Chapter 7 - Lily
There was no death certificate for a Lily matching Claire’s description.
No obvious hospital record.
No public obituary.
Maybe Lily wasn't her real name.
Claire described the photograph.
Newborn.
White blanket.
Crescent mark.
Printed medical identification strip visible at the edge.
Rebecca had it enhanced.
Partial hospital code.
St. Agnes.
The same hospital in Judith’s old photograph.
Coincidence?
Possibly.
Then Marianne remembered:
Not Margaret’s.
The mysterious baby Margaret held in 1987.
St. Agnes.
They requested archived records through proper channels.
Most were unavailable without identifying information.
But Judith provided Margaret’s full name.
One admission existed in 1987.
Not as patient.
Emergency contact.
Patient:
Elise Ward.
Age nineteen.
Delivery.
Female infant.
Marianne knew that surname.
Ward.
Her father’s mother had been a Ward.
Relative?
They dug deeper.
Elise was Margaret and Robert’s first cousin.
The baby was placed for adoption.
Identity sealed.
Margaret had held her before placement.
That explained the photograph.
Maybe.
Then why did someone write Not Margaret’s?
Because family members might have mistaken the baby for hers.
So the old photo was a red herring.
Except Elise Ward also had the crescent birthmark.
Photograph from a yearbook confirmed it.
The mark appeared across multiple women in Robert’s extended maternal family.
Still not proof of disease.
But recognizable.
Then Helixor records revealed something.
Their MTR-9 designation did not originate with Margaret.
It originated with Elise Ward’s child.
A research subject.
The adopted baby.
Now an adult woman.
Name sealed.
Evan had somehow obtained access to her file.
Why?
Claire finally admitted Evan’s mother had introduced him to Helixor.
His mother, Patricia Whitmore, was a retired pediatric neurologist.
She had worked at St. Agnes.
In 1987.
Marianne felt the room tilt.
“Did Patricia know Margaret?”
Claire nodded.
“Did she know Elise?”
Another nod.
Then Rebecca discovered Patricia had been one of the physicians associated with the old MTR study.
Not Helixor.
Its predecessor.
Thirty-eight years earlier.
This wasn't Evan discovering Claire’s family disease.
His family already knew about it.
Before he married Claire.
Marianne stared at her sister.
“Did Evan know your family history before you met?”
Claire whispered:
“I don't know.”
That answer was no longer good enough.
Then Patricia arrived at the hospital.
Elegant.
Seventy-two.
Perfect posture.
She asked to see the baby.
Marianne refused.
Patricia did not argue.
Instead she asked:
“Does she have the mark?”
Marianne stared.
“How did you know?”
Patricia closed her eyes.
Then whispered:
“Because Evan made the same mistake his father did.”
“What mistake?”
May you like
Patricia looked toward Claire.
“Choosing a woman from this family.”
