Chapter 2 - THE THIRD VISITOR
Adam struck the elevator button so hard that the plastic panel cracked beneath his thumb.
The display above the doors showed the car descending from the seventh floor.
Six.
Five.
Four.
He pulled out his phone and called hospital security.
“This is Adam Carter.”
The operator recognized his name immediately.
“How may I assist you, Mr. Carter?”
“Lock the south lobby.”
“Sir?”
“Dr. Thomas Mercer just entered Elevator C from the maternity floor.”
“I’ll contact the floor supervisor.”
“Do it now.”
Adam ran toward the stairwell.
He pushed through the heavy fire door and took the stairs two at a time.
His shoes slipped once against the concrete.
He caught the railing and kept moving.
By the time he reached the first floor, his chest was burning.
He entered the lobby near the gift shop.
Visitors moved calmly beneath the high glass ceiling.
A security officer stood near the main entrance.
“Where is Mercer?” Adam demanded.
The officer frowned.
“Dr. Mercer?”
“He came down from the seventh floor.”
“I haven’t seen him.”
“Check the elevators.”
The officer spoke into his radio.
Adam scanned the lobby.
Mercer was nowhere in sight.
A second guard approached from the south corridor.
“No one matching his description exited through the main doors.”
“What about the parking structure?”
“We’re checking.”
Adam looked toward the elevators.
A service hallway opened beside them.
“Where does that go?”
“To radiology and the loading area.”
Adam moved toward it.
The guard stepped in front of him.
“Mr. Carter, please wait.”
“Get out of my way.”
“We need to handle this through security protocol.”
“Your protocol allowed a man accused of attacking a pregnant woman onto a restricted maternity floor.”
The guard’s face tightened.
“He is still credentialed here.”
“Not anymore.”
“You do not have the authority to revoke medical credentials.”
Adam stared at him.
“Call Martin Shaw.”
The guard hesitated.
“Call him.”
Martin arrived three minutes later with Evelyn beside him.
Adam saw the coordination immediately.
They had not encountered each other by coincidence.
They had been together.
“Where is Mercer?” Adam asked.
Martin adjusted his glasses.
“Dr. Mercer is not scheduled to work tonight.”
“He was upstairs.”
“That seems unlikely.”
“I saw him.”
Evelyn approached slowly.
“You are exhausted.”
“He showed me Father’s ring.”
Her expression did not change.
“What ring?”
“The signet ring.”
“Your father was buried with it.”
“I know.”
“Then you must have mistaken what you saw.”
“I did not.”
Evelyn glanced at Martin.
“Perhaps Adam should be evaluated.”
Adam laughed once.
It was a cold sound.
“You stage my wife’s bedroom, drug her, bring a doctor into my home, and now you want the hospital to declare me unstable.”
“Listen to yourself.”
“I am listening more carefully than I ever have.”
Martin raised one hand.
“This is not the place.”
“You are right.”
Adam turned to the security officer.
“Preserve every camera recording from the seventh floor, all elevators, the loading dock, and every entrance from the last six hours.”
Martin cleared his throat.
“Security footage is hospital property.”
“It is evidence.”
“No crime has been established.”
“My wife has injuries and an unknown sedative in her bloodstream.”
“Her physician has not released any formal conclusions.”
Adam looked at Evelyn.
“You called Martin before you came here.”
“I notified the hospital that a family member was arriving.”
“You wanted access to the footage.”
“That is absurd.”
“Then you will have no objection to preserving it.”
Evelyn held his gaze.
“I object to you turning a personal tragedy into a public spectacle.”
“You are afraid of the public.”
“I am concerned about Lily.”
“Do not say her name.”
A woman spoke behind them.
“Mr. Carter?”
Adam turned.
A plainclothes detective stood near the lobby desk.
She was short, athletic, and wore a gray blazer over a black blouse.
Her dark hair was pulled into a low knot.
“I’m Detective Lena Ortiz with Chicago Police.”
Adam crossed toward her.
“You came from the apartment?”
“Yes.”
“Did you find the syringe?”
“We should talk privately.”
Adam glanced at Evelyn.
“She stays here.”
Detective Ortiz looked at the security officers.
“Please make sure no one leaves until I have taken basic statements.”
Evelyn’s eyes narrowed.
“Am I being detained?”
“Not at this time.”
“Then I am free to leave.”
“You are.”
Evelyn took one step toward the exit.
Detective Ortiz continued.
“But if you leave before I speak with you, that decision will appear in my report.”
Evelyn stopped.
Adam almost smiled.
Ortiz led him into a small family consultation room.
She closed the door and placed a clear evidence bag on the table.
Inside was a broken glass ampule.
Adam recognized it from Lily’s description.
“You found it.”
“We found pieces beneath the dresser.”
“What was in it?”
“The label had been removed.”
“Can the lab identify it?”
“Possibly.”
“Was the black bag there?”
“No.”
Adam looked toward the door.
“The third person took it.”
“That is one possibility.”
“There were three people.”
“Your wife mentioned a third individual during her initial statement.”
“What about the building cameras?”
Ortiz opened a notebook.
“Your mother entered the building at 8:41 p.m.”
“And Mercer?”
“Dr. Mercer entered at 8:44.”
Adam gripped the edge of the table.
“So Lily was telling the truth.”
“I did not suggest otherwise.”
“How long were they inside?”
“Your mother exited at 9:17.”
“Mercer?”
“We do not have footage of him leaving.”
Adam frowned.
“There is only one main lobby.”
“There is a service entrance connected to the underground garage.”
“Cameras?”
“The relevant camera was offline.”
“Of course it was.”
Ortiz watched him carefully.
“What time did you reach the apartment?”
“9:26.”
“You arrived nine minutes after your mother left.”
“Yes.”
“Was your trip scheduled?”
“No.”
“Who knew you were coming home early?”
“No one.”
“Are you certain?”
Adam thought back to the airport.
He had changed flights after a meeting in New York ended ahead of schedule.
He had sent Lily a message, then deleted it before sending because he wanted to surprise her.
He had called his assistant from the gate.
“My assistant knew.”
“Name?”
“Daniel Price.”
“Anyone else?”
“The airline.”
“Did you use a family account to book the flight?”
“Yes.”
“Who can view those bookings?”
“My assistant.”
“Your company travel department.”
“And?”
Adam felt his stomach tighten.
“My mother’s office manages certain family expenses.”
Ortiz wrote something down.
“Your mother may have received an automated itinerary update.”
“She knew I was coming.”
“It is possible.”
“She told Mercer to hurry.”
“That matches your wife’s statement.”
“What about the third person?”
Ortiz opened her phone and placed it on the table.
A grainy still image showed a hooded figure entering the service corridor of Adam’s building at 8:38 p.m.
The person appeared tall and broad-shouldered.
The face was hidden.
One hand was visible near the door.
The image was blurred, but a dark square marked one finger.
“The ring,” Adam said.
“We enlarged the frame.”
“Can you identify him?”
“Not from this image.”
“Mercer was wearing it at the hospital.”
“You saw the ring clearly?”
“Yes.”
“Could he have been the hooded individual?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Mercer entered through the lobby six minutes later.”
Ortiz nodded.
“We considered that.”
“So there were three.”
“Yes.”
“Where did the third person go?”
“We do not know.”
Adam leaned back.
“Why would Mercer show me the ring?”
“To frighten you.”
“Or to send a message.”
“What message?”
“That my father’s death is connected to this.”
Ortiz closed her notebook.
“How did your father die?”
“Heart attack.”
“How old was he?”
“Fifty-five.”
“Any prior cardiac condition?”
“None that I knew about.”
“Was there an autopsy?”
Adam stared at her.
“I don’t remember.”
“You were twenty-six.”
“I was not involved in the arrangements.”
“Who was?”
“My mother.”
Ortiz’s expression remained neutral.
“And Dr. Mercer?”
“He signed the death certificate.”
The room became very quiet.
Ortiz picked up her phone.
“I want the records.”
“So do I.”
“Do not confront Mercer alone.”
“I already tried.”
“And he expected you to.”
“What does that mean?”
“He came to a hospital where he knew you would be.”
“He wanted me to see him.”
“Probably.”
“Why?”
“Maybe he wanted you chasing him instead of asking what happened upstairs.”
Adam stood.
“I need to return to Lily.”
Ortiz rose as well.
“I will speak to her again when her physician allows it.”
“She has been through enough.”
“I understand.”
“No, you understand procedure.”
Ortiz did not react defensively.
“My younger sister was seven months pregnant when her husband attacked her.”
Adam stopped.
“She survived.”
“The baby did too.”
Ortiz slipped the phone into her pocket.
“I understand more than procedure.”
Adam lowered his voice.
“I’m sorry.”
“Protecting Lily means building a case strong enough that influence cannot erase it.”
“My mother has influence everywhere.”
“Then we need evidence she cannot buy.”
They returned to the hallway.
Evelyn was gone.
Martin Shaw stood speaking with two security supervisors.
Adam approached him.
“Where did she go?”
Martin looked uncomfortable.
“She chose to leave.”
“Detective Ortiz asked her to remain.”
“She was not detained.”
“Did you preserve the footage?”
“We are beginning the process.”
“Beginning?”
“There are authorization requirements.”
Ortiz stepped forward.
“I have already contacted the department’s digital evidence unit.”
Martin’s face tightened.
“You contacted outside technicians?”
“I contacted law enforcement.”
“This hospital has strict privacy obligations.”
“Those obligations do not include deleting evidence.”
“I never suggested deletion.”
Adam looked toward the security desk.
A young technician was typing rapidly.
The man’s expression changed.
He lifted the phone.
“Mr. Shaw?”
Martin turned.
“What is it?”
“There’s a problem with the seventh-floor camera archive.”
Adam crossed the lobby.
“What problem?”
“The footage between 8:30 and 9:30 is missing.”
Martin closed his eyes briefly.
Ortiz moved beside the technician.
“Was it recorded?”
“Yes.”
“Who accessed the system?”
“I’m checking.”
The technician typed several commands.
A log appeared.
He leaned closer.
“The deletion was authorized from an administrative terminal.”
“Which terminal?” Ortiz asked.
The technician swallowed.
“Executive office three.”
Martin’s face went pale.
Adam knew that office.
It belonged to the vice president of clinical operations.
He turned toward Martin.
“You deleted it.”
“No.”
“The authorization came from your office.”
“I was not in my office.”
“Who has access?”
“My executive assistant.”
“Anyone else?”
Martin looked at Evelyn’s name on the visitor log displayed behind the desk.
He did not answer.
Ortiz instructed the security officers to take Martin’s access badge and escort him to an interview room.
Adam returned upstairs.
Lily was awake when he entered.
Dr. Kim was checking the monitor.
“The baby’s rhythm remains stable,” she said.
“Can I stay with her?”
“Yes.”
Dr. Kim glanced at Lily.
“But she needs rest.”
“I’ll be quiet.”
Dr. Kim left the room.
Adam sat beside the bed.
“Mercer was here.”
Lily’s eyes widened.
“He was wearing my father’s ring.”
She slowly shook her head.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“None of this does.”
“Did they find the third person?”
“Not yet.”
Adam reached for her hand.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“Mercer signed my father’s death certificate.”
Lily looked at him for several seconds.
“Adam.”
“What?”
“I need to tell you why your mother came tonight.”
“You said she believed the baby would ruin everything.”
“That wasn’t the whole reason.”
He waited.
Lily looked toward the door.
“I found something at the Carter Foundation.”
“What did you find?”
“Old maternity files.”
“What kind of files?”
“Records that were supposed to have been destroyed.”
Adam leaned closer.
“Destroyed by whom?”
“Dr. Mercer.”
Lily’s voice weakened.
“And your mother.”
“What was in the records?”
“Birth certificates.”
“Whose?”
“Yours.”
Adam felt the room narrow around him.
“My birth certificate is in the family archive.”
“The one in the archive is not the original.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I found two versions.”
Lily reached slowly toward the bedside drawer.
“My coat was brought from the ambulance.”
She removed a small brass key from the pocket.
“There is a safe-deposit box at First Chicago Bank.”
“What is inside?”
“Everything I copied.”
Adam took the key.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to be certain.”
“Certain of what?”
Lily’s eyes filled with fear again.
“That Evelyn Carter may not be your mother.”
Before Adam could speak, his phone vibrated.
An email had arrived from an unknown address.
May you like
The subject line contained only four words.
YOUR FATHER WAS MURDERED.
