Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN IN THE HALLWAY
By sunset, Adrian had placed two security officers outside my room.
I didn't ask for them.
He didn't ask permission.
Apparently, that was how Adrian Blackwood handled threats.
He simply removed them.
I stared at the two men standing outside my door.
“Are they armed?”
Adrian looked at me.
“Yes.”
I sighed.
“This is a hospital.”
“Exactly.”
“You're frightening me.”
“I'd rather frighten you than bury you.”
I didn't know what to say to that.
He sat beside the window.
For the first time, he looked tired.
“You haven't slept.”
“Neither have you.”
“I have people who handle things for me.”
“So do I.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Your husband fired them.”
I looked away.
That hurt more than I expected.
“I'm sorry.”
“Don't be.”
“I trusted him.”
“So did I.”
His eyes met mine.
“You trusted him with your life.”
I nodded.
“And he treated that trust like an asset he could liquidate.”
I swallowed.
“Why are you helping me?”
He didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
“Because I know what it's like to discover that the person sleeping beside you isn't who you thought.”
Something about his voice made me look at him.
There was history there.
Pain.
But before I could ask, the hospital lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went out.
The corridor went black.
Someone screamed.
Emergency lights came on.
Adrian stood instantly.
“Stay here.”
A crash sounded outside.
One of the security guards shouted.
“Sir!”
Adrian moved toward the door.
Then stopped.
“Claire, lock it.”
“What?”
“Now.”
I grabbed the lock.
A second later, footsteps thundered down the hallway.
A woman screamed.
Then silence.
Adrian opened the door slightly.
The guard whispered something.
His face changed.
“What happened?”
“Someone tried to enter the NICU.”
My blood ran cold.
“My babies?”
“They're secure.”
Adrian closed the door.
“Who was it?”
The guard hesitated.
“A woman.”
“What woman?”
“She had hospital credentials.”
My heart raced.
“Did you catch her?”
“No.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“What did she look like?”
“Blonde. Early thirties. Black coat.”
I knew immediately.
“Sabrina.”
Adrian looked at me.
“You know her?”
“She was with Ethan.”
He said nothing.
Then the door opened again.
A doctor rushed inside.
“Mrs. Mercer, I need you to come with me.”
“What happened?”
“There's been a problem with one of the babies.”
My entire body went cold.
“What problem?”
“Baby Three's oxygen levels dropped.”
I tried to stand.
Pain shot through my abdomen.
Adrian caught me.
“Easy.”
“My baby.”
“We'll get there.”
The doctor shook his head.
“Mr. Blackwood can't come into the NICU.”
Adrian stared at him.
“Then I'll wait outside.”
I was rushed down the hallway.
The NICU doors opened.
Machines screamed.
Nurses moved quickly.
My son's tiny body lay beneath the lights.
“What's happening?”
“He's struggling to breathe.”
I pressed my hand against the incubator.
“Mommy's here.”
The monitor changed.
The nurse looked up.
“His oxygen is improving.”
I began crying.
“Talk to him.”
I leaned closer.
“Mommy's here, sweetheart.”
His tiny fingers moved.
The nurse smiled.
“He knows your voice.”
I stayed there for nearly an hour.
When I finally returned to my room, Adrian was waiting.
He had blood on his knuckles.
I stared at his hand.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“That's blood.”
“Not mine.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who did you hurt?”
He didn't answer.
Then he said:
“The woman from the hallway was found.”
“Where?”
“Two floors below.”
“Was it Sabrina?”
“No.”
He placed a photograph on the table.
I looked at it.
A woman.
Dark hair.
Hospital uniform.
She looked terrified.
“Who is she?”
“Her name is Marissa Cole.”
“Does she work here?”
“No.”
“Then how did she get credentials?”
Adrian sat down.
“Someone gave them to her.”
“Who?”
“We're working on that.”
I stared at the photograph.
Then I noticed something.
A bracelet.
Silver.
I had seen it before.
My heart dropped.
“Ethan.”
Adrian looked at me.
“What?”
“He gave that bracelet to his assistant.”
“Which assistant?”
“Vanessa.”
He stared at the photo.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
“Claire, Vanessa disappeared six months ago.”
My stomach tightened.
“She didn't disappear.”
“What?”
“I saw her.”
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Where?”
“Outside Ethan's office.”
“Did she speak to you?”
“No.”
“Did Ethan know you saw her?”
“I don't know.”
Adrian stood.
“Don't tell anyone else.”
“Why?”
“Because if Vanessa is alive, she may be the person who knows what Ethan has been hiding.”
I looked toward the NICU.
“What could be so important that someone would try to get near my babies?”
Adrian's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
“What?”
Silence.
Then:
“Are you sure?”
Another pause.
“Send it to me.”
He hung up.
I waited.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“The hospital records were accessed tonight.”
“By whom?”
“Someone using Ethan's credentials.”
My heart sank.
“What did they access?”
“Your children's birth records.”
“Why?”
Adrian didn't answer.
He looked toward the NICU.
Then back at me.
“They weren't looking for your medical information.”
“What were they looking for?”
“Their blood types.”
I felt a chill.
“Why?”
Adrian's face became grim.
“Because one of your babies has a blood type Ethan Mercer isn't supposed to have.”
I couldn't breathe.
“What?”
He took out his phone.
“The records show Baby One is O-negative.”
“So?”
Adrian stared at me.
“Ethan Mercer is AB-positive.”
My heart pounded.
“That doesn't mean—”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“It doesn't prove anything.”
“But?”
“But it means someone wants you to question the children's paternity.”
I stared at my sleeping babies through the glass.
Three tiny lives.
Three miracles.
And suddenly, the question I'd been terrified to ask entered my mind.
If Ethan wasn't their father…
Then who was?
At midnight, I finally fell asleep.
Or thought I did.
A hand touched my shoulder.
I opened my eyes.
A woman stood beside my bed.
Blonde hair.
Black coat.
Pale face.
Sabrina.
I tried to scream.
She covered my mouth.
“Don't.”
I froze.
She whispered:
“Claire, Ethan isn't the one you should be afraid of.”
My heart hammered.
“What do you want?”
She looked toward the door.
“Your children.”
I stared at her.
She began crying.
“Not because I want them.”
“Then why?”
“Because Ethan does.”
I couldn't move.
“He told me he needs the babies alive.”
“Why?”
She looked at me.
“Because they aren't just his children.”
The door suddenly opened.
Adrian stood there.
Sabrina turned.
For one second, fear crossed her face.
Then she ran.
Adrian chased her into the hallway.
I heard shouting.
Footsteps.
Then silence.
Adrian returned thirty seconds later.
“She escaped.”
I stared at him.
“What did she mean?”
He looked at me.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
He didn't deny it.
Instead, he reached into his coat and pulled out a photograph.
He placed it on my bed.
I picked it up.
It showed Ethan.
Standing beside a woman I'd never seen.
And between them was a man.
A man whose face had been blacked out.
On the back of the photograph were four words.
PROJECT THREE WAS SUCCESSFUL.
I looked up.
“What is Project Three?”
Adrian's eyes met mine.
“I think that's what your marriage was really about.”
And suddenly, the five years I'd spent believing I'd married a wealthy businessman began to look like something much darker.
Something planned.
May you like
Something deliberate.
Something that had begun long before I ever met Ethan Mercer.
