Chapter 10 - The Hospital List
The call to the hospital changed everything.
Maya contacted the hospital's patient advocate while I contacted my obstetrician. We added a privacy password to my chart, removed Daniel as my general contact, and gave the labor-and-delivery unit a written no-visitor list.
Margaret's name went at the top.
Daniel's went under it.
"You can change your mind later," Rachel said.
"I know."
But I didn't.
Maya advised against using Daniel's key to enter Margaret's house. "I understand why you want the cabinet," she said. "But we are not turning you into the person they accuse you of being. We get evidence legally."
So we focused on what we could prove.
Daniel's confession.
The camera recording.
The fake texts.
The assault.
The hospital call.
Then Margaret made our job easier.
She posted on Facebook.
She didn't use my name, but everyone knew.
Please pray for our family. A precious baby is about to enter a very unstable situation. We are doing everything legally possible to make sure he is safe.
Within an hour, relatives were messaging me.
Are you okay?
What happened?
Why is Margaret saying the baby isn't safe?
One cousin wrote, She told Aunt Carol you threatened to hurt yourself.
I had never threatened that.
Maya told me not to respond publicly.
Then Aunt Carol called me directly.
Carol was Margaret's older sister, a woman who normally avoided family conflict like it was contagious.
Her voice shook.
"Emily, I need to tell you something."
"Okay."
"Margaret has been talking about getting that baby for months."
My throat tightened. "What do you mean, getting him?"
"She said you weren't stable enough. She said Daniel was weak and she'd have to help him do what was necessary."
"Would you tell my lawyer that?"
There was a long pause.
"Yes."
I closed my eyes.
"Thank you."
Carol wasn't finished.
"There's something else. She showed me a document. Not the custody papers. Something about you. Medical."
"My medical records?"
"I don't know. It had a clinic logo on it and your name."
My heart began to pound.
May you like
Only a few people had access to my prenatal information.
And one of them was my husband.
