Chapter 5: The Missing Hospital Records

Victoria stood beside the bedroom door, staring at the envelope in Alexander's hand. Her earlier confidence had disappeared, replaced by an expression Amelia couldn't quite understand.

“Mother, I'm waiting,” Alexander said. “What happened to the hospital records?”

Victoria adjusted her handbag. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Then you won't mind if we open this.”

He tore the envelope carefully. Inside was a collection of hospital documents, a photograph and a handwritten letter.

Amelia moved closer.

The first document carried her name.

**Amelia Carter.**

Beneath it was the date of her hospital admission, three years earlier.

She reached for the paper, but Victoria immediately stepped forward.

“Give me that.”

Alexander moved it out of her reach.

“No. Not this time.”

“Alexander, you don't understand what you're doing.”

“Then explain it!”

Victoria looked at Amelia before returning her attention to her son.

“Some things happened that were beyond your control. I was trying to protect this family.”

Amelia felt her patience disappearing.

“Why was my name on a hospital document? Why did I visit a hospital the night before I disappeared? And why are you so frightened of these papers?”

Victoria remained silent.

Alexander opened the next document. It contained a hospital discharge record, but several sections had been removed. The signature at the bottom belonged to someone named Dr. Samuel Bennett.

“Who is this doctor?” Amelia asked.

“He was the consultant who attended to you,” Alexander replied.

“Then we should find him.”

Victoria shook her head. “He no longer works at that hospital.”

“How convenient,” Amelia muttered.

Alexander looked at his mother. “Did you know about Amelia's hospital visit?”

Victoria didn't answer immediately.

Then she said, “I knew she was unwell.”

Amelia's eyes narrowed. “What was wrong with me?”

“You were under a great deal of stress.”

“That's not an answer.”

Victoria's voice became sharper. “You were making decisions that could have destroyed Alexander's future. I did what I believed was necessary.”

Alexander stared at her.

“What decisions?”

Victoria looked away.

Amelia picked up the photograph from the envelope. It showed her sitting in a hospital room, looking directly at the camera. A woman in a white coat stood beside her, holding a folder.

On the back was a handwritten date and a name.

**Dr. Rachel Morgan.**

“Is this the doctor?” Amelia asked.

Alexander examined the picture.

“No. I've never seen her before.”

“Then perhaps she can tell us what happened.”

Victoria suddenly reached for the photograph, but Amelia pulled it away.

“Stop trying to take everything from me!”

The older woman froze.

For a few seconds, the room was silent.

Then Victoria looked at Amelia with an expression that was almost pleading.

“You should go home.”

“I'm not leaving until I understand what happened.”

“You think Alexander will give you all the answers? You don't know what he was like before you disappeared.”

Alexander's jaw tightened.

“Enough, Mother.”

Victoria turned towards him. “You were not the only person who suffered. You were difficult, suspicious and obsessed with finding her. You accused everyone around you.”

“Because my wife disappeared!”

“And perhaps you should ask yourself why she wanted to leave.”

Amelia looked between them.

She couldn't tell whether Victoria was trying to expose something about Alexander or simply distract them from the hospital records.

Before she could ask, Alexander's phone rang.

He checked the caller's name and answered.

“Yes, Daniel?”

A man's voice came through the speaker, though Amelia couldn't make out every word.

Alexander's expression changed.

“Are you certain?”

He listened for a few more seconds before ending the call.

“What happened?” Amelia asked.

“My private investigator found Dr. Rachel Morgan.”

“Where?”

“She works at a medical centre outside the city. But there's a problem.”

“What problem?”

“She left the hospital three years ago, shortly after your disappearance. According to Daniel, she changed her name and refused to discuss her former patients.”

Amelia looked down at the photograph again.

“Then she knows something.”

“That's what I think.”

Victoria shook her head.

“Alexander, leave this alone.”

He turned towards her.

“Why?”

“Because you may not like what you discover.”

Amelia stepped closer to Victoria.

“Mrs Hayes, you keep warning us about the truth. But you haven't told us a single thing that explains your behaviour.”

Victoria looked at her for a long moment.

Then she spoke quietly.

“Because the night you disappeared, I was the last person who saw you.”

Amelia felt the room shift around her.

“You saw me?”

Victoria nodded.

“Where?”

“At the hospital.”

Alexander stared at his mother.

“You told me you never went there!”

Victoria's eyes filled with something Amelia couldn't identify.

“I had my reasons.”

Amelia gripped the photograph.

“What happened when you saw me?”

Victoria opened her mouth, but before she could answer, her phone vibrated.

She glanced at the screen.

A message had appeared from an unknown number.

Amelia couldn't read the entire message, but she caught the final sentence before Victoria turned

the screen away.

**She is remembering. Stop her before she finds the original file.**

Victoria looked up.

For the first time, she wasn't looking at Alexander.

She was looking directly at Amelia.