Chapter 4 - The Name Elena Did Not Use
Elena’s full name was Elena Reed.
Her employment application identified her as Elena Moore.
She had used her mother’s maiden name.
Emma Reed, her older sister, had worked as a rehabilitation technician at the Moretti Children’s Mobility Center.
She was also the last person known to speak with Isabella before the crash.
Victoria folded her arms as though the lie proved everything.
“Elena entered this house under a false identity.”
I looked at the young woman.
“Why?”
“Because the Moretti agency rejects anyone connected to my sister.”
“Why would it?”
“Emma was accused of stealing medical files.”
Victoria gestured toward the necklace.
“Apparently theft runs through the family.”
Elena ignored her.
Emma had helped Isabella copy records showing that Dr. Mallory changed children’s mobility scores after examinations. When a child improved, the official report sometimes described no progress.
Those classifications allowed the center to continue receiving grants for long term severe disability research.
Emma gave Isabella the first copy.
The next morning, Isabella died.
Two weeks later, security officers found confidential files inside Emma’s locker.
She was arrested.
The charges were later reduced, but her career ended.
“Where is your sister now?” I asked.
“She disappeared eight months ago.”
“Did you report it?”
“The police said an adult could leave voluntarily.”
“Do you believe she left?”
“No.”
Elena received one message from Emma before she vanished.
Watch the twins. The wrong child is receiving the medicine.
Elena believed the message referred to Sofia.
That was why she accepted a maid position under another name.
She needed access to the nursery without alerting Victoria or Dr. Mallory.
“You came here to investigate my family.”
“I came to make sure your daughter was safe.”
“You should have told me.”
“I did not know whether you were involved.”
The answer angered me.
It was also reasonable.
My signature appeared on clinic funding approvals and Sofia’s medical records. From Elena’s perspective, I might have been another person protecting the program.
“Did you steal the necklace?”
“No.”
“Did you access the camera system?”
“No.”
“Did you remove Sofia’s medication?”
“Twice.”
Victoria pointed toward her.
“She endangered a child.”
Elena looked at me.
“The first time, Sofia had no spasms. She was alert and trying to stand. The second time, I replaced the dose with water.”
“You gave my child water without medical authority?”
“I wanted to see whether the medicine caused the weakness.”
“That could have been dangerous.”
“Yes.”
She did not defend the decision.
“If you dismiss me, I understand. But test the bottle.”
The independent medical team arrived that afternoon.
Dr. Amelia Carter examined Sofia in a room without Victoria, Mallory, or household staff.
She found muscle weakness, but not the complete lower body paralysis described in the official reports.
Sofia had significant neurological impairment and required careful therapy.
She also demonstrated voluntary movement in both legs.
“Could she learn to walk?” I asked.
“Possibly with support. No ethical physician should promise an outcome.”
“Could medication make her appear weaker?”
“Certain muscle relaxants could.”
The nursery bottle did not contain the drug listed on its label.
It held a stronger sedative combined with a medication that reduced muscle tone.
Long term use could interfere with balance, alertness, and therapy performance.
Dr. Carter looked furious.
“Who prescribed this?”
Dr. Mallory’s signature appeared on the chart.
Victoria’s electronic approval appeared beneath it.
My mother said the pharmacy must have made a mistake.
I asked why she entered the nursery after midnight with a dropper.
She refused to answer without an attorney.
Police were contacted, but Grace warned me that proving intentional medical abuse required more than suspicious footage and mislabeled medicine.
We needed the original medical logs.
Elena said Emma had hidden a copy before disappearing.
“Where?”
“She told me Isabella created a second nursery archive.”
We searched the camera system.
No second archive appeared.
Then Lily carried her stuffed rabbit toward the walker.
“Mommy said bunny watches from Sofia’s place.”
Inside the walker’s padded handle, technicians discovered a miniature memory module.
Isabella had placed it there before her death.
The first video showed her sitting alone in the nursery.
“If Adrian finds this, Victoria has reached the final review.”
She looked exhausted.
“Do not assume Sofia was injured during birth.”
I stopped the video.
Every doctor had told us the spinal damage occurred when oxygen levels dropped during delivery.
Isabella continued.
“Sofia moved both legs normally for eleven days.”
Elena covered her mouth.
The hospital records claimed paralysis was present immediately.
The video showed Isabella holding a newborn Sofia beneath both feet.
The baby kicked strongly.
Then Isabella whispered the sentence that changed the entire investigation.
May you like
“The injury began after Victoria insisted on taking the twins to Dr. Mallory’s private clinic.”
Continue to the next part: Adrian learns Sofia’s condition may have been caused after birth rather than during delivery.
