Chapter 17 - The Woman Behind the Hospital Door|
Saint Agnes had closed its private rehabilitation wing two years earlier.
The building had since been converted into a medical research center.
Daniel obtained the archived patient records through the proper legal process.
One name appeared in the files.
Isabelle Voss.
She had been admitted under a false identity after a serious accident.
The date matched the photograph of Evelyn and Vivien.
Marcus stared at the document.
"Why would Richard hide his own daughter?"
Norah examined the records.
"Maybe she knew something."
They contacted the former hospital administrator.
After several conversations, she agreed to meet them.
Her name was Helen Brooks.
She was seventy-two and lived in a small apartment outside Hartford.
When Marcus showed her Evelyn's photograph, Helen immediately recognized her.
"She came here with a little girl."
Marcus felt his heart stop.
"Lily?"
Helen nodded.
"Not the same day. But Evelyn visited Isabelle several times."
Norah leaned forward.
"What happened to Isabelle?"
Helen looked uncomfortable.
"She was transferred."
"Where?"
"I don't know. The paperwork was handled by a private medical company."
Daniel asked for the name.
Helen wrote it down.
The company had dissolved five years earlier.
Its former director was Richard Voss.
Marcus looked at Norah.
"Did Evelyn know Isabelle?"
Helen nodded.
"They were friends. Evelyn believed Isabelle had evidence against her father."
Norah asked:
"Was Evelyn alive when she left the hospital?"
Helen lowered her eyes.
"Yes."
The room became silent.
Helen continued.
"She was injured, frightened, and convinced someone was following her. But she was alive."
Marcus covered his face.
For nearly a year, he had mourned his wife.
He had built a memorial.
He had watched his daughter cry without understanding why.
And now he was discovering that the truth had been hidden from him.
"Where is she?" he asked.
Helen shook her head.
"I don't know."
She paused.
"But I remember something."
"What?"
"She left a message for someone named Margaret. She said that if she couldn't return, the little girl should be kept away from the people who controlled the Ellery estate."
Norah felt a cold sensation move through her.
"Why?"
Helen looked directly at her.
"Because she believed Lily had seen something that could destroy Richard Voss."
Marcus stood.
"Then we find Isabelle."
They traced the former medical company's records to a rehabilitation center in Vermont.
A woman matching Isabelle's description had been admitted there under a protected identity.
The center had no current patient by that name.
But an employee remembered her.
"She left three months ago," the employee said.
"Where did she go?"
"She received a letter. After reading it, she checked out."
"Who sent the letter?"
The employee searched the archived visitor log.
Then she handed Daniel a photocopy.
The sender's name was Margaret Bellamy.
Norah stared at the paper.
May you like
Her mother had known where Isabelle was.
And she had known far more about Evelyn's disappearance than she had admitted.
