The Wife Who Vanished
969 Words
Chapter 9
After Hailey was moved into the VIP suite, Nathaniel still couldn’t calm down.
No matter what he did, Claire’s final voice kept replaying inside his head.
“Nate…”
Weak.
Shaking.
Not angry.
Not dramatic.
Almost like she’d been begging him for help.
Nathaniel sat alone on the couch inside the hospital suite, yanking his tie loose in frustration.
Something heavy pressed against his chest harder and harder by the second.
Finally, he grabbed his phone.
He was about to call me.
But before the call could go through, Hailey suddenly whimpered from the bed.
“Nate…”
She clutched her stomach weakly and leaned toward him.
“I don’t feel good…”
Immediately, his attention snapped back to her.
“Doctor!”
He rushed over instantly.
“I thought they already checked you. Why are you still hurting?”
Hailey’s eyes filled with tears right on cue.
“I’m scared…”
“What if something happens to our baby?”
Then she lowered her voice shakily.
“I really was trying to apologize to Claire…”
“I never thought she’d hate me this much.”
Nathaniel’s expression darkened immediately.
“She’s been getting worse lately,” he muttered coldly.
“I’ve tolerated too much from her.”
But then
for one split second
an image flashed through his mind.
Me lying on the kitchen floor.
My burned hand.
Blood running down my legs.
Nathaniel’s breathing suddenly faltered.
He frowned hard.
“But she was eight months pregnant…”
“And I might’ve gone too far.”
Hailey’s eyes darkened for the briefest second.
Then immediately softened again.
She realized something terrifying.
Nathaniel was starting to waver.
So she grabbed his hand gently.
“Nate…”
“There’s something I’ve been too scared to tell you.”
Nathaniel looked down.
“What?”
Hailey bit her lip like she was struggling emotionally.
“Claire’s been threatening me.”
His brows snapped together instantly.
“What are you talking about?”
Hailey lowered her eyes and whispered:
“She said she’d make sure our baby never got to see daylight.”
The room went silent.
Nathaniel’s first reaction wasn’t anger.
It was disbelief.
“That’s impossible.”
The denial came instantly.
“Claire wouldn’t say something like that.”
“She’s emotional, but she’s not cruel.”
Hailey almost cracked a tooth from how hard she clenched her jaw.
Even now.
Even after everything.
A part of Nathaniel still instinctively defended me.
Hatred flashed through her eyes before disappearing just as quickly.
Then she pulled out her phone.
“I wanted to believe I misunderstood too…”
“But look.”
She AirDropped several screenshots to him.
Fake screenshots.
Messages supposedly sent from me.
You stole my life.
I’ll make sure your baby dies with you.
You don’t deserve to be a mother.
Each message more vicious than the last.
Nathaniel’s face grew darker with every line.
Especially after remembering my recent “outbursts.”
Doubt finally started creeping in.
Hailey immediately leaned into his chest.
“I’m scared…”
“She hates us.”
Nathaniel stayed silent for a long moment.
Then finally wrapped an arm around her.
“You’re safe.”
“I won’t let anyone hurt you or the baby.”
And just like that—
He put his phone down.
Never calling me back.
Hailey looked down at the unanswered number on his screen.
And slowly smiled.
Then she opened her purse and placed an Ativan tablet into his hand.
“Your stress is stressing the baby,” she whispered.
“Don’t think about her tonight.”
“She’s toxic.”
Nathaniel closed his eyes briefly.
Then swallowed the pill.
Completely unaware that he had just missed his final chance to reach me.
—
The following week, Nathaniel barely left the hospital.
But despite all the panic, every test on Hailey came back normal.
No complications.
No fetal distress.
No dangerous symptoms.
Her so-called pain and panic attacks were nothing more than emotional episodes.
Still, Nathaniel continued throwing money and resources at her care.
Until eventually, doctors reassured him repeatedly:
“Mrs. Hayes and the baby are perfectly healthy.”
Only then did he finally relax.
A week later, he brought Hailey home.
The second he opened the front door, something felt wrong.
The house was silent.
Dark.
Empty.
No lights.
No warmth.
No trace of me.
“Claire?”
No answer.
He walked deeper into the living room and stopped abruptly.
The wedding portrait was gone.
Almost all of my belongings had disappeared, too.
Even the scent of my perfume had faded from the air.
Something strange twisted inside his chest.
But he forced himself to stay calm.
Claire was emotional.
Pregnancy hormones.
She’d come back after cooling off.
She always did.
Except one day passed.
Then three.
Then an entire week.
Still nothing.
No calls.
No texts.
No sign of me anywhere.
Nathaniel became more irritable with every passing day.
At night, he kept waking suddenly to the sound of my final voice echoing in his mind.
“Nate… the baby…”
One month later
he finally panicked.
For real this time.
He even went to the police station.
“My wife is missing.”
The officer behind the desk typed something into the computer.
Then looked up.
“Name?”
“Claire Hayes.”
The officer frowned after a few seconds.
“Sir…”
“The system shows your marriage was legally dissolved one month ago.”
Nathaniel froze completely.
“What?”
The officer checked again calmly.
“Your divorce was finalized thirty-one days ago.”
“Legally speaking, you no longer have access to her personal records or whereabouts.”
For a moment, Nathaniel couldn’t breathe.
Divorced.
No.
That wasn’t possible.
Claire would never leave him.
…Would she?
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