Chapter 4 - The Surgeon and the Thief
Nathan spent the morning beside Owen and Ethan, listening to the quiet machinery that measured their fragile progress.
He could not operate his way out of this nightmare or bargain the children back with his fortune.
A court order temporarily restricted Marcus from approaching the babies while investigators reviewed their emergency circumstances.
Whitcomb's firm sent Nathan a letter accusing him of interfering with a legitimate parent-child relationship.
Nathan forwarded it to independent attorney Grace Holloway, who noticed that the letter referred to a hearing that had not yet been scheduled.
'He is preparing the battlefield before anyone files a case,' Grace said.
The damaged camera from Evergreen held one surviving video file.
On it, Sarah sat at a kitchen table with a bruised cheek and spoke directly into the lens.
She said Marcus had taken her first child after birth, returned her months later, then convinced her the child was someone else.
She began describing a woman named Helen Ward, the nurse who had recorded the original delivery.
A sound came from the hallway and Sarah stopped speaking.
The recording ended on a blur of movement and a man's voice ordering her to turn the camera off.
Nathan recognized Marcus.
That afternoon, Marcus appeared on local television, weeping as he begged the wealthy surgeon to release his children.
He held up family photographs and claimed Sarah was recovering from a private medical crisis.
The reporter repeated the claim without independent confirmation.
Nathan watched in stunned anger as strangers online accused him of exploiting the blizzard to steal children.
Then Grace received a sealed notice from the court.
A petition had been filed on Sarah's behalf, demanding immediate return of Lily and the twins.
The signature at the bottom looked like Sarah's.
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The filing date was that morning.
