Chapter 4 - THE NURSE WHO REFUSED TO LET THEM DISAPPEAR
Maribel Santos was seventy-one years old when Claire finally saw her again.
Her silver hair was neatly pinned back.
She wore a lavender sweater.
And her eyes filled with tears the moment Claire stepped into her living room.
"Oh, sweetheart."
Claire stopped breathing.
"Maribel?"
The retired nurse opened her arms.
Claire embraced her.
Ten years disappeared in an instant.
"You held my hand when I thought I was going to die," Claire whispered.
Maribel hugged her tightly.
"I remember."
Then she looked toward Noah and Sophie.
Her face softened.
"Look at you two."
Sophie smiled shyly.
Noah adjusted his glasses.
"Hello, ma'am."
Maribel laughed.
"You're just like your father."
Ethan stood near the doorway.
The words seemed to strike him.
Maribel noticed.
Her expression changed.
"Mr. Sullivan."
He nodded.
"Mrs. Santos."
She didn't invite him to sit until Claire did.
That small gesture told Ethan everything about how the older woman remembered him.
They gathered around the kitchen table.
Lucas placed the historical records in front of Maribel.
She studied them carefully.
Then shook her head.
"That wasn't authorized by Claire."
Claire swallowed.
"How do you know?"
"Because I asked you."
Her stomach tightened.
"What?"
Maribel looked directly at her.
"You were recovering, but you were awake enough to answer questions. I asked whether anyone outside the care team had your permission to make decisions concerning the babies."
Claire stared.
"And?"
"You said no."
Ethan covered his mouth.
Maribel continued.
"Victoria arrived with a man carrying legal documents. She claimed there had been an arrangement."
"What arrangement?" Claire asked.
"She wanted the children transferred to a private neonatal facility."
"Why?"
"She said the Sullivan family had better resources."
Claire felt sick.
"But the babies were healthy."
Maribel nodded.
"Exactly."
She looked toward Ethan.
"I refused to release them on that basis."
He lowered his head.
"Thank you."
Maribel's expression remained serious.
"Then I called the hospital supervisor and documented the incident."
Lucas leaned forward.
"Do you still have copies?"
Maribel nodded.
"I preserved my notes."
Claire's eyes filled.
For ten years, she had remembered Maribel as the kind nurse who brought warm blankets.
She hadn't known the woman had also protected her children.
Maribel disappeared briefly into another room.
When she returned, she carried an old folder.
Inside were handwritten notes, correspondence, and copies of incident reports.
Claire recognized the date.
The day her twins were born.
Maribel sat down.
"There's something else."
Everyone looked toward her.
"Victoria wasn't the only Sullivan family member at the hospital."
Ethan went pale.
"Who else?"
Maribel hesitated.
"Your father."
Claire stared.
Richard Sullivan had died seven years earlier.
He'd barely acknowledged her during the marriage.
Maribel continued.
"He argued with Victoria."
Ethan frowned.
"My father?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
Maribel opened another note.
Her handwriting was small but clear.
She read aloud:
"Richard Sullivan stated that no child of his son would be removed from the hospital without the mother's consent."
Ethan stopped breathing.
His father had known.
He'd tried to intervene.
Then Maribel looked toward Claire.
Her expression grew troubled.
"After the argument, Richard asked me to deliver a message."
Claire's pulse quickened.
"What message?"
May you like
Maribel swallowed.
"He said, 'Tell Claire I know what Ethan's mother has done, and I intend to make it right.'"
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