Chapter 3 - THE SECRET HIDDEN INSIDE THE HOSPITAL FILE|
“Daniel Voss?”
I repeated the name because I desperately wanted to believe there had been a mistake.
Daniel had always seemed loyal to the Moretti family.
He remembered Olivia's birthday, arranged flowers for her wedding, and personally helped organize her husband's funeral.
After Matthew Reid died, Daniel had even promised Olivia that she could call the office whenever she needed anything.
Now his name appeared in the records of a scheme to isolate her from her brother.
Luca took out his phone.
I expected him to call Daniel immediately.
Instead, he dialed his attorney.
“Nora, it's Luca.”
He listened for a moment before speaking again.
“I need you at San Marco General Hospital, and I need an investigator who understands forged medical authorizations.”
His expression turned colder.
“No, this isn't a business matter.”
He looked through the consultation room window toward Olivia's hospital bed.
“Someone has been hurting my sister.”
After ending the call, he turned to Elena.
“Where are the original records?”
The nurse looked uncomfortable.
“Our compliance department has secured copies, but there's something else you should know.”
She removed a second folder from beneath the first.
“These are the physician's notes from Olivia's previous admission.”
I leaned forward.
The pages contained medical terminology I didn't understand.
But one sentence had been circled in red.
PATIENT REQUIRES CONTINUED OBSERVATION.
Below that, another entry warned that discharging Olivia prematurely could increase the risk of complications.
Luca read it twice.
“Then why was she sent home?”
Elena's voice dropped.
“Someone added an electronic discharge authorization after the attending physician had recommended further observation.”
“Vanessa,” I whispered.
Elena didn't confirm it.
Instead, she showed us the authorization.
The document listed Vanessa as Olivia's designated family representative.
A second attachment purported to give Vanessa permission to make decisions if Olivia became unable to communicate.
But Olivia had never told me about signing such a document.
And from everything I had witnessed, she had remained conscious during most of her hospitalization.
“The hospital is investigating how these documents were accepted,” Elena explained.
“They should not have been treated as proof that another person could override a capable patient's decisions.”
Luca's hands curled into fists.
“Did my sister agree to leave?”
Elena's expression filled with regret.
“She repeatedly said she wanted to stay.”
I felt tears burning behind my eyes.
I remembered finding Olivia at the hospital that afternoon.
She'd been sitting alone in a wheelchair near the entrance, clutching a small overnight bag.
Nobody had been beside her.
Nobody had offered to help her contact her family.
And when she saw me, she'd cried so hard that she could barely say my name.
I had believed her when she said she was frightened.
But I hadn't understood how deliberately that fear had been created.
A doctor entered the consultation room.
“Mr. Moretti, your sister is asking for you.”
Luca immediately returned to Olivia's bedside.
I followed.
She lay beneath a white blanket, her dark hair spread across the pillow and a monitor tracking the baby's heartbeat beside her.
Dr. Shah explained that the initial evaluation was reassuring enough to continue observation, although Olivia still needed close monitoring and additional care.
When Olivia heard that her daughter's heartbeat was present and being monitored, she covered her face with both hands.
“Thank God.”
Luca sat beside her.
“Olivia, I need you to tell me something.”
She looked at him nervously.
“Are you angry?”
His expression collapsed.
“No, sweetheart.”
He gently held her hand.
“I'm angry that someone made you afraid to call your own brother.”
Olivia cried quietly.
Then she told us what had happened during the previous hospital admission.
Vanessa had arrived shortly after a doctor recommended overnight observation.
She'd dismissed the nurses, closed the door, and told Olivia that Luca was tired of her medical emergencies.
“She said you were embarrassed by me,” Olivia whispered.
Luca shook his head.
“Never.”
“She said if I kept causing problems, you would stop paying for my medical care.”
“Olivia, I would never do that.”
Her eyes filled again.
“Then she brought papers for me to sign.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What papers?” I asked.
Olivia swallowed.
“She said they were routine forms so she could help with appointments and insurance.”
“Did you read them?”
“I tried.”
Her voice trembled.
“But she kept saying I was selfish for making everyone wait.”
Luca closed his eyes.
Olivia continued.
“She told me that if I refused, the hospital might keep me away from my daughter after she was born.”
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Eventually, Luca opened his eyes.
“Do you remember signing anything about custody?”
Olivia shook her head frantically.
“No.”
She reached for my hand.
“Claire, I would never give my baby away.”
“I know,” I whispered.
The door opened again.
Nora Whitcomb, Luca's longtime attorney, entered carrying a leather briefcase.
She was a tall woman in her early fifties whose calm expression made her seem almost impossible to intimidate.
After speaking privately with Olivia and confirming her wishes, Nora examined the suspicious documents.
Her eyes narrowed.
“These papers do not give Vanessa custody of anyone.”
Luca looked relieved for one second.
Then Nora continued.
“But somebody appears to be creating a false record that could be used to support a future court application.”
She opened a document attached to the supposed family authorization.
It was titled TEMPORARY CARE AND GUARDIANSHIP CONSENT.
Olivia's name appeared at the bottom.
Beside it was a signature that looked like hers.
Underneath were two lines identifying witnesses.
The first contained Daniel Voss's name.
The second contained mine.
CLAIRE BENNETT.
WITNESS TO SIGNATURE AND VOLUNTARY CONSENT.
My blood turned cold.
“I never signed that.”
Nora looked up.
“Are you certain?”
I stared at the crooked imitation of my handwriting.
“I have never witnessed Olivia surrendering custody rights, and I have never seen this document before tonight.”
Luca rose slowly.
Someone had not only forged his signature and manipulated his pregnant sister's medical records.
They had also decided that the household maid would make a convenient witness to a crime she knew nothing about.
Nora placed the document into an evidence folder.
“Claire, whoever prepared this wanted your name attached to their story.”
I looked toward Olivia, who was crying silently beside her brother.
May you like
Then I said something I had never dared say in Luca Moretti's presence.
“Then we're going to make sure the truth gets attached to theirs.”
