PART 7

The silence was enough to change the entire room. Samantha moved between them. “Someone needs to start telling the truth.” Naomi suddenly reached for her handbag. “I need some air.” Victor blocked the door. “No one is leaving until I know whose child this is.” Dr. Shah called for a nurse. The celebration had become a confrontation so quickly that the blue gift bag still sat beside Miriam’s chair, its silver tissue paper shining beneath the examination lights. Naomi began crying. “I never meant for this to happen.” Victor’s face twisted. “For what to happen?” “For you to find out this way.”

Miriam gripped the edge of her chair. “Find out what?” Naomi wiped her cheeks and looked at Walter again. This time, no one missed it. Walter’s voice became sharp. “Do not say another word.” Naomi laughed bitterly. “You told me you would take care of everything.” Miriam turned toward her husband. “Walter?” He remained silent. Victor looked from his father to the woman carrying the baby he had already begun calling his son. Then he asked the question that finally shattered the Reynolds family. “Dad, is that baby yours?” Before Walter could answer, Naomi’s phone rang inside her handbag. The screen illuminated through the open top. Samantha was standing close enough to read the caller’s name. It did not say Walter. It did not say Victor. It said “DANIEL—DO NOT ANSWER.” Naomi lunged for the phone, but Samantha grabbed it first. “Who is Daniel?” she demanded. Walter’s face went pale. Naomi stopped crying. Victor stared at the phone. Then Walter whispered two words that made Miriam collapse back into her chair. “My brother.” At 11:41 a.m., as my daughters and I prepared to board our flight, my phone rang. Victor’s name appeared on the screen.

I declined the call. He called again. Then again. On the fourth attempt, he left a voicemail. I did not listen to it. A message arrived from Samantha seconds later. PENELOPE, PLEASE CALL ME. THE BABY ISN’T VICTOR’S. NAOMI HAS BEEN LYING ABOUT THE DATES. EVERYTHING IS FALLING APART. I read the message once and placed my phone inside my handbag. Mrs. Gable studied my face. “You knew the dates were wrong, didn’t you?” “I knew Naomi had been pregnant longer than she claimed.” “How?” “Four months ago, Victor used our joint credit card to pay a bill from Westbrook Women’s Clinic. He told me it was a routine appointment for an employee covered by the company. The itemized statement said otherwise.” “Why didn’t you confront him?” “Because by then, I had already spent twelve years trying to make Victor see truths he preferred to ignore.” The boarding agent scanned our passports. My phone vibrated again. This time, the message came from Victor. WHAT DID YOU KNOW, PENELOPE? I switched off the phone. Abigail took my left hand. Charlotte took my right. Together, we walked toward the plane that would carry us into our new life.

Back at the clinic, however, Victor had finally answered Naomi’s ringing phone. He expected to hear Daniel Reynolds. Instead, a frightened woman spoke. “Mr. Reynolds?” she asked. “My name is Claire. I’m Daniel’s wife. If Naomi is with you, don’t let her leave. Daniel disappeared last night, and the note he left says Penelope Vance knows where he hid the evidence.” Victor slowly lowered the phone. Then every person in that room turned toward the empty chair where I should have been. But by then, my daughters and I were already in the sky. And inside the locked suitcase beneath my seat was an envelope I had promised never to open—unless a member of the Reynolds family came looking for me.

CONTINUE FOR NEXT PART….