticed another line.
Replacement procedure performed by: Dr. Samuel Martin.
I looked at the date.
It was three weeks before Lily was born.
That meant Daniel had known.
He had known before the birth.
He had planned it.
And he had lied to me about everything.
I looked at Chloe.
She was crying.
“Jennifer…”
“You didn't know?”
“No.”
“Did Daniel ever tell you?”
“No.”
“Did he ever ask you for a blood sample?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
I believed her.
Because the document explained something else.
The replacement maternal source wasn't actually Chloe.
It was an embryo created from Chloe's genetic material.
She hadn't been asked.
She had been used.
Then we discovered something worse.
The hospital's birth record contained a hidden amendment.
Mother: Jennifer Carter.
Biological mother: Chloe Morgan.
Legal mother: Jennifer Carter.
I stared at the screen.
“So Lily isn't genetically mine.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“Not according to this.”
“But my father's DNA…”
“Could have been used.”
“Then Lily is…”
Rebecca looked at the genetic chart.
“Chloe's biological daughter.”
“And Alexander?”
“Still unknown.”
I looked at the document.
The paternal source field was blank.
Daniel had deliberately erased it.
Why?
Because whoever Lily's biological father was…
was dangerous.
Then the hospital director entered.
He was pale.
“Mrs. Carter.”
“What?”
“We found another record.”
“Where?”
“In the old maternity ward.”
He handed me a sealed envelope.
“It was hidden inside the wall.”
I opened it.
Inside was a handwritten birth certificate.
No electronic record.
No hospital stamp.
Just a name.
Mother: Chloe Morgan.
Father: Unknown.
Child: Lily Morgan.
Date:
The day Lily was born.
I stared at it.
“Why does this say Lily Morgan?”
The director didn't answer.
Rebecca took the certificate.
Then she turned it over.
There was writing on the back.
“Father identified after birth.”
Underneath was a name.
I read it once.
Then again.
My hands began shaking.
The name was not Daniel.
It wasn't Alexander.
It wasn't Victor.
It wasn't Richard.
It was someone I knew.
Someone who had stood beside me through the entire investigation.
Someone I had trusted.
I whispered:
“No.”
Rebecca looked at me.
“Jennifer?”
I handed her the certificate.
She read the name.
Her face went white.
“That's impossible.”
Chloe stepped closer.
“What does it say?”
Nobody answered.
She grabbed the paper.
Then screamed.
The father listed on the original certificate was:
Samuel Carter.
My father's younger brother.
My uncle.
A man who had supposedly died before I was born.
My mother sank into a chair.
“No.”
I turned toward her.
“You knew?”
She shook her head violently.
“Samuel died before you were born.”
“Then why is he on Lily's birth certificate?”
“I don't know.”
Rebecca examined the document.
“It's not forged.”
The hospital director nodded.
“The ink is decades old.”
“Then Samuel was alive.”
My mother whispered:
“No.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
She looked at me.
“Samuel wasn't Lily's father.”
“Then who was?”
She swallowed.
“He was never a real person.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“Samuel Carter was an identity.”
My blood ran cold.
“Whose identity?”
My mother looked toward the hallway.
Then she whispered:
“Your father's.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Victor used his brother's name?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To hide his involvement.”
I stared at the certificate.
My father had been alive.
My father had created the embryos.
My father had manipulated the hospital.
My father had fathered Lily under a false identity.
But then one question remained.
Why would he need Chloe's DNA?
The answer appeared in the final line of the record.
“Subject must remain legally connected to Jennifer Carter.”
I stared.
Lily had been created not to inherit the empire…
but to make me the legal heir.
Because if Lily was my legal daughter, the trust couldn't be transferred away from me.
Daniel hadn't been stealing from me.
He had been protecting the inheritance.
But he had also betrayed me.
Because he had chosen the trust over the truth.
My phone suddenly rang.
Daniel.
From prison.
I answered.
“Jennifer.”
His voice was weak.
“You found the hospital record.”
“Yes.”
Silence.
“Daniel.”
“I didn't want you to know like this.”
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You signed the transfer.”
“Yes.”
“You changed Lily's genetic identity.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His breathing became shaky.
“Because your father gave me two choices.”
“What choices?”
“Let Lily die…”
He paused.
“…or betray you.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“You chose to betray me.”
“I chose to save her.”
I closed my eyes.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because if you knew, Richard would know.”
“And if Richard knew?”
“He would have killed her.”
I stared at the hospital record.
“So you betrayed me twice.”
Daniel was silent.
“Yes.”
“First our marriage.”
“Yes.”
“Then my trust.”
“Yes.”
“And you expect me to forgive you?”
“No.”
His voice broke.
“I only want Lily to survive.”
The call ended.
I stood there holding the hospital record.
For the first time, I understood something terrible.
Daniel hadn't betrayed me twice because he didn't love me.
He had betrayed me twice because he had decided that protecting Lily was more important than telling me the truth.
But that didn't make him innocent.
It only made his betrayal more complicated.
That night, I returned home alone.
Lily was sleeping.
I stood beside her crib.
She looked peaceful.
Completely unaware that four years of lies had been built around her existence.
I touched her tiny hand.
“You're not a secret anymore.”
She moved slightly.
I smiled through my tears.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
One photograph.
The hospital corridor.
Daniel standing beside Dr. Samuel Martin.
Three weeks before Lily was born.
And beside them…
my father.
Alive.
Underneath the photograph was a message:
“The hospital records tell you who changed Lily.”
A second message appeared.
“They don't tell you who ordered it.”
Then a third.
“For that, ask the woman who was supposed to be Lily's mother.”
I stared at the screen.
Chloe.
But Chloe had already told me she knew nothing.
Unless…
she wasn't the woman they meant.
I looked at Lily.
Then at the photograph.
And suddenly I realized the hospital had not been hiding one secret.
It had been hiding two.
The first was Lily's bloodline.
The second…
was the identity of the woman who had given birth to her.
May you like
And if that woman wasn't Chloe…
then whose child had I been holding for four years?
