Chapter 5 - The Clinic RecordsThe smell of rubbing alcohol and cheap lavender air freshener hit Claire the second she walked into the private clinic on East 77th Street. It was 8:30 AM. The holiday staff was skeleton-thin—just a receptionist behind a glass partition and a lone janitor pushing a mop down the hallway.

Claire kept her head down, the oversized navy sweatshirt pulled tight around her frame.

"Mrs. Sterling?" The receptionist looked up, surprised. "You don't have an appointment scheduled until next Thursday."

"I know," Claire said, leaning against the counter to hide the slight tremor in her knees. "I’ve had some... sharp cramping on my left side since last night. Dr. Morrison told me to drop by if Sarah was on shift."

The receptionist clicked a mouse twice, her eyes scanning the screen. "Sarah isn't in today. She swapped her holiday rotation with Nurse Jenkins."

Claire’s heart gave a strange, uneven thump. "Did she say why?"

"Family emergency, I think. Left early yesterday afternoon." The woman paused, eyeing Claire’s disheveled hair and lack of makeup. "Do you want me to page the on-call resident to check the fetal heart rate?"

"No," Claire said quickly. "No, the cramping stopped about an hour ago. I just wanted to leave some paperwork with Sarah."

"You can leave it with me."

"It's personal," Claire said, backing away from the counter before the receptionist could ask more questions. "I'll call her cell."

She hurried out to the stairwell, her breath coming fast and shallow. She pulled the burner phone from her pocket and dialed the number Marcus had jotted down on the diner napkin.

It rang four times. Then a click.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end was young, breathless, and frayed around the edges.

"Sarah?" Claire said. "Sarah Cole?"

A sharp intake of air. "Who is this?"

"My name is Claire Sterling. My maiden name is Claire Vance." Claire paused, correcting herself clumsily. "No—Claire Vance is my cousin. I’m Claire Montgomery. Arthur Sterling’s daughter-in-law."

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The line went completely dead for five full seconds.

"Don't come to my apartment," Sarah whispered, her voice trembling. "There's a black car parked across the street. They've been sitting there since six this morning."