Chapter 129
Jonathan’s POV
The next morning I drove off with Veronica and Vance and were headed to the old country hospital Veronica and Imelda were born at.
While driving our minds were a mess.
After all, it’s been almost three decades since the girl’s birth and no one knows what awaits us.
Old Country Hospital – A few hours later
Thanks to Vance’s credentials, the dean gave access to the old files.
But most of the records were already archived, for that matter the building itself had changed, from what we saw in the photos of the hospital’s gallery.
The entire nicu was renovated.
The one capable of twenty babies, now could facilitate more than a hundred babies.
“Looks like someone is wholeheartedly donating to the hospital,” Vance said as he looked around.
We both nodded.
From our questions, we found out most of the old staff has been made to retire.
After spending hours on their computers and going through their files, we found nothing.
“I don’t think we’ll find anything here.” Vance said.
“Maybe if we find an old nurse or doctor?” Veronica suggested.
We were about to leave, Veronica stopped.
“Nicky,” I asked softly. “What’s the matter p>
“Oh, nothing,” she said, but I knew it was something, so I squeezed her hand lightly, gesturing to her that she can tell, I won’t find it odd.
“It’s just that…this is the place I opened my eyes, and got abandoned, that’s all p>
I put my arm over her shoulder.
“Let’s just remember this is the place you opened your beautiful eyes, and eighteen years later, I met the most beautiful girl who’s my wife and mother to my children p>
Veronica smiled back at me.
It was great seeing her happy, but I knew there was still a long way to go.
“Hey,” Vance said, coming over. “I found the address of a retired nurse, she may be able to tell us something p>
After a few minutes we finally managed to find her home.
Vance showed her a photo of Fredrick and asked if she knew him.
Her face expression changed from warm to shock.
“Oh, I can never forget this man p>
At first we thought maybe he bought her silence, but that myth broke soon enough.
Old Retired Nurse’s Home – an hour later
As we all sat on the sofa.
“Can you tell from the beginning?” I requested her.
She nodded.
As she began, I realized she had been carrying this truth for decades.
She exhaled.
“The girls were born two days apart p>
“Even today I can remember every delivery I assisted p>
“Veronica p>
Veronica cut h midway.
“Veronica?” she said, shocked. “Veronica is my birth name? Not from the orphanage p>
“No dear,” she said, smiling.
“When you were born and I handed you to your mother, she said she’ll call you Veronica, after her mother p>
“Veronica is your maternal grandmother’s name, dear p>
“You were a healthy baby, and your mother survived the delivery p>
“Fredrick was nervous but relieved as you were born two weeks before your date p>
“Exactly two days later p>
“Another woman was rushed in for delivery p>
“Her husband passed died on the spot and she was rushed in p>
“It was as if she only survived to deliver her baby p>
“She passed as the baby was delivered p>
“That baby was named Imelda, after her mother p>
“We named her as she had no family p>
I realized this tragedy created the perfect opportunity for a man who nad no morals.
Suddenly the nurse lowered her voice.
“Two days later…everything changed p>
“I was the one who prepared both babies discharge papers p>
“I noticed something was terribly wrong p>
Both Veronica and Imelda’s identification bracelets were missing p>
“Then they were recovered, but they looked tampered p>
“I believed it was an administrative mistake, so I informed them p>
“They told me to stay quiet and to not question p>
“I didn’t do as I thought, maybe it’s just my thoughts, and nothing is wrong p>
I leaned forward as I realized this was the first sign of deliberate manipulation of the two girls life’s.
“Can I see the original maternity logs?” Vance asked.
“Yes,” she said. “The archived files are stored at the local library p>
We took leave from her and drove off to the library.
Local Library – two hours later
Vance again used his credentials to get access to the archives.
“Who keeps hospital records in a library?” Veronica asked as she was going through the files.
“Before?” I said. “I might have asked the same question, but over the past few months, what we’ve seen, I’m not surprised a bit p>
“Recalling, I can say the same.” Veronica said, smiling.
We found out the records had a lot of inconsistencies.
Admission numbers didn’t align.
Some infant identification codes didn’t align with the records.
Several signatures were forged, and in place…entire records were tampered.
I quietly compared every record.
The more I looked, the more things became senseless.
I realized this wasn’t just a mistake,
It was a carefully planned plot.
Just then one page caught my attention.
“Vance,” I called. “Check this, can you reconstruct this p>
Vance looked and began to reconstruct the timeline.
“Okay,” he said.
“So, Veronica was with her parents for two days p>
“Imelda was born on the day Veronica was three days old p>
“Imelda enters nicu, her and Veronica’s identity bracelet’s disappear p>
“Fredrick signed new paperwork p>
“Imelda became his daughter p>
“Old hospital staff have retired, records disappeared p>
“Everything is just too perfect, and made on the day Imelda was being delivered p>
I realized Fredrick took advantage of Imelda being born in an emergency delivery to change the records from Veronica to her because she was going to be born on the fifteenth as the tarot reader told him.
Even the nurse said she believed the babies were switched.
I finally was able to piece the puzzle.
Fredrick didn’t just abandon Veronica, he erased her existence.
He changed the bracelets’ altered the files, re-wrote the official records p>
From that moment onwards p>
He made sure Veronica could never connect herself to him.
Fredrick was sickening as he was, now he was worse for being a man who abandoned his newborn.
I quietly looked at Veronica, as I knew how devastating this must be for her.
I knew she was struggling to process all the information she was getting.
She had a mother and a father.
She had someone to hold her protectively.
To feed her, care for her.
Someone who named her.
Then p>
Two days later…everything changed and from somebody she became a nobody.
I gently held her hand, as she whispered into my ears p>
“I had parents for only two days p>
I realized she wasn’t grieving the loss,
Rather trying to live those two days of having parents.
Silence fell between us.
I reflected on what Fredrick wrote in his diary.
The child he wrote about being beautiful.
The child he was afraid to hold as she was so tiny.
Yet p>
He is the same man who abandoned her.
Not that Veronica was a bad child,
But because his fear of losing his wealth took over him.
Even though everything was crystal clear before me, I still couldn’t understand how a father could abandon his own child over a superstition.
“Did he ever love me?” Veronica’s question pulled me out of my thoughts.
Then she asked totally different questions.
“If he abandoned me and took Imelda and left p>
“Then what about my mother p>
“Imelda never had a mother, we all know that p>
“The nurse said she survived the delivery p>
“Then where is Fredrick’s wife, my mother p>
“She named me p>
“Then why did she let go of me p>
Silence fell between us once again.
From the beginning we kept looking into Fredrick, we never considered her mother.
Just then Vance found a sealed file.
As Vance handed me the file, I slowly opened it.
I saw it had a birth record and a patent’s transfer documents.
“She’s alive I was shocked.
“According to this, Fredrick’s wife was transferred to another hospital after she suffered from serious complications after she gave birth p>
“While her husband took the baby home p>
“There are records of her treatment p>
“She discharged herself from the hospital as her husband was not available p>
I stared at the page, as fury was boiling inside of me.
All the while we thought maybe she was wrong too p>
But now it seems, she was another victim in this play.
“She’s alive Veronica whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Veronica’s mother had survived and was discharged three weeks after giving birth to Veronica.
But I knew Fredrick always told Imelda’s mother, his wife died after giving birth.
And till date, there was never a mention of his wife or Imelda’s mother being alive.
So that means Veronica’s real mother never returned to the Harmon mansion.
Even her legal records were tampered with, claiming her to be dead.
Even a fake death certificate was issued stating the reason of death was hard childbirth.
I immediately realized he not only made sure Veronica never finds her way to him, but made sure Veronica’s mother also never comes back.
I turned towards Veronica as I saw a smile appear on her lips, only to disappear.
“Nicky?” I asked, concerned.
“For years I thought I didn’t have parents p>
“Now I found a father, whom I never want to meet p>
“But now I have a mother, who may still want me p>
“Could she still be searching for me p>
“Nicky, I swear I will unite you with your mother.” I silently swore in my mind.
“Hey,” Vance said. “Found another sealed one p>
Again Vance gave it to me.
I was dumbstruck as I read the contents.
“What’s the matter?” Vance said. “Another Fredrick related or his wife, Veronica’s mother’s related document p>
“Much serious,” I said in a grave voice.
“These are property deed papers p>
“Jane Harmon made these papers so she could hand over Harmon Designs control to her husband Fredrick p>
“They were never signed p>
As both Vance and Veronica looked at me in shock,
I continued,
“Veronica, your mother Jane is the real Harmon, Fredrick took the name and business from her p>
“You are the real Harmon because this is your mother’s legacy p>
“All this time, Fredrick has been telling the biggest lie of his life p>
“He not only switched two babies p>
I trailed off a bit.
“Him being a Harmon and the legal one who found Harmon Designs p>
“He may have made it to what Harmon Designs is today, but Harmon Designs was founded by your grandfather, later inherited by your mother, and should belong to you p>