Chapter 7: What They Did to My Sister's Baby
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Victor Hale's final sentence seemed to hang in the air long after the call disconnected.
Grace didn't die because Travis pushed her. She died because she discovered what we did to her baby.
I stared at Gerald.
Then at Sheriff Brooks.
"What does that mean?""
Neither man answered immediately.
Sloane had backed against the metal wall of the storage unit. Her handbag slipped from her fingers and landed on the concrete.
"No," she whispered.
I turned toward her.
"What do you know?""
She shook her head.
"I don't know anything.""
"Don't lie to me.""
"I'm not!""
I stepped closer.
"That man just said he and Travis did something to my sister's baby. What does that mean?""
Sloane covered her mouth.
Sheriff Brooks intervened.
"Natalie, step back. Miss Bennett, I need you to answer carefully. Have you ever heard Travis discuss Lucas's medical records?""
Sloane looked at him.
"Medical records?""
"Anything involving Grace's pregnancy. Hospital appointments. Medication. Medical insurance.""
Her eyes moved toward Gerald.
Then she whispered, "There was a doctor.""
"What doctor?"" Gerald asked.
"Someone Travis knew.""
Sheriff Brooks opened his notebook.
"Name?""
"Dr. Peter Whitmore.""
Gerald's expression changed.
"Where did you hear that name?""
"Travis mentioned him several times. He said the doctor was helping Grace because her pregnancy was considered high-risk.""
I frowned.
"Grace's pregnancy wasn't high-risk.""
"That's what I thought.""
"What did Travis tell you?""
Sloane swallowed.
"He said Grace was having complications. He told me there was a possibility the baby wouldn't survive.""
I felt sick.
"Why would he tell you that?""
She looked down.
"Because he said he didn't want to raise a child with Grace.""
The words struck me harder than I expected.
My sister had spent months buying tiny clothes, choosing nursery colors, and talking about the future.
Meanwhile, her husband had apparently been discussing the possibility of losing the baby with his mistress.
Sheriff Brooks wrote something down.
"Did you ever meet Dr. Whitmore?""
Sloane nodded.
"Once.""
"Where?""
"At Calloway Development's office.""
"What was he doing there?""
"He brought Travis some paperwork.""
"What paperwork?""
"I don't know. It was in a brown folder.""
Gerald stepped closer.
"Did you see any hospital documents?""
Sloane hesitated.
"Yes.""
"What did they say?""
"I saw Grace's name on one of them.""
I grabbed the edge of a shelf.
"What?""
Sloane looked at me.
"Travis told me Grace had signed consent forms for some additional medical testing.""
"She never told me about additional testing.""
"I don't know what the forms were for.""
Sheriff Brooks raised his hand.
"That's enough for now. We'll obtain the medical records through the proper channels.""
He turned toward his deputy.
"Find Dr. Peter Whitmore. I want to know where he is and whether he had any professional involvement with Mrs. Calloway.""
The deputy nodded and stepped outside to make the call.
I looked at Gerald.
"Grace's hospital records. Can we get them?""
"Not without following the appropriate legal process. However, she left me an authorization concerning certain medical documents.""
He opened his briefcase.
"I haven't reviewed all of them yet.""
"Why not?""
"Because Grace specifically instructed me not to release the medical packet until the financial investigation had begun.""
I stared at him.
"She knew something was wrong.""
Gerald nodded.
"I believe she suspected more than she told me.""
He removed a sealed white envelope.
Across the front, Grace had written:
*FOR NATALIE. ONLY IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME.*
My hands began trembling again.
I opened it.
Inside was a copy of a hospital appointment schedule, several printed emails, and a short handwritten note.
Nat,
I need you to check something for me.
Three weeks ago, Travis insisted on driving me to an appointment with Dr. Whitmore. He said my regular obstetrician was unavailable.
The appointment lasted less than fifteen minutes.
Afterward, Travis told me the baby was developing normally.
But when I called my regular doctor's office, they had no record of the appointment.
I looked up.
"Why didn't she tell anyone?""
Gerald answered quietly.
"She may have been trying to verify what happened before making an accusation.""
I continued reading.
I found a medical bill in Travis's office. It was for a procedure I never received.
The patient name was mine.
The date was the day I went to the clinic.
But the description didn't make sense.
A final line had been underlined twice.
If anything happens to Lucas, please find out what they did.
I lowered the paper.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
My sister had suspected something was happening to her unborn child.
And she'd been investigating it alone.
Sheriff Brooks approached.
"Natalie, I need to ask you something.""
I looked at him.
"Yes?""
"Did Grace ever tell you she had concerns about the baby's movements?""
I remembered a conversation from two weeks before her death.
She had called me late one evening.
She'd sounded exhausted.
"She said Lucas was moving less.""
Sheriff Brooks nodded.
"Did she contact her doctor?""
"Yes. She said she had an appointment scheduled.""
"Did she attend?""
"I don't know.""
Sloane suddenly spoke.
"Travis told me she went.""
We turned toward her.
"When?"" I asked.
"The week before she died.""
"How do you know?""
"He said everything had been taken care of.""
I felt anger rising.
"Taken care of?""
Sloane's eyes filled.
"He used those exact words.""
Sheriff Brooks looked at Gerald.
"I want the medical packet preserved immediately.""
Gerald nodded.
"Agreed.""
The sheriff's phone rang.
He answered.
"Brooks.""
A few seconds passed.
Then his expression changed.
"Are you certain?""
He listened again.
"Send me the report.""
He ended the call.
"What happened?"" I asked.
"Dr. Whitmore's office was searched this morning.""
"By whom?""
"State investigators. Apparently, his clinic has been under investigation for improper billing and falsified patient records.""
My stomach dropped.
"Is he still practicing?""
"No. He surrendered his medical license temporarily last month.""
Gerald looked at the documents in his hand.
"Does the investigation involve Calloway Development?""
The sheriff hesitated.
"That's what we're trying to establish.""
Then his phone rang again.
This time, the caller was one of the deputies.
"Sir, we found him.""
"Where?""
"At his residence.""
"Bring him in.""
The deputy said something else.
The sheriff's expression darkened.
"What do you mean, he has already left?""
He listened.
Then ended the call.
"Dr. Whitmore is missing.""
Sloane began crying.
I looked at her.
"What aren't you telling us?""
She shook her head.
"I swear I don't know.""
But her eyes moved toward the filing cabinet.
The sheriff noticed.
"Miss Bennett?""
She swallowed.
"There's something else in that envelope.""
Gerald returned to the documents.
He found a smaller folded page tucked between the financial statements.
It contained a handwritten list.
Three names.
Travis Calloway.
Victor Hale.
Peter Whitmore.
Beside each name, Grace had written a date.
The final date was October 14.
And beneath the list was a sentence:
They all knew about the appointment. They all knew Lucas was alive.
My knees weakened.
Sheriff Brooks looked at the note.
"Alive?""
Gerald turned the page over.
There was another message.
This one had been written in a hurry.
If they tell you my baby was already gone before I fell, don't believe them.
I stared at the words.
The baby.
Lucas.
Had someone told the hospital he had died before Grace fell?
Had they changed the medical records?
Had my sister been fighting to save her child while the people around her were pretending nothing was wrong?
Sheriff Brooks placed the documents into an evidence folder.
"We need to get to the hospital.""
I followed him outside.
But before we reached the sheriff's vehicle, Gerald's phone rang again.
He answered.
A woman's voice spoke urgently.
"Mr. Finch? This is Nurse Olivia Carter. I worked at Harmon County Medical Center on the night Grace Calloway was admitted.""
Gerald stopped walking.
"Yes?""
"I saw something in her medical file that didn't belong there.""
"What?""
There was a long silence.
Then the nurse whispered:
"Grace's baby was still alive when she arrived.""
I gripped the car door.
"What?""
May you like
The nurse continued.
"And I have the original chart.""
