Chapter 10 - Someone Inside St. Mary’s
Daniel did not appreciate being warned about his own hospital.
But he listened.
Cross explained that Margaret had received information she should never have possessed.
My room number.
My exact surgical schedule.
The twins’ sex before Ethan’s extended family had been officially notified.
The fact that I had requested a private recovery suite.
Even the time security staffing changed in the maternity wing.
Someone inside St. Mary’s had been feeding her information.
Daniel ordered an internal access audit.
By evening, they found it.
A maternity administrative coordinator named Diane Mercer had opened my patient file seventeen times in three days.
She had no clinical reason to do so.
She had also accessed Noah’s identification record.
My insurance information.
My discharge schedule.
And the infant-security system.
Daniel’s face hardened.
“She’s been employed here nine years.”
Bell asked, “Any connection to Margaret?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not obvious.”
Cross spoke from the corner.
“Check Whitmore Foundation donations.”
Daniel looked at him.
Twenty minutes later, they found the connection.
Diane’s husband operated a small nonprofit.
Six months earlier, the Whitmore Foundation had donated forty thousand dollars to it.
Karen whispered, “Mom.”
Agent Park nodded.
“Possibly.”
Diane was brought in for questioning.
At first she denied everything.
Then investigators showed her the access logs.
Her story changed.
She claimed Margaret had asked for basic information because she was worried about her daughter-in-law.
Then Bell showed her the donation.
Diane began crying.
Within an hour, she admitted Margaret had paid her to provide updates.
“How much?”
I asked.
“Ten thousand personally.”
My stomach turned.
“For my medical information?”
“Yes.”
“And Noah?”
Daniel’s expression became darker.
“She was instructed to deactivate his security tag for a fifteen-minute window this afternoon.”
The room went silent.
If Margaret had gotten out of my room, no alarm would have sounded.
She had almost succeeded.
Daniel looked furious with himself.
I understood that feeling.
But the fault belonged to the people who planned it.
Not the people they deceived.
“What happens to Diane?”
“Suspension immediately.”
Bell answered the rest.
“And likely criminal charges.”
I looked toward Noah.
Ethan stood beside the bassinet.
For the first time since arriving, he looked less ashamed than angry.
Not loud anger.
Something deeper.
Something focused.
“My mother planned all of this.”
“Yes.”
I said it because he needed to hear it.
“No excuses this time.”
He nodded slowly.
“No excuses.”
Then Daniel received another update.
Martin Vale had begun cooperating.
The prosecutor had refused full immunity.
Vale decided partial protection was better than nothing.
Bell looked at me.
“He gave them access to an encrypted file.”
“What’s inside?”
“Recordings.”
“Of Margaret?”
“Yes.”
I felt my heartbeat accelerate.
Bell hesitated.
“There’s one recording you need to hear.”
He placed a phone on the tray.
Margaret’s voice filled the room.
“If Olivia resists, provoke her.”
Vale asked, “How far?”
May you like
Margaret laughed softly.
“Far enough that nobody trusts a hysterical mother.”
