Chapter 2: The Hospital Records
Chapter 2: The Hospital Records
Brandon didn't waste a second.
He scooped Luke into his arms and rushed toward the car while I grabbed a blanket from the hallway.
"My chest hurts, Daddy," Luke whispered.
His tiny voice shook.
Brandon looked terrified.
"Stay with me, buddy."
The twenty-minute drive to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital felt endless.
Luke lay quietly across my lap in the back seat, his breathing shallow.
I kept stroking his hair.
"You'll be okay."
I wasn't sure whether I was comforting him...
...or myself.
The emergency physicians examined Luke immediately.
An electrocardiogram.
Chest X-rays.
Blood work.
Every minute felt like an hour.
Finally, Dr. Karen Whitmore entered the room carrying Luke's chart.
"The good news," she smiled gently, "is that his heart is perfectly healthy."
My knees nearly gave way with relief.
"His chest pain was most likely triggered by severe emotional stress."
Brandon squeezed Luke's little hand.
But the doctor didn't leave.
"There is something else."
Our smiles disappeared.
"I noticed an inconsistency in Luke's birth records."
She placed several papers on the desk.
"His newborn identification file appears incomplete."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"The footprint card is missing."
"The delivery photographs are missing."
"And..."
She hesitated.
"...someone requested access to his birth records four months ago."
Brandon frowned.
"Who?"
Dr. Whitmore looked uncomfortable.
"The authorization was signed by..."
She checked the file once more.
"Madeline Carter."
Brandon stared at the paper.
"My mother?"
The doctor nodded.
"She requested copies of the delivery log and newborn identification documents."
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Neither of us understood why.
Not yet.
