Chapter 7: The Woman Behind the Smile
For several seconds after the call ended…
I couldn't move.
Harrison's voice kept repeating in my mind.
Not the words.
The fear.
I had spent months believing he was the worst thing that ever happened to me.
The betrayal.
The affair.
The divorce papers.
The way he looked at me beside our daughters' incubators like I was already a part of his past.
But now…
I wondered if I had been looking at the wrong enemy.
“Caroline.”
My grandfather’s voice pulled me back.
I looked at him.
“Jessica.”
He nodded.
“We need to find her.”
The security team immediately moved.
Phones came out.
Orders were given.
The hospital transformed from a place of healing into a fortress.
But I stood there frozen.
Because one question kept hurting more than anything.
Why?
Why would Jessica want my daughters hurt?
She wanted Harrison.
She wanted his money.
She wanted the life she thought I had.
But killing his children?
That was something else.
Something darker.
Theodore saw my expression.
“You’re trying to understand her.”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Because I had always been different.
I searched for reasons.
Even when people hurt me.
“I need to know what I missed.”
My grandfather sighed.
“Caroline…”
“No.”
I interrupted.
“I’m done discovering the truth after everyone else.”
Ten minutes later, security found Jessica.
Not at the hospital.
Not at the parking garage.
At the private maternity clinic across the street.
The place where she had been receiving prenatal care.
The same place where she told everyone she was expecting Harrison's child.
We arrived with police escort.
The clinic was quiet.
Too quiet.
The receptionist looked terrified.
“Where is Jessica Mercer?”
the officer asked.
The woman hesitated.
“She left.”
“When?”
“Five minutes ago.”
My heart sank.
Too late.
Then the officer noticed something.
A folder on the counter.
“What's this?”
He opened it.
Everyone gathered.
Inside were medical records.
Fake documents.
Transfer papers.
And one file with my name.
CAROLINE ASTOR
My hands shook.
“What is that?”
The officer read silently.
Then looked up.
“Ms. Astor…”
“What?”
He swallowed.
“This says Jessica had access to your medical information months before your pregnancy.”
I stared.
Impossible.
“She wasn’t even in my life.”
Theodore took the file.
His expression darkened.
“She was.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
He turned the pages.
“Jessica Mercer worked for Astor Foundation.”
The room went silent.
My mind raced.
A charity event.
A fundraiser.
A woman in a blue dress.
I remembered.
She once helped organize one of my grandfather's events.
We met.
Briefly.
I forgot her.
She didn't forget me.
The officer continued reading.
“She accessed confidential files.”
My stomach turned.
“What files?”
He looked uncomfortable.
“Your fertility treatments.”
The air disappeared.
My miscarriages.
My six years of trying.
My private pain.
She knew everything.
And suddenly her words came back.
“You can’t handle two.”
“She’s the future.”
“You’re the mistake.”
She wasn't just jealous.
She was obsessed.
Theodore looked at me.
“Caroline.”
I barely heard him.
“Why?”
Nobody answered.
Because maybe the truth was simple.
Some people don't want what you have.
They want you not to have it.
A phone on the counter suddenly rang.
Everyone froze.
Unknown number.
The officer picked it up.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then Jessica's voice.
“I know Caroline is there.”
Everyone looked at me.
The officer put it on speaker.
“Jessica.”
Her laugh was soft.
Almost friendly.
“Caroline.”
My hands curled.
“Where are my daughters?”
A pause.
Then:
“Still alive.”
My blood went cold.
Theodore stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
Jessica ignored him.
She spoke only to me.
“You know what the worst thing about you is, Caroline?”
I didn't answer.
“You always win.”
My jaw tightened.
“What?”
“You were born rich.”
A pause.
“You were loved.”
Another pause.
“You got the husband.”
My voice was cold.
“I never wanted him.”
She laughed.
“That’s why you’re dangerous.”
Silence.
Then Jessica said:
“Because everything comes to you.”
The line went quiet.
Then she whispered:
“But now I’m taking the one thing you can’t replace.”
The call ended.
At that exact moment…
Every light in the hospital went out.
Emergency alarms screamed.
The NICU doors locked automatically.
Doctors rushed.
People shouted.
My heart stopped.
“Lily.”
I ran.
Theodore grabbed me.
“Caroline, wait.”
“No!”
I pushed forward.
“My daughters are in there.”
The backup generators started.
One by one.
The NICU lights returned.
The incubators powered back on.
The nurses checked every machine.
And then Dr. Collins looked at me.
His face was pale.
“Mrs. Astor…”
“What?”
He looked toward Lily’s incubator.
“She’s missing.”
The world stopped.
No.
No.
Not again.
I ran to the glass.
The incubator was empty.
My daughter was gone.
And on the blanket where Lily had been…
was a handwritten note.
One sentence.
Now you know what it feels like to lose something you love.
May you like
Signed:
Jessica.
