Chapter 5 — The Baby They Wanted
Chapter 5 — The Baby They Wanted
Emily woke to the sound of someone crying.
For several seconds, she didn't know where she was.
The hospital ceiling came slowly into focus.
The monitors beside her bed blinked steadily.
Her hand rested over her stomach.
Then she remembered.
Victoria.
The attack.
The men in hospital uniforms.
The syringe.
Her mother's photograph.
And the video.
Emily turned her head.
Raymond was sitting beside the window.
He looked as though he hadn't slept.
“Uncle?”
His eyes opened immediately.
“You're awake.”
“What happened?”
“You fainted.”
Emily tried to sit up.
“Is the baby—?”
“Fine.”
She exhaled.
Raymond stood and checked the monitor himself, even though he wasn't a doctor.
“Your blood pressure dropped.”
Emily looked at him.
“Where is Vivian?”
“Under police protection.”
“Is she arrested?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“She gave us information.”
Emily stared at him.
“Do you trust her?”
“No.”
“Do you believe her?”
Raymond paused.
“Some of what she said.”
Emily looked toward the window.
“And the rest?”
“We're going to prove.”
A knock came.
The hospital attorney entered carrying a thick black folder.
“Mr. Raymond.”
Raymond turned.
“What?”
“We received another document from the Blackwell family.”
Emily's stomach tightened.
“What now?”
The attorney placed the folder on the table.
“An inheritance declaration.”
Emily stared at it.
“About my baby?”
“Yes.”
Raymond opened the folder.
His eyes moved across the first page.
Then the second.
Then the third.
His expression became increasingly grim.
Emily watched him.
“What does it say?”
Raymond didn't answer.
“Uncle?”
He finally looked up.
“Your child is the beneficiary of a trust.”
“I know.”
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“You don't understand.”
He handed her the document.
Emily read.
At first, the legal language meant nothing.
Then she saw a number.
She stopped breathing.
$2.8 billion.
She looked up.
“What is this?”
Raymond answered.
“The Blackwell family trust.”
Emily stared.
“The baby inherits that?”
“Potentially.”
“Why didn't Daniel tell me?”
“Because if you knew, you might have understood why he chose you.”
Emily's face fell.
Raymond continued.
“But there's more.”
She looked back at the document.
“There's always more.”
The attorney pointed to a paragraph.
“The trust isn't controlled by the child directly.”
“Then who?”
“The mother.”
Emily frowned.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Until the child turns eighteen.”
Raymond nodded.
Emily slowly understood.
“So they don't want my baby.”
“They want you.”
She looked at him.
“They want me because I control the money.”
“Exactly.”
The attorney continued.
“But there is a condition.”
“What condition?”
“If the mother is declared legally unfit, the trust passes to the appointed family guardian.”
Emily's face went pale.
“Catherine.”
Raymond nodded.
“The Blackwell family wants to make Catherine the guardian.”
Emily closed her eyes.
The hospital incident suddenly made sense.
The fake psychiatric reports.
The confrontation with Victoria.
The doctor's lies.
The custody petition.
They weren't trying to take her baby because they wanted the child.
They wanted the money attached to the child.
And Emily was standing between them and billions of dollars.
A voice came from the doorway.
“That's not the whole story.”
Everyone turned.
Vivian stood there.
Two police officers were behind her.
Raymond frowned.
“Why are you here?”
“Because you need to hear the rest.”
Emily looked at her.
“What rest?”
Vivian walked into the room.
“The trust isn't worth $2.8 billion.”
Raymond's eyes narrowed.
“Explain.”
Vivian looked at the document.
“That's what the public records say.”
“And the truth?”
“The real trust is worth more.”
“How much?”
Vivian looked at Emily.
“Almost seven billion.”
Silence.
Emily stared.
“Seven?”
“Six point eight, according to the last valuation.”
Raymond sat down slowly.
“How?”
“Private holdings.”
“Which holdings?”
“Banks.”
“Pharmaceutical companies.”
“Shipping.”
“Real estate.”
“Energy.”
Vivian paused.
“And controlling shares in a company nobody knows belongs to the Blackwells.”
Raymond looked at her.
“Which company?”
Vivian whispered:
“Moretti Medical.”
Raymond's face went completely still.
Emily looked between them.
“What?”
Raymond didn't answer.
Vivian did.
“The Blackwells own a controlling interest in your hospital.”
Emily stared at Raymond.
“Is that true?”
Raymond's jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“You never told me.”
“I didn't know the full extent.”
Vivian laughed bitterly.
“They made sure nobody did.”
Raymond stood.
“How much?”
“Thirty-one percent.”
Raymond looked shocked.
“That would make them the largest private shareholder.”
“Yes.”
“Who owns the rest?”
“Scattered investors.”
Raymond's face darkened.
“If they acquire another twenty percent…”
“They control the hospital.”
Emily whispered:
“And that's why they want the baby.”
Vivian nodded.
“Not just because of the money.”
“What else?”
“The child gives them a legal route to control everything.”
Emily looked at her.
“How?”
Vivian pointed to the trust document.
“Your child is the legal successor.”
“But he's not even born.”
“Exactly.”
Emily frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“If Daniel dies before the child is born, the trust enters temporary protection.”
“Protection?”
“The family appoints a guardian.”
“Catherine.”
“Yes.”
“And if Daniel survives?”
“Daniel becomes co-trustee.”
Emily's face went white.
“So if Daniel gets custody…”
“He controls the trust.”
Raymond's expression hardened.
“And if Emily is declared unfit…”
“Catherine controls it.”
Emily stared at the documents.
There were only two paths.
Both led to the Blackwells.
Unless she fought.
“Why didn't Daniel just tell me?”
Vivian answered.
“Because he didn't need you to know.”
Emily looked at her.
“He loved me.”
Vivian's expression softened.
“I believe he cared about you.”
“But he lied.”
“Yes.”
“He used me.”
“Yes.”
Emily's voice broke.
“Then why did he cry when he proposed?”
Vivian didn't answer.
Raymond stepped closer.
“Emily, whatever Daniel felt for you, his family had a plan.”
She looked at him.
“What plan?”
“To put the heir in your body.”
Emily's eyes filled.
“They wanted me pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“And they knew?”
“Yes.”
“From the beginning?”
Vivian nodded.
“Yes.”
Emily remembered the first night she met Daniel.
A restaurant.
Rain outside.
His coat over her shoulders.
His smile.
The way he'd told her:
“I think I've been looking for you.”
At the time, she'd thought it was fate.
Now it felt like a script.
She whispered:
“He knew.”
Raymond didn't answer.
“He knew before I did.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Vivian said:
“Your medical records.”
Emily looked up.
“What?”
“Daniel had access to your records.”
Raymond's expression changed.
“From whom?”
Vivian looked toward the door.
“Evelyn.”
Raymond immediately called security.
“Find Evelyn Grant.”
The response came seconds later.
“Sir, she left the hospital.”
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
Raymond's eyes hardened.
“Where is she going?”
“We're tracking her car.”
“Do it.”
Meanwhile, Emily looked at Vivian.
“Why are you helping me now?”
Vivian sat down.
“Because I made a deal with the wrong people.”
“What deal?”
“They promised to free my brother.”
“Did they?”
“No.”
“So you betrayed them.”
Vivian shook her head.
“I realized something.”
“What?”
“They never intended to release him.”
Emily's eyes softened.
“I'm sorry.”
Vivian looked away.
“They told me my brother died last night.”
Silence.
Raymond frowned.
“They showed me a photograph.”
“Did you see the body?”
“No.”
“Then don't believe them.”
Vivian looked at him.
“What?”
Raymond's voice became firm.
“People who want you to believe someone is dead don't always want you to find out whether they are.”
Vivian stared.
“Do you think he's alive?”
“I think we investigate.”
For the first time, hope appeared in her eyes.
That afternoon, Daniel finally arrived.
Security intercepted him at the entrance.
“I need to see Emily.”
“No visitors.”
“I'm her husband.”
“Not today.”
Daniel's voice rose.
“You don't understand.”
The security officer remained calm.
“Mr. Blackwell, you have been instructed not to enter.”
“By whom?”
“Mr. Raymond.”
Daniel stared.
Then looked toward the hospital.
“Tell him I need to speak to Emily.”
The officer didn't move.
Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
“Hello?”
A woman's voice spoke.
“Daniel.”
He immediately turned away.
“Mother?”
“Are you at the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“Leave.”
“I need to see her.”
“You don't understand what is happening.”
“I know about the trust.”
Silence.
“You were never supposed to find out.”
Daniel's face tightened.
“You lied to me too.”
His mother's voice became cold.
“This is no longer about you.”
“Then what is it about?”
“The child.”
Daniel looked toward the hospital.
“What are you planning?”
“You'll know when the time comes.”
“Mother.”
She hung up.
Daniel stood alone.
For the first time, he realized he might have been nothing more than another piece on the board.
Inside the hospital, Raymond received a call.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“We found Evelyn's car.”
“Where?”
“Near the river.”
“Is she there?”
“No.”
“Anything else?”
“We found this.”
A photograph was sent to Raymond's phone.
He opened it.
A warehouse.
A black SUV.
And a man standing beside it.
Raymond recognized him.
Nathan Blackwell.
But Nathan wasn't alone.
Beside him stood Catherine.
And between them was a small child.
Raymond stared.
Then zoomed in.
The child's face became visible.
His blood ran cold.
He immediately looked toward Vivian.
“Is this your brother?”
Vivian rushed forward.
She looked at the photograph.
Her hands began shaking.
“That's him.”
Raymond stared.
The boy was alive.
And the Blackwells had been holding him as leverage.
But there was something else.
The boy was wearing a hospital bracelet.
Vivian read it.
Her face went white.
“That isn't my brother's name.”
Raymond looked closer.
The bracelet belonged to someone else.
A child registered under a false identity.
A child whose date of birth was listed as two years earlier.
Emily slowly approached.
“What does it mean?”
Vivian whispered:
“They've been hiding children.”
Raymond looked at her.
“How many?”
“I don't know.”
Emily's hand went to her stomach.
Suddenly, the entire conspiracy felt darker.
The Blackwells weren't simply protecting an inheritance.
They had built a system around children.
Children whose identities could be manipulated.
Children whose births could change who controlled fortunes.
And Emily's unborn baby was the next piece.
That night, Raymond called the police.
“This is bigger than a custody dispute.”
The detective looked at the photograph.
“Who are the people?”
“Catherine Blackwell.”
“Nathan Blackwell.”
“And the child?”
“Unknown.”
The detective frowned.
“We need a warrant.”
“You'll get one.”
“How?”
Raymond slid the trust document across the table.
“Because this isn't only kidnapping.”
The detective read.
His expression changed.
“Financial fraud.”
“Potentially.”
“Identity fraud.”
“Yes.”
“Conspiracy.”
“Yes.”
“And if they're holding children…”
Raymond nodded.
“Then we're looking at something much worse.”
At midnight, Emily couldn't sleep.
She stood by the window.
One hand rested over her stomach.
The baby moved.
She smiled sadly.
“I don't know what they're trying to make you become.”
She whispered.
“But I'll never let them decide who you are.”
The door opened.
Raymond entered.
“Still awake?”
“Yes.”
He sat beside her.
“I found something.”
“What?”
“A photograph.”
He showed her.
Emily stared.
“That's Catherine.”
“Yes.”
“And Nathan.”
“Yes.”
“Who's the child?”
“We don't know.”
Emily looked closer.
Then suddenly froze.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“The bracelet.”
Raymond looked at it.
Emily pointed.
“I've seen that hospital.”
“Where?”
“Here.”
Raymond's expression changed.
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“I've seen that logo.”
“Where?”
Emily's voice became quiet.
“On the records they tried to make me sign.”
Raymond stared at her.
The room fell silent.
The hospital wasn't merely where the Blackwells had attacked Emily.
It was connected to whatever they were hiding.
And suddenly Raymond understood the most terrifying possibility of all.
The Blackwells didn't need to control the hospital from outside.
They already had someone inside.
Someone who had access to births.
Medical records.
Identity documents.
And newborns.
Someone who could make a child disappear on paper without anyone noticing.
Raymond stood.
“Emily.”
“What?”
“Do you trust your doctor?”
She looked at him.
“No.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Because tomorrow we're going to find out how many babies have disappeared from this hospital.”
Emily stared at him.
“And if we find one?”
Raymond looked toward the photograph.
“Then we find out why the Blackwells wanted yours.”
Outside the window, the city lights flickered.
Somewhere across town, Catherine Blackwell stood inside a private office.
She looked at a photograph of Emily.
Then at another photograph.
The ultrasound image of Emily's unborn child.
She smiled.
“Almost time.”
Nathan stood behind her.
“And if Raymond discovers everything?”
Catherine didn't look up.
“He won't.”
“How can you be sure?”
She placed the ultrasound photograph inside a locked drawer.
“Because by the time he understands what the child really is…”
May you like
She turned the key.
“…Emily will already be under our control.”
