Chapter 9: My Mother’s Confession
“Who carried Ava into the elevator?””
My mother didn’t answer.
“Mom!””
“Please come home.””
“No.””
“Lauren, this isn’t something I can explain over the phone.””
I laughed without humor.
“That’s exactly what Ethan said.””
Ethan looked away.
I continued.
“Everyone keeps deciding when I’m allowed to know my own life. That ends now.””
My mother’s voice trembled.
“Your father was there.””
Everything inside me stopped.
“My father?””
“Yes.””
“That’s impossible.””
My father, Richard Cole, had told me he missed Ava’s birth because his flight from Chicago had been canceled.
He arrived the next afternoon carrying flowers and a pink teddy bear.
I remembered teasing him.
“You missed everything, Dad.””
Apparently, he hadn’t.
“Why was he there?””
“Come home.””
“Answer me.””
“Lauren—”
“Answer me!””
My mother started sobbing.
“He wasn’t there for you.””
The words hurt in a way I couldn’t explain.
“Then why?””
“He was there because of Claire’s baby.””
Claire stumbled backward.
“What?””
I put the phone on speaker.
“Mom, Claire is here.””
My mother gasped.
Claire moved closer.
“What did Richard have to do with my daughter?””
“I’m sorry.””
Claire’s face hardened.
“That isn’t an answer.””
My mother cried harder.
“Your daughter’s death wasn’t supposed to happen.””
Claire went white.
I stood so quickly the chair tipped over.
“What does that mean?””
“It was an accident.””
“What accident?””
My mother struggled to breathe.
“Richard was involved with the hospital foundation. There was a doctor conducting an unauthorized study.””
Ethan whispered, “Oh my God.””
My mother continued.
“They were collecting newborn blood samples without proper approval.””
My stomach twisted.
“Ava?””
“No. Not originally.””
Claire covered her mouth.
“My daughter.””
Mom didn’t answer.
Claire screamed, “Was it my daughter?””
“Yes.””
The word echoed through the storage unit.
Claire folded in half.
I caught her before she hit the floor.
For one terrible second, betrayal disappeared.
She wasn’t Ethan’s mistress.
She was a mother who had just learned something horrifying about the worst night of her life.
“What happened?”” I asked.
“The baby developed complications,” Mom whispered.
“There was panic. Records were changed. Richard realized an investigation would destroy everyone involved.””
“And Ava?””
My mother became quiet.
“Melissa saw them moving Claire’s baby.””
“Why did they take Ava?””
“Because they needed another newborn’s records.””
I couldn’t breathe.
“They used my daughter?””
“They altered times. Bracelet numbers. nursing logs. They needed it to appear that the complications began during routine care.””
Claire stared at the phone.
“You used Ava’s records to hide what happened to my child?””
“I didn’t.””
“But you knew!””
“Yes.””
Claire screamed and knocked a box from the shelf.
Papers scattered everywhere.
Ethan caught her shoulders.
“Claire!””
“Don’t touch me!””
She shoved him away.
I barely heard them.
I was thinking about my father.
Christmas dinners.
Birthday cards.
The grandfather who taught Ava to ride a bicycle.
A man who had apparently watched her grow up while knowing her identity had once been used to cover something terrible.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”” I whispered.
“I was afraid.””
“Seven years?””
“Your father threatened me.””
My skin went cold.
“With what?””
“He said if I talked, he would make it look like I was involved.””
“Were you?””
Silence.
That silence was different.
Heavy.
Guilty.
“Mom.””
“I changed one entry.””
I closed my eyes.
“What entry?””
“The time Ava returned to your room.””
I felt physically sick.
“You helped them.””
“I thought I was protecting you.””
“No.””
My voice cracked.
“You were protecting yourself.””
She started crying again.
Then Ethan suddenly said, “Lauren.””
I turned.
He was holding a photograph that had fallen from the box Claire knocked over.
His face looked strange.
“What?””
He handed it to me.
The photograph showed my father in the hospital service corridor.
He wasn’t alone.
Beside him stood a younger Ethan.
My husband.
The timestamp was 2:51 a.m.
Seven years ago.
I stared at him.
“No.””
“Lauren, I can explain.””
“You told me you were with me.””
“I was.””
“You told me you knew nothing until three years ago.””
His face collapsed.
“I lied.””
Claire stared at him.
“You were there too?””
Ethan backed against the wall.
I walked toward him with the photograph shaking in my hand.
“What did you do?””
His eyes filled with tears.
“I didn’t hurt Ava.””
“That wasn’t my question.””
He looked at the floor.
“Ethan.””
Finally, he whispered:
“Your father paid me.””
The room disappeared around me.
“For what?””
He looked up.
May you like
“To keep quiet about what I saw in that elevator.””
And suddenly the affair with Claire was no longer the worst betrayal my husband had committed.
