Chapter 6 - The Doctor Without a Hospital
Daniel did not open the door.
He called the police while Emily carried Noah upstairs and locked herself inside the nursery.
The man outside continued knocking for nearly a minute. Then the security camera showed him walking back to an unmarked black car.
By the time an officer arrived, the vehicle was gone.
The officer reviewed the footage and wrote down the license plate. It belonged to a private medical transport company that had closed three years earlier.
The man’s face was partially visible.
Daniel enlarged the image.
“I know him.”
Emily looked over his shoulder.
“Who is he?”
“Dr. Adrian Wells. He was our family physician when I was a child.”
The officer searched the state licensing database.
Adrian Wells had lost his medical license eight years earlier following allegations that he falsified patient records. No criminal charges had been filed.
“What was he here to evaluate?” the officer asked.
“We don’t know,” Emily replied.
Daniel showed him the monitor device and the altered recording.
The officer listened, then placed the memory card in an evidence envelope.
“This proves someone altered an old recording,” he said. “It does not prove your mother intended to harm your child.”
“She entered our home using a key she claimed she lost,” Emily said.
“Change the locks.”
“She registered a pharmacy appointment under his name.”
“Contact the pharmacy and obtain the records.”
“She installed the monitor.”
“Disconnect it.”
Emily’s frustration rose.
“So we wait until something happens?”
The officer’s expression softened.
“No. You document everything, limit access, and do not leave the child alone with anyone you suspect.”
After he left, Daniel changed every access code in the house. He ordered a locksmith and contacted Hillcrest Pharmacy again.
This time, the manager answered.
When Daniel explained the situation, the manager became cautious.
“There was a prescription entered under Noah Hart’s profile,” she admitted. “It was later canceled.”
“Who entered it?”
“The system identifies Dr. Adrian Wells.”
“He is not licensed.”
“We are aware of that now.”
“How did it pass verification?”
The manager hesitated.
“The order was created through an inactive provider account that should have been disabled.”
“What was prescribed?”
“I cannot provide the medication name without a formal records request.”
“Was it dangerous?”
“All medication can be dangerous when given incorrectly.”
“Did someone collect it?”
“No. The order was canceled before dispensing.”
Emily leaned closer to the phone.
“Then why did someone schedule a consultation?”
“The consultation was connected to the order.”
“Did Vivian Hart visit the pharmacy?”
“I cannot confirm customer information.”
Daniel lost patience.
“My six-month-old son’s identity was used by an unlicensed doctor.”
“I understand, sir. Our legal department will contact you.”
The manager ended the call.
An hour later, the pharmacy’s website went offline.
By evening, every record of the phone consultation had disappeared from Emily’s patient portal.
Daniel called Claire repeatedly.
She did not answer.
Vivian also ignored them.
At nine, the new locks were installed.
At ten, Emily found an envelope beneath the windshield wiper of her car.
Inside was a photograph of Daniel’s father standing beside a hospital crib. On the back, someone had written a date from thirty-two years earlier.
Beneath the date were four words.
He knew Lydia survived.
Emily took the photograph inside.
Daniel stared at it for a long time.
“That isn’t possible.”
“Maybe the baby in the photograph wasn’t Lydia.”
He turned the picture beneath the kitchen light.
A hospital bracelet was visible around the baby’s ankle. The name was blurred, but the patient number could still be read.
Daniel searched the number online without success.
Then Noah began crying upstairs.
Emily rushed to the nursery.
The crib was empty.
For one terrifying second, she could not breathe.
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Then Vivian stepped from behind the nursery door, holding Noah in her arms.
“I told you,” Vivian said quietly. “These new locks will not protect him from the wrong person.”
