Chapter 6 - What the Hospital Knew
Megan was taken to the hospital for examination and observation.
Jake remained beside her while the doctors checked the baby’s condition. The bruises were painful but did not threaten the pregnancy. The baby’s heartbeat was strong.
Dr. Reed arrived shortly after midnight.
When Jake saw him, he recognized the man from the photograph.
Shame settled over him.
“You were helping her,” Jake said.
Dr. Reed nodded.
“Megan was referred to me because of pregnancy complications. We became concerned about her safety.”
“Why didn’t anyone contact me?”
Megan answered before the doctor could.
“Because I asked them not to.”
Jake turned toward her.
“Why?”
“Lorraine told me that reporting her would trigger a military investigation. She said you could lose your position because the situation happened in your home.”
“That was never true.”
“I know that now.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“She also showed me pictures of my sister. She knew where Emma worked and when she left. She said that if I ruined her relationship with you, she would ruin my sister’s life too.”
Jake sat beside the hospital bed.
“You should have told me.”
“I tried.”
Megan pointed toward her phone, which now rested inside an evidence bag.
“Every time we spoke, she was nearby. When I sent messages, she checked them. When I changed my password, she took my phone while I was sleeping.”
Jake remembered Megan’s brief replies, her dark video calls, and the strange pauses whenever he asked whether she was okay.
He had interpreted them as distance.
They had been signals.
“I failed you,” he said.
Megan shook her head.
“She designed everything so you would doubt me.”
“But I did doubt you.”
“You came home angry,” Megan said. “But when you saw I was afraid, you stopped. You listened.”
“That doesn’t erase what happened.”
“No. It doesn’t.”
Alicia entered with a folder.
Inside were notes from Megan’s appointments, copies of threatening messages, medical records, and photographs documenting the worsening situation.
There was also a statement from a neighbor who had heard arguments through the apartment wall.
Alicia placed the folder on the table.
“This establishes a pattern,” she said. “It may also connect Lorraine to the anonymous messages sent to Jake.”
The police had already seized two phones from Lorraine.
One was her personal device.
The other was the phone Megan had seen on the kitchen counter, the one containing photographs of Emma.
By morning, investigators confirmed that the anonymous messages had been sent through an application installed on that second phone.
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Lorraine had not merely lied to Jake.
She had created a complete false betrayal to isolate Megan from the only person who could protect her.
