CHAPTER 6: THE WOMAN WHO HAD BEEN HIDING FOR SIX YEARS
Emma read the message again.
"Bring the woman who stole her six years ago."
Her hands trembled.
"I never stole anyone."
Detective Michael Brooks stared at the phone.
"I believe you."
"But someone wants you to believe you did."
Before either of them could speak again, the hospital's power suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the hallway.
Emergency lights flickered on, bathing everything in an eerie red glow.
A nurse rushed toward them.
"Detective!"
"We found this in Lily's room."
She handed him a tiny silver bracelet.
Emma gasped.
It belonged to Lily.
Engraved inside were words Emma had never noticed before.
Property of Saint Mary's Nursery - Baby #27
Michael frowned.
"This wasn't on any of Lily's medical records."
Just then, Emma remembered something.
"When Lily was three... an old woman came to our front door."
Michael looked up.
"What did she want?"
Emma swallowed hard.
"She looked at Lily... started crying... and said only one sentence."
'Forgive me... I chose the wrong baby.'
Emma had thought the woman was confused.
She had closed the door.
She never saw her again.
Michael immediately searched old police databases.
Minutes later, his face turned white.
"I found her."
"Who is she?"
"Her name was Evelyn Carter."
"She worked in the maternity ward where Lily was born."
Emma leaned forward.
"Where is she now?"
Michael hesitated.
"She disappeared... six years ago."
At that exact moment, another video arrived.
Emma pressed Play.
The same masked man stood beside Lily.
This time, he slowly removed his mask.
Emma's eyes widened.
She had never seen him before.
But Detective Brooks had.
His face lost all color.
"No..."
Emma turned.
"You know him?"
Michael whispered,
"His name is Nathan Carter."
"Evelyn Carter's son."
The man on the screen smiled directly into the camera.
"You finally remembered my mother."
He gently placed a blanket around Lily.
"I promised her I would fix the mistake she made."
Emma shouted,
"What mistake?"
Nathan's smile disappeared.
"The night your daughter was born..."
"...two families left that hospital."
"But only one of them went home with the right child."
Silence filled the room.
Nathan looked straight into the camera.
"And tomorrow..."
"One mother will finally get her daughter back."
The screen went black.
Seconds later, Detective Brooks' phone rang.
His eyes widened as he answered.
"What?"
He slowly lowered the phone.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"They found Evelyn Carter."
Emma stood up.
"Where is she?"
Michael looked at her with disbelief.
"In the hospital parking garage."
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"She's alive..."
"...and she says she's been waiting six years to tell you the truth."
