Chapter 1 - The Bag She Was Desperate to Keep Closed
Lily’s stuffed rabbit hit the bottom of the bedroom trash can just as Ethan Mercer reached the upstairs hallway.
He heard his eight-month-old daughter crying before he reached the door.
Then came his mother’s voice.
“Keep screaming. Your mother should’ve left you at the hospital when I told her to.”
Ethan shoved the bedroom door open.
Marlene stood over Lily on the padded rug of their Naperville, Illinois, home. The baby’s bottle had been emptied across her blanket. Lily reached toward the trash can, sobbing for the rabbit she slept with every night.
For half a second Ethan simply stared.
Then he crossed the room.
He pulled Marlene away from Lily and shoved her backward into the upholstered chair beside the bed.
“What the hell did you just say about my daughter?”
Marlene straightened her cream blouse.
“That brat has cost this family enough already.”
Ethan lifted Lily against his chest.
The baby immediately buried her wet face against his gray work shirt.
Marlene suddenly lunged toward the chair.
Not toward Lily.
Toward her black leather handbag.
Ethan caught it first.
His mother grabbed his wrist.
“Give me that.”
The fear in her voice stopped him.
Marlene was many things.
Afraid was rarely one of them.
Ethan pulled away and opened the bag.
Inside were six white envelopes bound with a rubber band.
Each had a date written across the front.
Each contained cash.
Beneath them was a folded document carrying the logo of Edward Hospital, where Lily had been born.
Ethan recognized his wife Nora’s name immediately.
He barely had time to read the first paragraph before Marlene reached for the bag again.
He pushed her hand away.
“What is this?”
Marlene saw which paper he was holding.
Something in her face broke.
Then she said the sentence that changed the shape of his marriage.
“Your wife paid me to keep that from you.”
Ethan looked toward the empty doorway.
Nora was supposed to be home within an hour.
He looked down again.
The hospital document contained one sentence he could not stop reading.
During postpartum assessment, patient asked whether her infant could be placed somewhere safe if she determined she was unable to parent.
Lily whimpered against his chest.
Ethan stared at his mother.
“What happened at the hospital?”
May you like
Marlene covered her mouth.
For once, she refused to answer.
