Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Knew
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Sarah was Daniel's wife.
She had been part of our family for almost thirty years.
She brought homemade casseroles when I was sick, drove me to church when my car broke down, and reminded me to take my vitamins.
She had been the first person to notice my swollen belly.
And now her signature appeared on a document from the clinic where I had been sedated twelve years earlier.
“That can't be right,” I whispered.
Daniel examined the signature.
“It's hers.”
“Maybe someone forged it.”
“Then why would they choose Sarah?”
I couldn't answer.
Daniel immediately called his wife.
She answered on the third ring.
“Daniel? How's your mother?”
“Sarah, were you ever involved with Bellwether Medical Institute?”
Silence.
“Why are you asking?”
“Answer me.”
Another pause.
Then she spoke so quietly I barely heard her through the phone.
“Where did you hear that name?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Your signature is on a medical document from twelve years ago.”
I watched the color drain from his face.
“Sarah?”
Her breathing became uneven.
“Daniel, please don't discuss this at the hospital.”
“Why not?”
“Because you don't know who might be listening.”
Before he could reply, the call ended.
Daniel stared at his phone.
Then he tried calling again.
No answer.
He sent three messages.
Nothing.
Dr. Collins returned with a specialist named Dr. Andrew Mercer.
He explained that the ultrasound could not establish the cause of my swelling.
“We need a CT scan, additional blood work, and possibly a biopsy,” he said.
“Do you suspect cancer?” Daniel asked.
“It's one possibility. But the imaging also suggests a complex mass surrounded by fluid.”
My mouth went dry.
“A mass?”
Dr. Mercer nodded.
“We won't speculate until we have more information.”
They scheduled the scan immediately.
As a nurse helped me into a wheelchair, my phone vibrated.
It was a message from Sarah.
Margaret, I need you to trust me. Whatever Daniel says, do not let anyone from Bellwether examine you.
I showed Daniel.
His expression hardened.
“She knows something.”
Another message arrived.
Your husband tried to stop them.
I stared at those words.
Robert had tried to stop whom?
And what had they done to me?
Before I could type a reply, Sarah called.
I answered.
Her voice shook.
“Margaret, listen carefully. There isn't much time.”
“Sarah, what is happening?”
“The doctors may find something that shouldn't be inside your body.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“What do you mean?”
“Robert didn't know what they were really doing until it was too late.”
Then I heard a loud noise in the background.
Sarah gasped.
A man's voice spoke.
“Give me the phone.”
The call disconnected.
Seconds later, one final message appeared.
If anything happens to me, ask Daniel about the blue house.
Daniel saw the message.
His expression changed completely.
May you like
And for the first time since entering the hospital, my son looked genuinely terrified.
Because the blue house was something I had never heard him mention.
