Chapter 4 - THE CLINIC THAT DIDN'T EXIST
I spent the entire night trying to understand how a place could exist without existing.
Detective Reed explained it carefully.
The address Thomas provided belonged to an empty commercial building.
No clinic.
No doctors.
No medical license.
No patient records.
Nothing.
But someone had taken Mason there.
Six weeks earlier.
And according to the hospital records, Mason had arrived with bruises.
Then the records had disappeared.
“Who signed him in?” I asked.
“Your son.”
“Thomas?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Detective Reed looked at me.
“That is what we're trying to determine.”
Thomas sat across from us with his head in his hands.
He looked exhausted.
Not like a criminal.
Like a man who had been drowning for months.
But I had learned something important that night.
Sometimes people who look like victims are also capable of becoming perpetrators.
“Thomas,” I said.
He lifted his head.
“Tell me everything.”
“I already told you.”
“No.”
I leaned forward.
“You told us pieces.”
He looked at Mason.
“I was approached about a year ago.”
“By Richard?”
“Yes.”
“What did he want?”
“At first, nothing illegal.”
“What does that mean?”
“They wanted access to medical equipment.”
I frowned.
“Your company sells equipment.”
“I know.”
“So?”
“They were moving equipment off the books.”
“For what?”
“I didn't ask.”
“You should have.”
“I know.”
“What happened?”
“They found out I knew.”
His voice broke.
“They threatened Ellie.”
My anger weakened for a moment.
“How?”
“They knew where she worked. Where we lived. Where Mason would be born.”
My stomach tightened.
“Was Mason planned?”
Thomas nodded.
“They knew about the pregnancy before almost anyone.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
He looked at Detective Reed.
“They said babies were useful.”
I felt sick.
“Useful for what?”
Thomas shook his head.
“I never knew.”
“Then why did they photograph Mason?”
“I was supposed to send them medical information.”
“What kind?”
“Weight. Temperature. Development.”
I stared at him.
“That isn't normal.”
“I know.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Because every time I refused, something happened.”
“What?”
“Ellie's car brakes failed.”
I gasped.
“Her apartment was broken into.”
He swallowed.
“Then someone followed me home.”
I looked at him.
“And Mason?”
Thomas began crying.
“They said if I didn't cooperate, Mason would disappear.”
The room went silent.
For the first time, I understood the terror behind his behavior.
But it didn't excuse what he had done.
“You should have gone to the police.”
“I was afraid.”
“You should have protected your son.”
“I tried.”
“You let him get hurt!”
Thomas broke down.
“I know!”
His cry echoed through the room.
“I know, Mom.”
He covered his face.
“I knew there was a camera.”
My blood froze.
“What?”
“I knew.”
“Where?”
“In the nursery.”
“You knew they were watching Mason?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you remove it?”
“Because they told me if I touched it, they would know.”
I stood.
“You let them watch your baby.”
“I thought it would keep them away.”
“No.”
My voice trembled.
“You were buying time.”
He looked at me.
“Yes.”
“And that time cost Mason his health.”
Thomas nodded.
“I know.”
Before I could respond, Detective Reed's phone rang.
He listened.
Then his face changed.
“What happened?” I asked.
He hung up.
“They found the vehicle.”
“What vehicle?”
“The one that came to your son's apartment yesterday.”
“Who owns it?”
“We don't know yet.”
He paused.
“But the surveillance footage shows someone entering the building at 2:13 in the morning.”
“Who?”
“A woman.”
“Ellie?”
“No.”
He looked directly at Thomas.
“Your son's mother.”
My heart stopped.
“My son's mother?”
“That's you, Mrs. Russell.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“The woman in the footage is wearing a coat identical to yours.”
Thomas stood.
“That's impossible.”
Detective Reed nodded.
“That's why we're investigating.”
Then he placed a photograph on the table.
I looked at it.
A woman was standing outside Thomas's apartment.
Same height.
Same coat.
Same gray hair.
Same handbag.
My handbag.
Except…
I knew exactly where I had been at 2:13 that morning.
Home.
Asleep.
Someone had deliberately made me look guilty.
May you like
And suddenly the case wasn't only about Mason anymore.
Someone was trying to frame me.
