Chapter 10 - LEONIE
The genetic report was read in a conference room.
Me.
Rachel.
Our attorneys.
Hospital counsel.
Police investigator.
No husbands.
No family audience.
The first result:
The newborn who had been in my hospital room after 9:18 a.m. was maternally consistent with Rachel Quinn.
Nora.
Rachel covered her mouth.
I closed my eyes.
The baby I had held for hours was not mine.
I had known.
Still.
Then:
The newborn found in observation wearing the mismatched band was maternally consistent with me.
Leonie.
My daughter.
No uncertainty left.
Cord-blood typing matched.
Birth footprint matched.
Documented clubfoot matched.
Delivery photograph matched.
Everything aligned.
Aloysius had switched the two newborn girls.
He had taken Leonie from her bassinet during the seventy-one-second blind interval.
Removed or forced her ankle band.
Removed Nora’s.
Placed the wrong identifiers.
Returned to my room with Nora.
Left Leonie in the observation bassinet under Nora’s identity.
Why did the scanner in my room say Nora was registered to another mother?
Because it was Nora’s own electronic tag, reclosed badly after removal.
Why did Leonie carry mine?
Because Aloysius had forced Leonie’s band onto her? Wait, if swapping babies, to fool system he'd swap bands: Nora gets Leonie band, Leonie gets Nora band. But hook says the baby in Jessamy room scans as registered to another mother. So he DID NOT swap the bands to match false identities; he just returned Nora wearing Nora's own band. That seems stupid. Maybe he intended to remove band later / had interrupted before finishing. Yet Caius confronted him quickly. That can work: he moved the babies, intended to change bands but was interrupted by Caius and then Noeline. The band in room was removed but still Nora's, thus mismatch. The observation baby had Jessamy's tag? Could be he had moved Leonie's tag onto observation? Need consistent.
Let's define:
- Aloysius removed both bands.
- He put Jessamy/Leonie band loosely onto Leonie? Hmm no.
Maybe he intended to swap both physical bands but accidentally one slipped? Let's more precise:
During hurried switch, he removed Leonie's band and left it on the observation mattress, then took Nora still wearing Nora band to room intending to replace it with Leonie's band once back in private. Caius followed, stopping him before he could. Meanwhile staff found Leonie in observation with no proper band and the loose Leonie band beneath blanket. But earlier story said additional baby had band linked to me. We can revise within Ch10 by clarifying staff had temporarily secured the loose band to the observation infant for chain-of-custody? But Ch2 said baby had a band electronically linked to me and clasp tampered. That could be because he had placed Leonie's band on Nora? Hmm.
Let's align: Aloysius removed Nora's band, placed it on Nora? no.
Maybe the "baby in Jessamy's bassinet" had a band from another mother because he swapped babies but forgot/swapped incorrectly. The actual Leonie in observation had Jessamy band because he didn't remove hers. This means he moved babies without moving bands. Then Nora in Jessamy room has Nora band loosened? Why removed? He had started to remove it but Caius interrupted; Leonie's band remained on Leonie. Perfect. So:
- He moved Leonie to observation still wearing Jessamy band.
- He took Nora to Jessamy room and began opening Nora's band, intending to replace it later with a duplicate? No duplicate. He could have intended to hide mismatch by removing band entirely and claim fell off. He had loosened it but not completed when Caius challenged him.
- So actual Leonie in observation has Jessamy band. Good.
This matches Ch2. Great.
Continue central secret motive:
He intended to claim Jessamy's baby's band came loose during screening, rely on staff to print a replacement after he had inserted Nora into room. But if Nora's existing band remained, impossible. He was in process of removing when Caius confronted him. Yes.
Let's continue prose:
He had searched replacement procedures. Plan not sophisticated.
He believed if Nora entered room unbanded and staff reprinted a Jessamy-linked band based on room/parent assumption, the identity system could be overwritten. This was naive and dangerous; hospital protocols would likely have caught it. He was not mastermind.
Good.
Let's continue final answer from Ch10 carefully.
Need continue. We can still write within same code block. Let's resume narrative.
CHAPTER 10 ... central secret.
Need not mention "Chapter ten" meta. Fine.
May you like
Let's continue from DNA result.
... Let's draft rest thoroughly.
