Chapter 2
For the entire ride to the hospital, I thought I had misunderstood Grace.
My mother.
Margaret Bennett.
The woman who raised me after my father died.
The woman who had sat in the front pew at my wedding smiling through tears.
The woman who told me Grace had probably left because she had become overwhelmed by our relationship.
It made no sense.
“Grace.”
She barely opened her eyes.
“What did you mean?”
A paramedic glanced at me.
“Sir, let her rest.”
Grace tightened her fingers around mine.
“Your mother knew.”
“Knew what?”
“The baby.”
My heart pounded.
“She knew before Brooke?”
Grace nodded.
“She helped them.”
“Helped them do what?”
Her face tightened with pain.
The paramedic immediately moved closer.
“We need space.”
I backed away.
Ava sat on the other side of the ambulance clutching a stuffed rabbit someone from the church had given her.
She stared at me.
I had known Ava when Grace and I dated.
Back then, she was four.
She used to demand that I cut pancakes into stars.
Now she looked at me like she was trying to decide whether I was safe.
I hated that.
At the hospital, Grace was rushed into maternity triage.
I was stopped outside.
“I’m the father.”
The nurse looked at the chart.
“Of the baby?”
“Yes.”
I swallowed.
“I just found out.”
She looked sympathetic but firm.
“We’ll come get you if she asks.”
Ava stood beside me.
I crouched.
“Do you know where you and Mommy were staying?”
She looked at the floor.
“A house.”
“Whose house?”
“I don’t know.”
“Was anyone there with you?”
Her shoulders tightened.
I immediately stopped.
“You don’t have to tell me.”
She looked relieved.
“Okay.”
I took off my suit jacket and wrapped it around her.
It nearly swallowed her.
“You hungry?”
She shook her head.
“Thirsty?”
Another shake.
I sat beside her.
Within minutes, she leaned against my arm.
My phone had been vibrating constantly.
Brooke.
My mother.
Nathan.
Friends.
Guests.
I turned it off.
Twenty minutes later, Detective Elise Moreno approached me.
I recognized her from the church.
She had been one of Brooke’s guests.
I vaguely remembered Brooke saying Elise was married to a cousin.
Now she showed me her badge.
“Mr. Bennett.”
“Detective?”
“I was off duty.”
She glanced toward the maternity doors.
“But after what I saw, I called it in.”
I handed her the yellow envelope.
“All of this came with Grace.”
She did not touch it immediately.
“Has anyone else handled it?”
“Me. Brooke tried.”
“I saw.”
She took an evidence bag from another officer.
“What did Ms. Parker tell you?”
I hesitated.
“My mother was involved.”
Moreno’s face remained neutral.
“Involved how?”
“I don’t know.”
That was the truth.
“She said my mother helped them.”
“Who is them?”
“Brooke and her brother, maybe.”
Moreno nodded.
“We’ll talk to Ms. Parker when doctors clear her.”
“My mother is at the church.”
“Officers are already speaking with everyone there.”
That made me feel sick.
“Is Brooke being detained?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because having a disturbing reaction isn’t automatically a crime.”
“What about the fake messages?”
“We need to verify them.”
“She admitted she knew Grace was pregnant.”
“That matters.”
Moreno studied me.
“But you need to understand something.”
“What?”
“Right now, you know fragments.”
I looked through the maternity doors.
“Those fragments are enough.”
“They’re enough to investigate.”
Her voice softened.
“Not enough to understand everything.”
She was right.
I hated it.
An hour later, a doctor came out.
“Mr. Bennett?”
I stood.
“Grace is stable.”
My knees weakened.
“And the baby?”
“Stable too.”
I released a breath I did not know I was holding.
“She was dehydrated and exhausted. She has bruising and some minor injuries. We’re monitoring for contractions.”
“Can I see her?”
“She asked for you.”
Ava came with me.
The moment we entered, Grace opened her arms.
Ava climbed carefully onto the bed.
“Mommy.”
“I’m okay, baby.”
Grace kissed her hair over and over.
I stood near the door.
She looked at me.
“Luke.”
“I’m here.”
“You believed the papers?”
“I believe somebody lied to both of us.”
Her eyes filled.
“I thought you hated me.”
“I never hated you.”
“You stopped calling.”
“My calls went straight to disconnected numbers.”
“Because they changed my phone.”
I stepped closer.
“Who?”
Grace looked at Ava.
Then at me.
“Can she go with a nurse for a minute?”
Ava panicked.
“No.”
Grace immediately changed her mind.
“Then she stays.”
I sat.
Grace took a long breath.
“The week I found out I was pregnant, I came to your mother’s house.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“You were in Chicago for that conference.”
I remembered.
Three days.
“When I told Margaret, she hugged me.”
My stomach turned.
“She said she was happy.”
“What happened?”
“The next morning, Brooke came to my apartment.”
“Brooke and I weren’t dating.”
“I know.”
Grace gave me a sad look.
“But she wanted you.”
I said nothing.
“She showed me messages from your phone.”
“The fake ones.”
“Yes.”
“She told me you had asked her to handle it because you didn’t want to face me.”
I closed my eyes.
“I would never.”
“I know that now.”
Grace continued.
“Then your mother came.”
My skin went cold.
“She confirmed everything Brooke said.”
I stared at her.
“My mother told you I didn’t want my child?”
Grace nodded.
“She said you were ashamed.”
I stood and turned away.
Rage moved through me so hard I felt dizzy.
Grace whispered, “It got worse.”
I faced her again.
“How?”
“They said if I accepted money and left Brooklyn, they would leave Ava and me alone.”
“Money?”
“The receipts are in the envelope.”
I remembered them.
Payments.
I had not understood.
“I refused.”
Grace looked down at her hands.
“Then someone reported me to child services.”
Ava stiffened.
Grace pulled her closer.
“They claimed I was neglecting Ava.”
I felt sick.
“Was it Brooke?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did they take Ava?”
“Not permanently. But I was terrified.”
Her voice broke.
“Your mother told me the complaint would disappear if I left.”
I could barely speak.
“So you left.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Connecticut first.”
“Why didn’t you contact me?”
“Every number I tried failed. Then I received another message from you.”
She looked toward the envelope.
“Threatening to take Ava away from me if I came back.”
My throat closed.
“I didn’t send it.”
“I know.”
“Why return now?”
Grace looked at me.
“Because someone found us three weeks ago.”
“Nathan?”
She nodded.
“He said Brooke couldn’t marry you while I was still a risk.”
Ava buried her face against Grace.
“What did he do?”
Grace hesitated.
“He pressured me to sign papers saying the baby wasn’t yours.”
My hands curled.
“And the bruises?”
“He grabbed me.”
“Grace.”
“I got away.”
I stared at the marks on her wrists.
“How?”
“The woman helping me at the shelter called police after I stopped checking in.”
“A shelter?”
“Yes.”
Grace looked ashamed.
I hated that.
“You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Her eyes filled.
“I spent seven months believing you abandoned us.”
“I spent seven months believing you abandoned me.”
Silence.
Everything that had separated us had been manufactured.
A knock came at the door.
Detective Moreno entered.
She looked at Grace.
“Ms. Parker, there are two people asking to see you.”
“Who?”
Moreno looked at me.
“Brooke Whitmore.”
My entire body tightened.
“And?”
The detective paused.
“Margaret Bennett.”
My mother.
Grace went pale.
Ava grabbed her arm.
“No.”
I stepped between the bed and the door.
“They’re not coming in.”
Moreno nodded.
“They won’t.”
I looked at Grace.
“What do they want?”
Grace stared toward the hallway.
“I think they want to know how much evidence I still have.”
My heart stopped.
“Still?”
She looked at me.
“The envelope isn’t everything.”
I leaned closer.
May you like
“Where’s the rest?”
Grace whispered, “Somewhere your mother will never find it.”
