CHAPTER NINE: ROOM 214
947 Words
CHAPTER NINE
ROOM 214
Clara barely slept.
The black card sat on her desk, exactly where she had left it.
ST. MARY'S.
ROOM 214.
She had stared at those words for hours, trying to understand why the transfer student had been carrying something connected to the same hospital mentioned in the anonymous message.
There were too many questions.
Why did he know about her nanny?
Why did he recognize the photograph?
Why did he look genuinely shocked when she received the message?
And why had he asked about the night she was born?
That last question bothered her the most.
It didn't make sense.
Unless there was something about her own past that she didn't know.
Clara pushed the thought away.
No.
She wasn't going to let herself spiral.
She needed answers.
By eight the next morning, Clara had already decided what she was going to do.
She was going to St. Mary's.
She didn't tell anyone.
Not her friends.
Not the competition organizers.
And definitely not her nanny.
If her nanny had spent years hiding something from her, Clara wasn't going to walk into the hospital and announce that she had started asking questions.
She needed to know the truth first.
The hospital was nearly an hour away from campus.
When Clara finally arrived, she stood outside the entrance for several seconds.
Something about the building made her uneasy.
Maybe it was because she knew her nanny had once been there.
Maybe it was because a stranger had sent her here.
Or maybe it was because a small part of her already suspected that whatever she found inside would change everything.
She walked to the reception desk.
"Excuse me."
The receptionist looked up.
"How can I help you?"
"I'm looking for an old room."
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No."
The woman frowned.
"What room?"
Clara hesitated.
"Room 214."
The receptionist's expression changed.
Only for a second.
But Clara noticed.
"That room isn't in use."
"Why?"
"It's been closed for years."
Clara's fingers tightened around the strap of her bag.
"Can I see it?"
The receptionist shook her head.
"I'm sorry."
"Please. I'm trying to find someone who was treated here twenty years ago."
The woman looked uncomfortable.
"What was the patient's name?"
Clara opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
She didn't know the patient's name.
She only knew one thing.
Her nanny had been there.
"I'm not sure."
The receptionist gave her a sympathetic look.
"Without a name, I can't access any records."
Clara nodded slowly.
"Okay."
She turned away.
She had almost reached the entrance when a voice stopped her.
"Wait."
Clara looked back.
The receptionist was staring at her.
"What's the name of the woman you're looking for?"
Clara swallowed.
"Her name is..."
She said her nanny's name.
The receptionist's face went pale.
Clara noticed immediately.
"You know her."
"No."
"You recognized the name."
The woman looked toward the hallway.
Then back at Clara.
"I shouldn't be talking about this."
"Please."
The receptionist lowered her voice.
"Your best chance is the old records department."
"Where is that?"
"Basement."
Clara followed her directions.
The basement smelled of dust and old paper.
Rows of boxes filled the walls.
A staff member pointed her toward the medical archives.
"Twenty years ago?" he asked.
"Yes."
"That's a long time."
"I know."
He disappeared behind a shelf.
Clara waited.
Minutes passed.
Then he returned carrying a thin file.
He handed it to her.
"This is all I could find."
Clara stared at the label.
Her nanny's name was written across it.
Her hands trembled as she opened the folder.
The first few pages were ordinary.
Medical information.
Admission details.
Dates.
Then Clara saw something that made her stop.
A line had been blacked out.
Not crossed out.
Not faded.
Deliberately covered.
She looked up.
"Why is this redacted?"
The staff member frowned.
"I don't know."
"Who did it?"
"I said I don't know."
Clara turned the page.
There was another note.
**TRANSFERRED TO ROOM 214.**
Her heart pounded.
Room 214.
The same room from the card.
She turned another page.
There was no record of what happened afterward.
Nothing.
It was as if the story had simply stopped.
Then something slipped from the back of the file.
A photograph.
Clara caught it before it hit the floor.
She looked down.
Her breath caught.
It was the same photograph from the administration office.
Her nanny.
The wealthy man.
The child.
But this copy had something written on the back.
Clara turned it over.
Four words were written in faded ink.
**He was never abandoned.**
Clara stared at the sentence.
What did that mean?
Her nanny had told her nothing about a child.
Nothing about a hospital.
Nothing about this family.
Nothing.
Her phone vibrated.
Clara almost dropped the photograph.
Unknown Number.
She opened the message.
**You finally found it.**
Another message appeared.
**Now ask yourself why your nanny lied.**
Clara's heart hammered.
She looked around the basement.
There was nobody there.
Then she heard footsteps above her.
Slow.
Measured.
Coming down the stairs.
Clara quickly put the photograph back into the file.
The footsteps continued.
She reached for her phone.
The footsteps stopped.
Silence.
Then a voice came from the darkness.
"Clara."
Her entire body went still.
She knew that voice.
The mystery boy stepped into view.
He looked at the file in her hands.
Then at the photograph.
His expression changed.
"You shouldn't have come here."
Clara stared at him.
"Why?"
He didn't answer.
She stepped closer.
"Who was the baby?"
His eyes dropped.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked at her.
"I think..."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"I think you already know."
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD