Chapter 4 - Ryan Had Prepared Before Labor
Hospital security arrived.
Ryan was asked to wait outside.
He refused.
Then Emily asked him to leave.
That changed everything.
He stared at her.
“Emily.”
“Go.”
“We need to talk.”
“No. You need to get away from my daughter.”
Security escorted him into the hall.
Madison stayed.
Richard wanted her gone too.
Emily did not.
Not yet.
“Tell me everything.”
Madison nodded.
Ryan first contacted her through a real-estate networking event.
He said he was divorcing.
He said Emily’s pregnancy had been unexpected.
He said he felt trapped.
Then, two months ago, his story changed.
He became worried about Emily’s “mental health.”
Emily stared.
“I have never been treated for a mental-health condition.”
Madison looked ashamed.
“He said you were hiding it.”
Richard asked, “Did he show you medical records?”
Madison nodded.
“Screenshots.”
Melissa’s expression hardened.
“Screenshots of what?”
Madison opened her phone.
The images showed a patient portal.
Emily’s name.
Medication notes.
A psychiatric consultation.
Emily stared.
“That’s fake.”
Melissa looked closer.
“The formatting is wrong.”
Richard’s face went cold.
Ryan had created false medical records.
But why?
Madison scrolled further.
There were messages.
Ryan: We need documentation before delivery.
Ryan: If she becomes unstable, I need someone the hospital can trust.
Ryan: Once the baby is home, everything gets easier.
Emily read the last sentence twice.
“What gets easier?”
Madison shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Then she remembered something.
“Wait.”
She opened another thread.
Ryan had sent her a photograph of a legal document.
At the top were the words:
PETITION FOR EMERGENCY TEMPORARY CUSTODY.
Emily’s hands went numb.
May you like
The filing date was yesterday.
Before she had even gone into labor.
