Chương 3
Medical staff were questioned.
Access records were examined.
The private maternity wing that had once been filled with celebration became an investigation scene.
Mason remained beside Claire.
He refused to leave.
Every few minutes, he touched her hand and reminded himself she was still there.
At dawn, Claire’s fingers moved slightly.
Mason immediately noticed.
“Claire?”
Her eyelids trembled.
The monitor beside her changed rhythm.
Dr. Bennett rushed back into the room.
“Claire, can you hear me?”
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then Claire slowly opened her eyes.
Mason leaned closer.
Relief almost overwhelmed him.
“Claire, I’m here.”
Her eyes moved weakly around the room.
She looked confused.
Then frightened.
Her lips moved slightly beneath the oxygen tube.
Mason gently leaned closer.
“What is it?”
Claire struggled to speak.
Dr. Bennett carefully adjusted the oxygen.
“Take your time.”
Claire looked past Mason.
Her eyes stopped on Vanessa.
The fear in her expression changed everything.
Mason followed her gaze.
“Claire?”
Claire tried again.
Her voice was barely audible.
“Don’t… trust…”
Mason held his breath.
“Don’t trust who?”
Claire’s eyes remained fixed on Vanessa.
Vanessa’s face turned pale.
The room became completely silent.
Claire gathered every bit of strength she had left.
Then she whispered the name that made Mason’s entire world collapse.
“Vanessa.”
Vanessa stood completely still as Claire’s whisper faded into the silence of the hospital room.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Even the machines beside the bed seemed to disappear beneath the weight of that single name.
Mason looked from Claire to Vanessa, searching for an explanation that could make sense of what he had just heard.
But Claire’s eyes told him everything.
She was not confused.
She was afraid.
Dr. Bennett immediately stepped closer to the bed.
“Claire, I need you to stay awake.”
Claire tried to speak again, but her body was too weak.
Her fingers tightened around Mason’s hand with the little strength she had left.
Mason leaned closer.
“Tell me what happened.”
Claire’s breathing became uneven.
The oxygen tube moved slightly as she struggled.
“Before… delivery,” she whispered.
Mason lowered his head.
“I’m listening.”
Claire closed her eyes for a moment, gathering enough energy to continue.
“She came into my room.”
Vanessa’s expression changed.
“What?”
Everyone turned toward her.
Mason’s eyes narrowed.
“You were in Claire’s room before delivery?”
Vanessa quickly shook her head.
“No, that’s not what she means.”
Claire opened her eyes again.
“She was there.”
Her voice was weak, but clear.
“She brought me tea.”
The room became colder.
Mason looked at Dr. Bennett.
“What tea?”
The doctor immediately turned toward the nurse.
“Check the delivery room records.”
The nurse nodded and rushed out.
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Mason, you can’t seriously believe I would hurt Claire.”
Mason did not answer.
That silence frightened Vanessa more than anger would have.
Because anger could be controlled.
Silence meant he was thinking.
Ethan watched Vanessa carefully.
He had spent years reading people during investigations.
He knew guilt did not always look like panic.
Sometimes it looked like perfect control.
“Vanessa,” Ethan said calmly.
“Where were you the morning Claire went into labor?”
She looked at him.
“At home.”
“Alone?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“Yes.”
Ethan noticed.
“So nobody can confirm that?”
Vanessa’s eyes hardened.
“I don’t appreciate being treated like a criminal.”
Ethan remained calm.
“Neither does someone who has been falsely accused.”
The answer was simple.
But it made Vanessa uncomfortable.
Mason kept his attention on Claire.
He wanted to believe his wife.
He needed to believe his wife.
But there was another painful truth.
Claire had trusted Vanessa.
If Vanessa had betrayed that trust, then the person responsible had been close enough to enter their lives without suspicion.
The nurse returned carrying a small evidence bag.
Inside was a hospital cup with a patient identification label.
Dr. Bennett looked at it carefully.
“This was recovered from the disposal area near Claire’s delivery room.”
Mason stared at the cup.
“Was this tested?”
“We’re sending it now.”
Ethan took a photograph of the label.
“When did Vanessa arrive at the hospital?”
Mason answered immediately.
“About thirty minutes before Claire collapsed.”
Ethan looked at him.
“And when did Claire drink this?”
Mason turned toward the bed.
Claire’s eyes were still open.
She whispered.
“An hour before.”
Nobody spoke.
The timeline was becoming clear.
Vanessa had been there.
She had brought Claire something to drink.
And shortly afterward, Claire’s condition had changed.
Vanessa took another step back.
“This is impossible.”
Mason finally looked at her.
“Then explain it.”
Her expression shifted.
“Mason, I was trying to help her.”
“By giving her something without anyone knowing?”
“I was her friend.”
“You were my wife’s friend.”
His voice became colder.
“And right now my wife is fighting for her life.”
Vanessa looked hurt.
But Ethan noticed something else.
She was calculating.
Not grieving.
Not confused.
Calculating.
The hospital security director arrived moments later with a tablet in his hand.
“Mr. Sloane, we reviewed the hallway cameras.”
Mason turned toward him.
“What did you find?”
The director glanced at Vanessa.
Then back at Mason.
“Ms. Vale entered the maternity floor at 6:42 p.m.”
Vanessa immediately responded.
“That’s because I came to see Claire.”
The director continued.
“She also accessed a restricted hallway near the medication storage area.”
The room went silent again.
Mason looked at Vanessa.
“You said you stayed with Claire the entire time.”
Vanessa’s face lost some of its confidence.
“I needed to find a nurse.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Then why did the security footage show you leaving through a different corridor?”
Vanessa had no answer.
For the first time, her perfect control disappeared.
“I was confused.”
“No,” Ethan said.
“You weren’t.”
Mason felt something inside him break.
Not because he hated Vanessa.
Because he remembered every moment when he had defended her.
Every time Claire told him Vanessa seemed too interested in their private life.
Every time Claire had quietly suggested that Vanessa’s kindness felt unusual.
Mason had dismissed it.
May you like
He had told Claire she was overthinking.
Now those memories returned like wounds reopening.
