CHAPTER 5 — The Nurse's Final Confession
The safe house sat alone beside an abandoned church outside Franklin.
Daniel was already waiting.
"So is she alive?" Rowan asked.
Daniel nodded.
"Barely."
Inside the small living room sat an elderly nurse named Helen Brooks.
She looked frightened.
Every few seconds she glanced toward the windows.
"They've been following me," she whispered.
"I should have spoken sooner."
Rowan knelt beside her.
"I only need the truth."
Helen opened a worn envelope.
Inside were three tiny hospital footprints.
Three newborn identification bracelets.
Three DNA samples that had never been processed.
"I delivered all three babies."
"And Maren?" Rowan asked.
"She begged to hold them."
Helen wiped away tears.
"She held them for less than five minutes."
"Tessa arrived with your mother before Maren even woke from surgery."
"They told the hospital there was a custody emergency."
"They forged legal authorization."
"They took Baby C before Maren regained consciousness."
Rowan covered his face.
Every nightmare he imagined had been real.
Helen reached into another envelope.
"There is one more thing."
She handed Rowan a sealed DNA report.
He opened it.
The results made his heart stop.
Emma Bellamy.
Probability of paternity:
99.9999%.
She was his daughter.
There was no doubt anymore.
Before anyone could speak again...
A loud crash shattered the front window.
Glass exploded across the room.
Someone outside fired another shot.
Daniel shouted.
"Down!"
The lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the house.
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Then came the sound of footsteps.
Someone had come to silence the last witness forever.
