Chapter 2 - The Doctor Who Never Came
Daniel moved toward the ambulance, but Marcus caught his sleeve.
“Daniel, wait.”
Daniel turned with such fury that Marcus immediately released him.
“You have five seconds.”
Marcus glanced at Victoria.
Their mother stood beside the coffin, speaking quietly to the police officer. Her voice was controlled, almost offended, as though Elena’s survival were an inconvenience.
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Mother had a doctor here.”
“What doctor?”
“Dr. Reeves.”
Daniel knew the name.
Dr. Simon Reeves had treated the Carter family for years. He attended Victoria’s private dinners and received generous donations from the family foundation.
“Where is he?”
“He left before you arrived.”
Daniel grabbed Marcus by the collar.
“What did he do to my wife?”
“I don’t know everything.”
“You watched her get placed in a coffin.”
Marcus’s face collapsed with shame.
“Mother said Elena had taken something. She said the doctor confirmed she was dead.”
“And you believed her?”
Marcus looked away.
Daniel pushed him back.
“You wanted to believe her.”
The paramedic called from the ambulance.
“Sir, we need to leave.”
Daniel climbed inside and took Elena’s hand.
As the doors began to close, Victoria approached.
“You should stay here and speak with the police.”
Daniel stared at her.
“My wife and daughter are alive because I touched them before you buried them.”
Victoria’s lips tightened.
“You’re emotional.”
“No, Mother.”
He raised his smartwatch.
“I’m recording.”
For the first time, fear broke through her composure.
At the hospital, doctors rushed Elena into emergency care.
Daniel stood outside the treatment room, still wearing the suit he had traveled in. His hands carried the faint smell of the perfume Victoria had placed on Elena for her fake funeral.
A doctor emerged twenty minutes later.
“Mr. Carter?”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Your wife has a dangerous level of sedatives in her bloodstream. The baby’s heart rate is unstable, but both are alive.”
“Will they survive?”
“We’re doing everything we can.”
Daniel pressed his fist to his mouth.
The doctor continued carefully.
“There’s something else. The drug combination resembles medications used for surgical sedation. This was not an accidental overdose.”
Daniel felt the floor shift beneath him.
Someone had deliberately silenced Elena.
His phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
Check the nursery camera before your mother deletes it.
Attached was a code to Elena’s cloud account.
Daniel looked through the hospital window at his unconscious wife.
Someone had known she was in danger.
Someone had tried to preserve the truth.
May you like
And whoever sent that message was still inside the mansion.
👉 The nursery footage showed Elena fighting for her baby hours before Victoria ordered the coffin brought inside.
