Chapter 5 - Somebody Wanted My Medical History
Hands rolled me before I could move myself.
An oxygen mask covered my face.
“Stay with me, Emily.”
I tried to ask about the baby.
Dr. Patel pressed two fingers against my wrist.
“Ninety-two and climbing.”
The monitor beeped.
One hundred five.
One hundred eighteen.
My lungs unlocked.
Charles stood against the wall with both fists clenched, white around the knuckles.
A nurse adjusted the monitor.
“Baby’s recovering.”
I closed my eyes for one second.
Only one.
When I opened them, a hospital administrator was speaking quietly to Dr. Patel in the hallway.
Dr. Patel pulled the curtain shut.
“What happened?” I asked.
She sat down again.
“Your blood pressure dropped sharply.”
“From the medication?”
“Possibly.”
Charles said, “Possibly?”
“We need more testing.”
The administrator entered.
She carried a tablet.
“Mrs. Hale, we found something in your access log.”
I pushed myself higher against the pillow.
“What access log?”
“Your medical records have been opened fourteen times in the last thirty days outside your scheduled visits.”
My throat tightened.
“By who?”
“Credentials assigned to a private medical consultant affiliated with Hale Industries.”
Charles swore under his breath.
He took the tablet.
The name on the screen was Dr. Malcolm Reed.
Charles’s mouth flattened.
“You know him?”
“I hired him after an employee lawsuit eight years ago.”
“Why would he access my records?”
“I don’t know.”
The administrator said, “He shouldn’t have been able to. We’re determining how he got authorization.”
My phone vibrated on the tray.
Once.
Twice.
I picked it up.
A photo loaded.
Me entering the hospital less than an hour earlier.
Charles was beside me carrying my coat.
The picture had been taken from across the ambulance lane.
My scalp tightened.
A message appeared below it.
IF YOU WANT YOUR BABY SAFE, STOP ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT REBECCA.
I stared at the name.
Charles stopped breathing.
I turned the phone toward him.
His face drained.
“Who is Rebecca?”
He looked toward the door.
“Charles.”
He rubbed his palm across his mouth.
“Who is she?”
“Someone from before you met Nathan.”
My heartbeat matched the monitor now.
“His ex?”
Charles didn’t answer.
I pulled off the oxygen mask.
“Did she die?”
“No.”
The answer came too fast.
I watched him.
“You don’t know that.”
His eyes met mine.
And there it was.
Not grief.
Guilt.
A knock struck the door.
Everyone jumped.
A security officer entered.
“Mr. Hale, your son is gone.”
Charles stood.
“What?”
“He left the property after security removed him from this wing.”
I looked at the threatening message again.
Charles took out his phone and called Nathan.
Straight to voicemail.
He called Victoria.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
I said, “Tell me about Rebecca.”
“Emily, this is not the time.”
“It became the time when someone threatened my baby using her name.”
Dr. Patel stepped toward the door.
“I’ll give you privacy.”
“No.”
I looked at Charles.
“You tell me now.”
He sat.
For the first time since I had known him, my father-in-law looked old.
“Nathan was engaged before you.”
I waited.
“Her name was Rebecca Sloan.”
“What happened?”
“We were told she stole money from him.”
“Told by who?”
His eyes closed briefly.
“Nathan.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand dollars.”
“And then?”
“She disappeared.”
My hand slid protectively over my belly.
Charles looked at the photo on my phone.
“I should have asked more questions.”
My voice came out thin.
“What questions?”
May you like
He looked at me.
“Why Rebecca told me, three days before she vanished, that Nathan was controlling her money and medication.”
