Chapter 9 - The Woman Named Anna
By noon, Daniel had stopped trying to convince himself there was a simple explanation.
There wasn't.
His father had discovered inheritance fraud.
His mother had maintained a bank box under the name of a supposedly dead daughter.
And now she was accessing it before anyone else could.
Officer Brennan obtained surveillance footage from the storage facility.
The person who ran when police arrived had worn a baseball cap and hood.
No identification.
Rebecca spent the morning filing emergency motions.
Clara was discharged shortly after lunch with strict instructions.
No lifting beyond the baby.
No prolonged standing.
No stairs without assistance.
Daniel listened to every word.
This time, he intended to become very good at hearing things the first time.
Marcus drove them home.
Daniel had changed the locks.
He had also installed cameras.
Clara looked around the house nervously.
"She's gone?"
"Yes."
"You checked?"
"Every room."
She nodded.
Noah slept in his car seat.
Daniel helped Clara onto the couch.
She stared at the kitchen.
"I don't want to go in there."
"You don't have to."
"Ever?"
"If that's what you want."
She almost smiled.
Daniel knelt in front of her.
"I'm serious."
Clara touched his face.
"You're trying too hard."
"I didn't try enough before."
"Those aren't opposites."
Daniel looked down.
She squeezed his hand.
"Just believe me."
He nodded.
"I do."
The doorbell rang.
Both froze.
Daniel checked the camera.
Rebecca Sloan.
He let her in.
She carried a thick legal file.
"You shouldn't be here long," Daniel said. "Clara needs rest."
"I won't."
Rebecca sat across from them.
"The bank refused to release the box contents."
"Because Mom got there first."
"Partly."
"What else?"
Rebecca opened her folder.
"Because Anna Carter is not legally dead."
Daniel stared.
"Excuse me?"
"The death certificate your mother provided the trust was never filed with the state."
"So Anna never existed?"
"That's one possibility."
Clara spoke quietly.
"Or she existed and didn't die."
Rebecca nodded.
Daniel stood and paced.
"Where would she be?"
"We don't know."
"How do you lose a person?"
"Sometimes intentionally."
Daniel stopped.
"What are you saying?"
Rebecca removed a photocopy.
Birth certificate.
Anna Louise Carter.
Mother: Evelyn Marie Carter.
Father: Thomas Henry Carter.
Daniel stared at his father's signature.
"Is this real?"
"We don't know."
"The hospital?"
"Closed in 2002."
"Doctor?"
"Dead."
"Nurse?"
"Most records destroyed under standard retention policies."
Clara examined the certificate.
"There's something wrong."
Daniel looked at her.
"What?"
"The date."
"What about it?"
Clara pointed.
"Anna was born April 17."
Daniel nodded.
"So?"
"Your mother's birthday is April 17."
Rebecca leaned closer.
Clara continued.
"And look at the time of birth."
4:17 a.m.
Daniel stared.
"Coincidence?"
Clara shook her head.
"Maybe."
Rebecca removed another paper.
"We found something stranger."
It was a childhood medical record.
Anna Carter.
Age five.
Daniel's heart stopped.
"You said she died at seven months."
"That's what Evelyn told the trust."
"So this proves she was alive."
"If authentic."
Daniel stared at the document.
"Where was she treated?"
"North Ridge Pediatric Clinic."
"Does it still exist?"
"Yes."
Daniel looked at Rebecca.
"Then someone must remember her."
Rebecca nodded.
"I already called."
"And?"
"The physician who signed this record retired twelve years ago."
"Name?"
"Dr. Harold Finch."
"Where is he?"
"Assisted living."
Daniel grabbed his keys.
Clara immediately said, "No."
He turned.
"Clara."
"You're not driving across the state chasing a retired doctor alone."
Rebecca agreed.
"She's right."
Daniel looked between them.
"I'm tired of waiting while my mother destroys evidence."
Clara's expression softened.
"Then don't wait alone."
Two hours later, Brennan met Daniel outside the assisted living facility.
Dr. Harold Finch was eighty-seven.
Thin.
Sharp-eyed.
He studied the copied medical record.
"I remember this."
Daniel's pulse raced.
"You remember Anna?"
Finch looked up.
"I remember Evelyn."
"Was Anna real?"
The old doctor hesitated.
"She brought a girl to my clinic several times."
Daniel felt the room shrink.
"What did she look like?"
"Dark hair. Very quiet."
"How old?"
"Five or six."
"Was my father with her?"
"Once."
Daniel leaned forward.
"What happened?"
Finch looked toward the window.
"He argued with Evelyn in the parking lot."
"About?"
"I couldn't hear everything."
"Anything?"
The doctor looked back.
"Thomas kept saying the girl wasn't theirs."
Daniel's blood went cold.
"What?"
"He said, 'You can't keep pretending she's ours.'"
Brennan leaned forward.
"Do you remember the girl's real name?"
Finch closed his eyes.
For several seconds, Daniel thought he might not answer.
Then he whispered:
"Margaret."
Daniel frowned.
"Margaret who?"
Finch opened his eyes.
"I don't know."
"Where did she come from?"
"I assumed family."
"Did you ever see her again?"
"One final time."
"When?"
"She was around seven."
"What happened?"
Finch's face changed.
"She was terrified."
"Of Evelyn?"
He nodded.
"She told me something while Evelyn stepped outside."
Daniel's heart hammered.
"What?"
May you like
Finch looked directly at him.
"She said, 'Mrs. Carter told me if I tell people my real mommy is alive, she'll send me back underground.'"
