Chapter 3: The Truth About Linda
Chapter 3: The Truth About Linda
Sarah's vision blurred.
For a split second, she thought she might faint.
From her hiding place behind the stacks of fresh hospital linens, she watched her own mother take the thick envelope of cash from the scarred man.
Linda didn't hesitate.
She didn't question him.
She simply slipped the envelope into her handbag.
Sarah felt as though the air had been sucked from the room.
No...
Please don't let this be real.
Emily had been right.
The forged signatures.
The whispered conversations.
The mysterious doctor.
The transfer papers.
And now this.
Every piece fit together into a nightmare Sarah never imagined possible.
Dr. Harrison adjusted his glasses and lowered his voice.
"Everything must happen before four o'clock."
Linda nodded once.
"I understand."
"The child?"
"He remains in Room 308."
Sarah's heartbeat hammered against her ribs.
They're talking about my son.
The scarred man looked irritated.
"The mother has become suspicious."
Linda answered calmly.
"I'll handle her."
Sarah felt tears sting her eyes.
"I'll handle her."
Those four words cut deeper than any knife.
The meeting ended quickly.
The envelope disappeared into Linda's purse.
The three of them left the laundry room one after another.
Silence returned.
Claire waited another thirty seconds before stepping out from behind the linens.
Sarah remained frozen.
"I knew she'd come," Claire whispered.
Sarah slowly shook her head.
"No."
"I saw it."
"I know."
"No..."
Claire gently placed a hand on Sarah's shoulder.
"I'm sorry."
Sarah pulled away.
"There has to be another explanation."
Claire didn't argue.
Instead, she quietly said,
"Then find it."
They hurried back toward the maternity ward.
Sarah's body screamed with every step.
She had ignored every instruction the doctors had given her after delivery.
Too much walking.
Too much stress.
Too much blood loss.
But none of that mattered anymore.
Her son mattered.
Emily mattered.
Nothing else.
As she turned the corner toward Room 308, she stopped abruptly.
Two security guards stood outside her door.
Neither of them had been there before.
One of the guards smiled politely.
"Mrs. Carter?"
"Yes?"
"The doctor requested additional security for newborn protection."
Sarah forced a smile.
"That's thoughtful."
Inside, panic spread through her.
Security?
Or surveillance?
She thanked them and entered the room.
Emily immediately ran to her.
"Mom!"
Sarah hugged her tightly.
"You okay?"
Emily nodded.
"But Grandma came."
Sarah stiffened.
"What did she say?"
Emily frowned.
"She asked where you went."
"What did you tell her?"
"I said you were sleeping."
Sarah smiled despite everything.
"You lied?"
Emily shrugged.
"I figured adults do it all the time."
For the first time that day, Sarah almost laughed.
Then she noticed something.
The bassinet.
Again.
Someone had moved it.
Only a few inches.
But enough.
Sarah walked over slowly.
Her son slept peacefully.
She checked his tiny wrist.
The bracelet remained attached.
Yet something looked different.
She leaned closer.
The identification number had changed.
Yesterday's number ended in 7421.
Now...
It ended in 7428.
Her hands began shaking.
Someone had replaced the bracelet.
Again.
Late that evening, the ward grew quiet.
Most visitors had gone home.
The hallway lights dimmed.
Only nurses walked the corridors.
Sarah pretended to sleep.
Emily lay curled in a chair beside the bed.
She wasn't asleep.
Sarah knew because every few minutes Emily peeked over the blanket.
Just after midnight...
The door opened without a knock.
Linda entered.
She believed both of them were sleeping.
She quietly approached the bassinet.
Sarah watched through nearly closed eyes.
Linda gently touched the baby's blanket.
Then...
To Sarah's surprise...
Linda started crying.
Not pretending.
Real tears.
She whispered so softly Sarah almost couldn't hear.
"I'm so sorry."
Sarah's eyes widened.
Linda pulled a folded photograph from her purse.
She stared at it for several seconds.
"I couldn't save you..."
Another tear rolled down her cheek.
"But maybe I can save him."
Sarah's confusion deepened.
Save him?
Before she could understand, another voice came from outside.
"Linda."
Dr. Harrison.
Linda quickly wiped away her tears and stepped into the hallway.
Sarah waited only seconds before carefully following.
Keeping just enough distance to remain unseen.
The doctor stood near the nurses' station.
"You've become emotional."
Linda answered coldly.
"Don't mistake grief for weakness."
"You remember the agreement."
"I remember every word."
Sarah hid behind a vending machine.
Dr. Harrison looked around before speaking again.
"Our investors are becoming impatient."
Linda's face remained expressionless.
"The Carter transfer happens tonight."
"No."
The single word shocked Sarah.
Dr. Harrison frowned.
"What?"
"I said no."
The doctor's smile disappeared.
"You don't get to change the plan."
Linda stepped closer.
"I've spent twenty-eight years pretending to obey people like you."
Sarah stopped breathing.
Twenty-eight years?
Dr. Harrison's eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?"
Linda reached into her purse.
Not for money.
For another photograph.
She held it up.
It showed a little girl with bright brown curls.
About six years old.
Sarah had never seen the picture before.
Linda's voice trembled.
"Her name was Rebecca."
The doctor looked annoyed.
"We've discussed this."
"No."
Linda shook her head.
"You've avoided it."
Sarah stared.
Who was Rebecca?
Linda continued.
"She was my daughter."
Sarah frowned.
I'm her daughter.
Then realization struck.
Before Sarah.
Years before Sarah was born.
Linda had another child.
A daughter Sarah had never known existed.
"My husband and I brought her to this hospital after a car accident."
Linda's voice cracked.
"They said she'd be transferred to another facility."
Dr. Harrison remained silent.
"They told us the ambulance crashed."
"They said everyone died."
Linda looked directly into his eyes.
"I believed you."
Sarah felt chills spread through her body.
Linda continued.
"Seven years later..."
"I discovered there had never been another ambulance."
"There had never been another hospital."
"There had never been an accident report."
Dr. Harrison quietly sighed.
"You should have let the past stay buried."
Linda's voice hardened.
"You stole my daughter."
Silence.
The hallway suddenly felt impossibly still.
Even the monitors seemed quieter.
Sarah couldn't move.
Everything she believed about Linda was falling apart.
"You murdered my family," Linda whispered.
"My husband drank himself to death because he blamed himself."
"My marriage ended."
"My life ended."
"And all because of you."
Dr. Harrison crossed his arms.
"You have no proof."
Linda smiled.
"Oh..."
"I do now."
Sarah's eyes widened.
Proof?
Dr. Harrison's expression changed for the first time.
Concern.
"What proof?"
Linda tapped her purse.
"Twenty-eight years."
"I kept every receipt."
"Every fake invoice."
"Every transfer record."
"Every name."
"Every payment."
Sarah's heart raced.
Linda wasn't helping them.
She had been collecting evidence.
Dr. Harrison took one threatening step forward.
"You've been playing both sides."
Linda smiled sadly.
"I had to."
"I couldn't destroy you from the outside."
"So I walked beside you."
"You trusted me."
"You told me everything."
"And now..."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"You're finished."
Suddenly...
A loud crash echoed from inside Room 308.
Emily screamed.
"Mom!"
Sarah spun around and ran.
Pain tore through her body.
She ignored it.
The two security guards were gone.
The room door stood open.
The bassinet was empty.
For one horrifying second...
Sarah thought her son was gone.
Then she saw Emily standing in the corner.
Holding the baby tightly against her chest.
A nurse lay unconscious on the floor.
Another woman stood beside the broken window.
Claire.
She looked terrified.
"They came."
"What happened?"
Claire pointed toward the hallway.
"Someone tried to take him."
Emily hugged the baby even tighter.
"I wouldn't let them."
Sarah rushed over.
She embraced both of her children.
"What happened?"
Emily's voice shook.
"The nurse wasn't really a nurse."
"What?"
"She grabbed my brother."
"I hit her with the lamp."
Sarah stared at the unconscious woman.
The ID badge had fallen off.
It was fake.
Claire quickly locked the door.
"We don't have much time."
Sarah looked toward Linda.
She expected anger.
Instead...
Linda burst into the room carrying a small metal lockbox.
Her breathing was uneven.
Her face pale.
She shoved the box into Sarah's hands.
"Take this."
"What is it?"
"Everything."
"What do you mean?"
"The evidence."
Sarah opened the lid slightly.
Inside were dozens of USB drives...
Old photographs...
Birth certificates...
Hospital ledgers...
And a thick notebook filled with names and dates.
Linda looked directly at Sarah.
"I've been waiting twenty-eight years for someone brave enough to finish this."
Sarah whispered,
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Linda's eyes filled with tears.
"Because if they knew you were involved..."
"They would have killed you."
Before Sarah could answer...
A deafening alarm suddenly echoed through the entire maternity wing.
LOCKDOWN INITIATED.
Red emergency lights began flashing across the corridor.
Hospital doors slammed shut automatically.
Electronic locks clicked into place.
Claire looked toward the hallway in horror.
"No..."
Sarah tightened her grip on the lockbox.
"What?"
Claire whispered the words Sarah feared most.
"They know the evidence is gone."
At that exact moment...
Someone began pounding violently on the locked hospital room door.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then a deep voice called from the other side.
"Mrs. Carter..."
"We know you're in there."
A long pause followed.
Then came the words that made everyone's blood run cold.
May you like
"You have exactly one minute to hand over the baby."
End of Chapter 3
