Chapter 6 - ROOM 214
St. Andrews Medical Center was forty minutes away.
Nathan arrived at 8:43 a.m.
Claire stayed in the car at first.
Ethan insisted on coming.
Nathan tried to stop him.
Ethan refused.
“This started affecting me the second she walked into our house.”
Nathan did not argue again.
At 8:58, Vanessa texted.
SECOND FLOOR.
ROOM 214.
Nathan and Ethan walked through the hospital lobby.
Room 214 existed.
But it was not an obstetrics examination room.
It was an administrative conference room.
Nathan stared through the glass panel.
Empty chairs.
A long table.
No equipment.
No Vanessa.
He called her.
No answer.
Then another text appeared.
SORRY.
EMERGENCY.
THEY MOVED ME TO WOMEN’S IMAGING.
Nathan asked a nurse for directions.
The nurse frowned.
“Women’s Imaging is in the east building.”
“Is Vanessa Reed scheduled there?”
“I can’t provide patient information.”
Nathan nodded.
“I understand.”
Ethan noticed something on a nearby sign.
The east building had been closed for renovation since Monday.
He pointed.
Nathan’s face hardened.
They returned downstairs.
Vanessa called.
Nathan answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
“I told you.”
“The east building is closed.”
Silence.
“Nathan.”
“Where are you?”
She started crying again.
“I lost the baby.”
Nathan stopped walking.
Ethan stared at him.
“What?”
Vanessa sobbed.
“It happened last night.”
Nathan gripped the phone.
“Where are you?”
“I can’t see you.”
“Which hospital?”
“I left.”
“Who treated you?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You don’t remember your doctor?”
“I was traumatized.”
Ethan whispered, “Ask for the discharge paperwork.”
Nathan did.
Vanessa’s breathing changed.
“I threw it away.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
Then his voice became almost calm.
“There was never a baby.”
Vanessa stopped crying.
Nathan continued.
“There was never an appointment.”
Silence.
“There was never an ultrasound.”
More silence.
“And now there was never a miscarriage.”
Vanessa whispered, “Be careful.”
Nathan opened his eyes.
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
“It sounded like one.”
“You’re emotional.”
Nathan laughed once.
The sound had no humor in it.
“You have no idea how calm I am.”
Then Vanessa said something neither Nathan nor Ethan expected.
“You think this is just about you?”
Nathan’s expression sharpened.
“What does that mean?”
The call disconnected.
Ethan looked at him.
“Dad.”
Nathan stared at the phone.
“She said this isn’t just about me.”
Claire joined them near the entrance.
Nathan repeated the conversation.
Claire’s anger disappeared behind something more cautious.
“If the pregnancy was fake, what did she actually want?”
Nathan had no answer.
They returned home.
At 1:17 p.m., Nathan received an email from his company’s legal department.
It concerned a confidential ownership agreement.
Someone had attempted to submit documents identifying Vanessa Reed as the expected mother of Nathan Caldwell’s biological heir.
The filing had been rejected because one signature was missing.
Nathan read the email twice.
Claire stood beside him.
Ethan watched from across the kitchen.
Nathan whispered, “That’s why.”
Claire looked at him.
“Why what?”
Nathan turned the laptop toward her.
“My grandfather’s trust.”
He looked sick.
“If I have another biological child, part of the Caldwell family trust automatically reallocates.”
Ethan stared at him.
“To the baby?”
Nathan nodded.
“Twenty-five percent.”
Claire’s voice dropped.
“How much is twenty-five percent?”
Nathan looked at Ethan before answering.
“Approximately forty-two million dollars.”
May you like
Suddenly the fake pregnancy was no longer only a lie.
It was a plan.
