Chapter 2: The Name on the Appointment Form
“Give me that envelope.””
Nicole's voice was so sharp that Ethan dropped his pencil.
The little boy clutched the envelope against his chest.
“No.””
It was the first time I'd ever heard him refuse her.
Nicole stared at him as though he'd suddenly become a stranger.
“Ethan Bennett, I said give it to me.””
My father moved between them.
“Don't speak to him like that.””
“Richard, you don't understand what's happening.””
“Then explain it.””
She reached for his arm, but he stepped away.
Ethan looked up at Dad.
“A man gave me this yesterday when I was waiting for the school bus. He said it was for you, but Mommy told me not to give it to you.””
My father's jaw tightened.
“Who was the man?””
“Uncle Daniel.””
The room seemed to shrink around us.
Daniel Carter was my father's younger brother. He was forty-two, charming when he wanted to be, and the sort of man who could make a roomful of strangers laugh within five minutes of walking into it.
He'd helped my father start his construction company. Dad had helped Daniel through bankruptcy three years earlier. Every Sunday, Daniel came to our house for dinner, carrying a bottle of soda for Ethan and a bag of candy he always pretended was a secret.
He'd even promised to help me find a summer internship.
My father reached for the envelope.
“May I see it, buddy?””
Ethan nodded and handed it over.
Dad opened it carefully.
Inside was a medical appointment confirmation, printed on white paper. A clinic logo sat at the top, followed by the patient's name and the appointment details.
Nicole Bennett.
Prenatal consultation.
Friday at nine in the morning.
Dad read the information once.
Then he read it again.
His thumb pressed so hard against the paper that it bent.
“Nicole,” he said quietly, “why do you have a prenatal appointment?””
She swallowed.
“It's a routine consultation.””
“A prenatal consultation is not a routine dental cleaning.””
“Richard, please. Not in front of the children.””
“Then you should have thought about that before accusing my daughter of something you were apparently investigating for yourself.””
Nicole's face crumpled.
“I wasn't investigating anything. I just needed to know my options.””
“Your options?””
He looked back at the paper.
Then he noticed the emergency contact.
His expression changed so completely that I felt a chill move down my spine.
“Daniel Carter?””
Nicole reached for the document.
“Give me that.””
Dad pulled it away.
“Why is my brother listed as your emergency contact?””
“He was helping me arrange the appointment.””
“Helping you?””
“He knows someone at the clinic.””
My father stared at her.
“You have a husband.””
“I know that!””
“Then why isn't my name here?””
She began crying, but these weren't the quiet, controlled tears she'd used earlier. Her shoulders shook, and she kept wiping her cheeks with the heel of her hand.
“Richard, I can explain everything. Just let me talk to you alone.””
“No.””
He placed the paper on the table.
“Who is Daniel to you, Nicole?””
She looked at him as if he'd asked the cruelest question imaginable.
“He's your brother.””
“Don't insult my intelligence.””
Ethan began to cry.
I moved beside him and put an arm around his shoulders.
“It's okay,” I whispered.
“You're not in trouble.””
Nicole spun toward us.
“Don't you dare encourage him! He's eight years old. He doesn't understand what he's doing.””
“He understands that you're scared of what he might tell Dad,” I replied.
Her eyes flashed.
“You ungrateful little—”
“Enough!”” my father shouted.
The sound made the windows seem to vibrate.
Nicole fell silent.
Dad had rarely raised his voice in our house. Even during arguments, he usually retreated into silence, hoping the problem would disappear if nobody acknowledged it.
But now he stood with both hands planted on the table, staring at the woman he'd married.
“Daniel has been eating at this table every Sunday,” he said.
“He's been in this house when I've been at work. He's been around my children. And you're telling me that you've been meeting him behind my back?””
Nicole shook her head.
“It's not like that.””
“Then tell me what it's like.””
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
My father picked up the appointment confirmation again.
“Does this mean you're pregnant?””
Her gaze dropped to her wedding ring.
“I don't know.””
The answer landed harder than a confession.
Dad stepped backward.
For the first time in my life, I watched him look at his own home as though he no longer recognized it.
I wanted to feel victorious. Ten minutes earlier, Nicole had tried to destroy my future with a lie. Now her own secrets were spilling across the kitchen table.
But all I could think about was Ethan.
He was trembling against my side.
“Why did Uncle Daniel come to the house?”” I asked him gently.
Ethan wiped his nose with his sleeve.
“To talk to Mommy.””
“About the baby?””
He shook his head.
“No. About you.””
My father's eyes snapped toward him.
“About Maya?””
Ethan nodded.
“Uncle Daniel said something about papers. Mommy said they had to do it before you found out.””
Nicole hurried around the table.
“That's enough. He's tired, and he's confused.””
“No, I'm not!”” Ethan cried.
He scrambled to unzip the main compartment of his backpack.
“I kept the other thing, too!””
He pulled out a small black phone.
I recognized it immediately.
It was an old smartphone my father had given Ethan for emergencies. It had a cracked corner and no service plan, but it could still record audio and video.
Nicole's face went white.
“Ethan,” she whispered, “put that away.””
He backed toward me.
“You told me I wasn't allowed to show Daddy.””
My father held out his hand.
“Buddy, what did you record?””
Ethan looked at the phone.
Then at Nicole.
“They were talking in the living room yesterday. Mommy said I had to stay upstairs, but I heard them arguing. So I pressed the button.””
Nicole lunged.
“GIVE ME THAT PHONE!””
Dad caught her wrist before she reached Ethan.
“Don't you touch him.””
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Dad released her and turned to my brother.
“Play it.””
Nicole's face twisted with desperation.
“Richard, please. You don't know what you're about to hear.””
He held Ethan's phone in both hands.
“Then I suggest you tell me before I press play.””
She said nothing.
Ethan touched the screen.
A burst of static filled the kitchen.
Then came Daniel's voice.
“Once Richard believes Maya is pregnant, he'll send her away. Then we can finally deal with the papers Isabelle left behind.””
My father's fingers went rigid around the phone.
I stopped breathing.
The papers Isabelle left behind.
My mother.
The woman Nicole had spent eight years telling me had left nothing but old clothes and a few photographs.
Then Daniel spoke again.
“Nicole, if Richard finds out what we did the night Isabelle died, neither of us will ever see that inheritance.””
My father grabbed the edge of the counter.
A glass tipped over and shattered against the floor.
Nobody looked at it.
Dad stared at Nicole.
“What did you do the night Isabelle died?””
May you like
Nicole backed away.
And for the first time since she'd entered our family, she looked genuinely afraid of my father.
