Chapter 15 - The Night the Clinic Burned|
We reached the abandoned clinic shortly after midnight.
The building stood behind a rusted fence, its windows boarded and its sign faded by years of weather. Detective Ruiz obtained a warrant, while Marcus and two officers secured the perimeter.
Ethan walked beside me with his cane, refusing to remain in the car.
Inside, the air smelled of damp plaster and burned wiring. We followed an old corridor to a records room marked with a number from the documents Lydia had given us.
The door was locked.
Marcus forced it open.
Rows of metal shelves stood beneath a layer of dust. Most folders had been removed, but one cabinet remained sealed with a chain. My mother's key opened it.
Inside were patient logs, photographs, and a small tape recorder.
I pressed play.
My father's voice filled the room.
“If you're hearing this, then I failed to protect my family. Daniel Blackwood was alive when he brought his daughter to me. He believed Richard was trying to kill him because of the trust. He asked me to make the child disappear from every official record.”
A pause followed.
“I refused to erase her identity. I changed the record only long enough to keep Richard from finding her. My wife raised the child believing she was mine. I loved her as my daughter, and I never regretted that choice.”
My knees weakened.
The recording continued.
“But there is something else. The baby was not the only child brought to this clinic. Another woman gave birth that same night. Richard wanted the two records exchanged. I stopped him, but I don't know whether he succeeded.”
Ethan looked at me.
“Two babies?”
Before I could answer, a sound came from the hallway.
A metallic click.
Then smoke began pouring beneath the door.
“Fire!” Marcus shouted.
The lights went out.
We ran toward the exit, coughing as smoke filled the corridor. A section of ceiling collapsed behind us, sending debris across the floor. Ethan stumbled, and I caught his arm.
“Keep moving!”
We reached the courtyard just as flames burst through a window.
Detective Ruiz counted everyone.
“One person is missing.”
“Who?”
“Marcus.”
We turned toward the building.
A shadow appeared behind the glass, struggling against the smoke.
Ethan tried to run back inside, but I grabbed him.
“You'll die in there!”
“He saved my life.”
“And you can't save him if you're dead!”
Firefighters arrived moments later. They found Marcus near the records room, unconscious but alive.
The tape recorder had survived.
So had one photograph.
Two newborns lay in separate bassinets. A nurse stood between them, holding a clipboard.
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On the back was a handwritten note:
ONE CHILD WAS GIVEN THE WRONG NAME.
