Chapter 5 - A LIE HIDDEN IN THE HOSPITAL RECORDS
I had never heard the name Natalie Reed.
Rebecca had.
When I forwarded the photograph, she called within minutes.
"Claire, where did you get this?"
"Anonymous message."
"Do not share it publicly."
"Why?"
"Because identity documents can be forged, and we don't know whether this is authentic."
I sat down.
"Can you investigate?"
"Yes, through lawful records requests and a licensed investigator."
"How long?"
"I'll start immediately."
I looked at Vanessa's photograph.
Same dark hair.
Same almond-shaped eyes.
Same small scar beneath the chin.
But a different name.
A different history.
And, perhaps, an entirely different reason for entering my marriage.
---
At the hospital, the complaint against me was becoming increasingly serious.
Dr. Whitcomb called me into her office.
The head of nursing and a risk-management representative were present.
I sat opposite them.
"Claire," Eleanor began, "we've reviewed the preliminary documentation."
I folded my hands.
"And?"
"The available records indicate that you requested the obstetric response promptly."
Relief moved through me.
"But Vanessa claims there was a delay before she reached the treatment area."
"The emergency department was overcrowded. Triage staff brought her directly to a monitored room."
"We know."
The risk manager leaned forward.
"There's something else."
He opened a folder.
A copied chart entry appeared.
It contained a physician note supposedly written by me.
The text said that I had declined to assess Vanessa because of a personal conflict.
I stared at it.
"I didn't write that."
Eleanor nodded.
"We suspected as much."
"How?"
"The note was entered using your login credentials from a workstation on another floor while you were documented at the bedside."
My stomach tightened.
Someone had accessed my account.
Someone had inserted a false note into Vanessa's records.
"Can you identify them?"
"Information security is investigating. We have preserved the audit logs."
I leaned forward.
"Do not delete anything."
"We won't."
The risk manager looked at me.
"Until the investigation is complete, we'll keep you away from this patient's care. That's to prevent further conflicts, not a disciplinary finding."
I nodded.
It was reasonable.
But I felt as if the floor had disappeared beneath me.
Someone had tried to frame me for medical misconduct.
And whoever had done it understood hospital systems well enough to manipulate an electronic chart.
---
That night, I met Rebecca at her office.
A private investigator named Thomas Bell joined us.
He was a former insurance-fraud examiner with a reputation for finding inconsistencies in corporate records.
He placed a photograph on the table.
"Natalie Reed worked as an administrative coordinator for a fertility consulting company in 2021."
"Where?"
"New York."
I looked at Rebecca.
"Vincent traveled there constantly."
Thomas nodded.
"The company was called Northbridge Family Services."
He showed me another page.
"Northbridge closed after complaints about improper billing and misleading financial representations to clients."
"Was Natalie involved?"
"We don't know. There's no basis to accuse her of criminal wrongdoing from employment alone."
I studied the information.
"Then why change her name?"
"That also needs verification. A legal name change isn't evidence of wrongdoing."
Rebecca leaned closer.
"Claire, the important thing is that Vincent may have known her longer than you realized."
Thomas opened a final photograph.
It showed Vincent attending a Northbridge fundraising event.
The date was September 2021.
Vanessa stood beside him.
Her name badge read Natalie Reed.
I counted backward.
Vincent and I had been married less than a year.
He had told me he was attending a construction financing conference.
Instead, he was standing beside the woman who would eventually become pregnant with his child.
I felt strangely calm.
Perhaps there was a limit to how many betrayals a heart could absorb before it stopped reacting.
Then Thomas slid another document across the table.
It was a consulting agreement.
Northbridge Family Services had received payments from Moretti Development Group.
More than six hundred thousand dollars over four years.
"Why would a real estate company pay a fertility consulting firm?" I asked.
Rebecca exchanged a look with Thomas.
"That's the question."
I examined the signature page.
The agreement had been approved by Vincent.
But the payment authorization came from another person.
Margaret Moretti.
His mother.
May you like
The same woman who had told me Vanessa was the only person capable of giving Vincent the family he deserved.
---
