Chapter 9 - The Woman With Emily’s Bracelet
Emily had a close friend named Rachel Voss.
They met during prenatal support group.
Rachel visited hospital.
After Emily’s transfer, she repeatedly asked Vanessa for updates.
Vanessa barely remembered her.
Security enhanced NICU image.
Rachel.
Why use Vanessa’s ID?
Police found Rachel in Philadelphia.
She admitted it.
Emily asked her to.
That changed everything again.
Emily was not victim of unknown impersonator.
She sent Rachel to retrieve Ava.
Why?
Emily believed Mercer family would take child permanently.
Rachel borrowed copy of Vanessa’s identification from Emily’s emergency folder and tried to enter as relative.
She failed.
Richard interpreted attempted removal as evidence Dawson family posed danger, not realizing Emily orchestrated it.
Then Emily fled pavilion.
Why leave without baby?
She intended expose Mercer program and return with attorney.
Instead she disappeared.
Rachel said Emily contacted her for months.
Then communication stopped.
Last message:
“They found the pattern in someone else.”
Who?
Unknown.
That was two years ago.
Yet yesterday someone claiming Emily called Lily.
Had Emily resumed contact?
Rachel didn't know.
Then Daniel admitted something he had hidden.
Six months after Emily disappeared, he received envelope.
Inside:
Aster-9 data.
A photograph of Ava.
And note:
IF ANOTHER WOMAN SHOWS THE SECOND SIGNAL, DO NOT LET YOUR FATHER DECLARE FETAL DEATH.
Daniel never told anyone.
Why?
His father had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Daniel confronted Richard.
Richard denied sending it.
He insisted Emily was paranoid.
Daniel chose to believe father.
Then Richard died months later.
Daniel buried envelope in office.
Claire stared.
“You knew this could happen again.”
“I knew the device could misread.”
“And you put descendant of it on me.”
“It’s corrected technology.”
“Without telling me history.”
“Yes.”
Claire stepped away.
Daniel’s secrecy was not murder.
But it was betrayal.
Then investigator asked for envelope.
Forensics found Emily’s fingerprints.
So Emily was alive at least six months after disappearance.
On back of photograph was sequence:
17 → 18 → 1.
Nathan recognized it.
Aster trial progression code.
Case 17 was Emily.
Case 18 now Claire.
What was 1?
Daniel whispered:
“The first pregnancy where dual signal ever appeared.”
“Who was patient?”
May you like
He looked toward Mercer archive.
“My mother.”
