Chapter 6 - The Woman Who Was Forced to Disappear
Vincent ordered the guards to keep the foyer clear and asked Luca to call the clinic. The records were real, but the name Elena Shaw raised a new question. Elena had used her mother's maiden name, which meant someone had helped her disappear before the birth.
The clinic's retired administrator agreed to speak by video. Her name was Dr. Helen Price. She looked at the photograph and began to cry.
"She came in terrified," Helen said. "She said a man had threatened to take her baby. She didn't trust the police because the threat came from someone with friends in the department."
"Who?" Vincent asked.
Helen hesitated. "Victor Shaw."
Vanessa snapped, "My father was trying to protect this family."
Helen looked directly into the camera. "Your father paid two men to follow her. Your mother helped get her passport back. Daniel Bell drove her to the clinic."
Vincent's hands curled into fists.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because you were being watched too," Helen replied. "They had copies of your private accounts and enough evidence to make it look like you had ordered the threats yourself. Elena thought you were in danger. She left to keep the baby alive."
Clara lowered herself back onto the bench. Daniel had spent their marriage carrying a secret that large, and she had never seen it.
Helen sent a scanned document. It was a protection request signed by Elena and witnessed by Daniel.
At the bottom, a note had been added in a different hand: If the child is found, the Bell family must be protected.
Clara stared at it.
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Helen warned them that the Shaws had paid for private security at the clinic and had access to patient transport logs. She had kept copies because she feared the records would be destroyed. Before ending the call, she gave Luca the name of the nurse who had helped Elena leave.
"Why the Bell family?" she asked.
