PART 3
Seven months of talking to my unborn child at night because there was no one else to talk to.
And now this stranger in a white coat wanted me to believe that Ethan wasn’t the villain in my story.
I shook my head slowly.
“No.”
My voice was weak, but my heart was not.
“No, you don’t get to stand there and rewrite what happened.”
Dr. Sullivan lowered his eyes.
“I know how it looks.”
“How it looks?” I laughed bitterly.
The sound surprised even me.
“Doctor, I was there. I watched him leave.”
My fingers tightened around the blanket.
“I told him I was pregnant. I was terrified. I thought he would hold me and tell me everything would be okay.”
My voice cracked.
“But he looked at me like I had ruined his life.”
The doctor closed his eyes.
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“How would you know?”
That question hit him harder than I expected.
He looked like an old man suddenly.
Not the respected doctor everyone trusted.
Not the serious man who commanded an entire hospital.
Just a father who had lost his son.
“Because Ethan was not the kind of man who walked away from responsibility,” he whispered.
I looked away.
“Well, he walked away from me.”
The room became silent again.
Then the baby started crying.
A small, beautiful sound.
Everyone turned.
Dr. Sullivan immediately moved toward him.
But he stopped himself.
Almost like he was afraid he didn’t deserve to get closer.
The nurse noticed.
“Doctor…”
He swallowed.
“May I?”
She looked at me.
The decision was mine.
I looked at the tiny face wrapped in the blanket.
My son.
My beautiful son.
The child I had carried alone.
Slowly, I nodded.
The nurse placed him in Dr. Sullivan’s arms.
And the moment he held him…
Something changed.
The strongest man in the hospital broke.
He lowered his head and pressed his lips against my son’s forehead.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
His voice trembled.
“I’m so sorry, little one.”
I watched silently.
Because despite my anger…
Despite my pain…
I saw something real.
This wasn’t an actor.
This wasn’t a man pretending.
This was a grandfather meeting his grandson after believing he would never exist.
After a few moments, he looked at me.
“Claire, I need to tell you everything.”
I didn’t answer.
But I didn’t stop him.
He carefully sat in the chair beside my bed.
“Ethan was supposed to come home that night.”
My heart tightened.
“What?”
He looked at the floor.
“The night you told him about the pregnancy… he called me.”
I froze.
“He called you?”
“Yes.”
My hands became cold.
“What did he say?”
Dr. Sullivan took a deep breath.
“He said he was going to marry you.”
The words hit me like a wave.
I stared at him.
“No.”
“He told me he had never been happier. He said he was scared because he wanted to be a good father. He asked me how I knew when I was ready to become one.”
My eyes filled with tears.
Because those words sounded like the Ethan I knew.
The Ethan who used to put his hand on my stomach before he even knew there was a baby inside.
The Ethan who once whispered:
“One day, I’m going to build a family with you.”
Then why?
Why did he leave?
Dr. Sullivan continued.
“That night, after he left your apartment, he called me again.”
I held my breath.
“He sounded frightened.”
“Frightened of what?”
The doctor’s jaw tightened.
“He told me someone had been following him.”
I stared.
“What?”
“He said a man had approached him earlier that day. A man who knew about you. Knew about the baby. Knew where you lived.”
A chill ran through me.
“Who?”
Dr. Sullivan looked away.
“We don’t know.”
“Don’t know?”
He shook his head.
“Ethan disappeared before I could find out.”
The room felt smaller.
“Then why did you think I was dead?”
The doctor looked ashamed.
“Because someone wanted us to believe that.”
My stomach dropped.
“What do you mean?”
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an old phone.
“This belonged to Ethan.”
My breathing stopped.
I recognized it immediately.
A black phone with a small scratch near the corner.
I had bought it for him on our anniversary.
“Where did you get that?”
“It was mailed to me three days after he disappeared.”
I stared at it.
“Why didn’t you call me?”
His face changed.
Pain.
Regret.
“I tried.”
My eyebrows pulled together.
“What?”
“I called your number hundreds of times.”
“No.”
“I went to your apartment.”
I shook my head.
“No. I was there.”
“I know.”
My blood froze.
“What?”
The doctor looked at me.
“The apartment was empty.”
My heart stopped.
“No.”
“Your landlord told me you had moved out.”
“I moved because I couldn’t afford it anymore.”
“I know that now.”
His voice became heavier.
“But at the time, I thought…”
He stopped.
“What?”
He looked at my baby.
“I thought whoever took Ethan had taken you too.”
A tear fell down my cheek.
Because suddenly…
The story I had been living for seven months started falling apart.
Maybe Ethan didn’t abandon me.
Maybe he had been trying to come back.
Maybe something happened.
But one question remained.
“If you cared so much… why didn’t you find him?”
The doctor’s face darkened.
“Because someone inside my own family stopped me.”
I froze.
“What?”
Dr. Sullivan looked toward the hospital door.
Then he lowered his voice.
“Ethan and I were investigating something.”
“What?”
“My company.”
I frowned.
“I don’t understand.”
“Ethan discovered financial fraud connected to Sullivan Medical Group.”
The name sounded familiar.
Because Sullivan Medical Group was one of the largest healthcare organizations in Illinois.
“My son found evidence that someone close to us was stealing millions.”
My eyes widened.
“And?”
“He was going to expose them.”
The doctor looked at my son.
“Then he disappeared.”
A terrible silence filled the room.
“Who knew about the investigation?”
Dr. Sullivan hesitated.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Fear.
“Richard.”
The voice came from the doorway.
Everyone turned.
A tall man in a dark suit stood there.
He looked to be around forty.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
Dr. Sullivan’s face immediately changed.
“Daniel.”
The man smiled.
“Congratulations.”
His eyes moved toward my baby.
“Looks like Ethan left behind a surprise.”
Something about him made my skin crawl.
Dr. Sullivan stood.
“What are you doing here?”
Daniel stepped inside.
“I heard the news.”
Then he looked at me.
“Claire Monroe, right?”
I didn’t answer.
His smile grew slightly.
“Seven months missing. No family. No husband. And now suddenly you appear with Ethan’s child.”
The room became cold.
Dr. Sullivan stepped forward.
“Leave.”
Daniel ignored him.
Instead, he looked at my son.
Then he said something that made every hair on my body stand up.
“Richard… you should ask her about the night Ethan disappeared.”
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel smiled.
“It means…”
He paused.
“Maybe Ethan didn’t leave you.”
He looked directly into my eyes.
“Maybe Ethan was trying to protect you from something you don’t even know exists.”
And then he walked away.
Leaving me with one terrifying thought:
If Ethan hadn’t abandoned me…
Who had been pretending to be him?
And why?
READ THE NEXT PART: 👇👇
PART 4 – “The Baby Born Alone Revealed a Secret That Brought a Missing Father Home”
