Chapter 1 - THE ROOM UPSTAIRS
Rachel Donnelly knew something was wrong before anyone admitted Rosie was missing.
She had been gone twenty-six minutes.
That was all.
She had driven from her sister Natalie’s house in Naperville, Illinois, to a nearby Target because the birthday gift she ordered for her eight-year-old niece, Chloe, had been delayed. When she returned, the backyard was still crowded with relatives, pink balloons were tied to the deck railing, and children were running through a sprinkler beneath a banner Natalie had spent two nights making.
But Rosie was nowhere in sight.
Rachel set the gift bag down.
“Where’s Rosie?”
Natalie stood near the kitchen island pouring wine.
“She’s fine.”
“Where is she?”
Natalie gave an irritated half-smile.
“She was ruining Chloe’s party. Crying over everything. I put her somewhere quiet.”
Rachel stared at her.
“You put my two-year-old where?”
“She’d ruin the party anyway. That girl should learn to stay quiet.”
The casualness frightened Rachel more than the words.
She ran upstairs.
“Rosie!”
No answer.
The hallway was decorated with pink streamers and paper flowers. Three bedroom doors stood open.
The guest-room door was nearly closed.
Rachel shoved it inward.
Rosie lay sideways on the white comforter.
Her yellow sundress had twisted around one knee. One white sandal had fallen off.
She did not react when Rachel called her name.
“Rosie.”
Rachel climbed onto the mattress and touched her cheek.
Warm.
Too limp.
Rosie’s breathing was shallow but regular.
There was dried pink liquid near the corner of her mouth.
Rachel smelled artificial cherry flavor.
She grabbed the smartphone she had left charging downstairs but now found lying beside the child.
“What happened to her?”
Natalie appeared behind her holding a green wine bottle.
“She was tired.”
Rachel pressed the emergency-call button.
Natalie moved fast.
“Don’t.”
Rachel turned.
“What did you give her?”
“Nothing dangerous.”
That answer made Rachel’s stomach drop.
“What did you give my daughter?”
Natalie shoved her sideways into the edge of the bed.
Rachel absorbed the impact with her hip and kept one arm across Rosie.
“She finally stopped whining,” Natalie snapped. “Why can’t you?”
Rachel raised the phone.
Natalie grabbed the back of her blouse and yanked.
Rachel twisted free.
“Call 911 and you’ll destroy this family.”
“I don’t care.”
Natalie lifted the wine bottle.
Rachel caught her wrist before it came down.
They struggled beside the bed, Natalie pulling, Rachel pushing, neither willing to release first.
Rachel knocked the bottle hand away and slammed the phone onto the comforter.
“You drugged my two-year-old to save a birthday party.”
Someone gasped from the doorway.
Their mother, Elaine, stood there.
Sixty-one years old, silver-blonde hair, pale blouse, one hand pressed against the frame.
She looked horrified.
But not surprised.
Natalie saw Rachel notice.
She moved toward Elaine immediately.
“Mom, go downstairs.”
Elaine didn’t.
Instead she reached toward her pocket.
Natalie grabbed her forearm.
Elaine’s eyes filled.
“Rachel…”
Natalie tightened her grip.
“Don’t.”
Elaine looked at Rosie.
Then at her daughter.
“It wasn’t only Benadryl.”
Rachel stopped moving.
Elaine began pulling a small prescription bottle from her pocket.
Natalie’s face changed from anger to panic.
She lunged, covered Elaine’s mouth with one hand and tore at the bottle with the other.
Rachel saw only part of the pharmacy label.
Then Natalie ripped it away.
Downstairs, someone had finally heard enough.
A man shouted that an ambulance was coming.
Rachel bent over Rosie and put two fingers against her neck.
Behind her, Natalie and Elaine were still struggling over the bottle.
May you like
But Rachel was no longer wondering whether her sister had made one terrible decision.
She was wondering why her mother already knew exactly what Rosie had swallowed.
