Chapter 4 - The Shocking Truth
The folder contained video logs, medical files, and personal journal entries recorded by Clara during the final months of her life.
Ethan clicked on the first video file. Clara’s face filled the screen—pale, thin, but her eyes burning with fierce determination.
"Ethan," Clara's recorded voice echoed softly through the quiet room. "If you are watching this, it means I failed to make it back to you. And it means you found our daughter."
Ethan choked back a sob, gripping the edges of his desk.
"Nine years ago, when the doctors told us our baby girl died in the delivery room, they lied," Clara continued, tears glinting in her eyes on the recording. "I discovered the truth six months ago. Saint Jude’s wasn't just a hospital; it was a front for a high-end illegal adoption ring catering to wealthy foreign buyers. When I started digging, I found out our daughter wasn't dead. But before the buyers could take her, a rogue nurse stole her away to protect her, hiding her in the city's street shelter network."
Clara paused, wiping her face. "I spent the last year searching the streets in secret, terrified that if I told you, the people who ran the hospital ring would hurt you or kill the child. I found her, Ethan. I found our Laya. I gave her my bracelet with this memory card inside, hoping that if anything happened to me, someone would see it and bring her home. The people who ran the ring are tracking me down now. If my car goes off the road... Ethan, it wasn't an accident. Save our daughter."
May you like
Ethan buried his face in his hands, weeping openly as nine years of grief and deception smashed against him. Laya was not just a stranger with Clara's bracelet.
Laya was his daughter.
