Chapter 2
Rachel lifted Mia into her arms.
Her daughter clung to her neck so tightly that Rachel could feel the child’s heart pounding through the dusty yellow dress.
Claire kept backing away.
“Give me the bracelet,” she said.
Rachel looked down at it.
Daniel Mercer.
North Valley Medical Center.
Admission date: May 14.
Room 614.
Daniel had called Rachel from Chicago on May 14.
At least, she had believed he was in Chicago.
He had sounded tired. Distracted.
He had told her the meetings were running late.
Now Rachel remembered something else.
He had refused every video call.
“Where is my husband?” Rachel asked.
Claire glanced toward the house.
“He’s fine.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“He asked me not to tell you.”
Mia whimpered against Rachel’s shoulder.
Claire’s eyes flicked toward her.
The fear on Claire’s face changed.
It hardened.
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Claire said. “She’s four.”
“She knows you put her in a pit.”
“I was teaching her a lesson.”
The words came out before Claire could stop them.
Rachel went still.
Claire’s mouth opened.
For one terrible second, neither woman spoke.
Then Rachel said, “A lesson for what?”
Claire looked at Mia.
“For taking things that didn’t belong to her.”
“The bracelet?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you have Daniel’s hospital bracelet?”
Claire stepped closer.
“Give it to me, Rachel.”
“No.”
“This has nothing to do with you.”
Rachel almost laughed.
“My husband is in a hospital I knew nothing about. My daughter says you hid her in a pit. And you’re telling me this has nothing to do with me?”
Claire lunged.
Rachel twisted away.
Claire’s fingers caught Rachel’s sleeve, but Rachel shoved her back with one hand while keeping Mia protected with the other.
“Don’t touch us!”
Claire stumbled.
Her shoulder struck the shed door.
The door swung open.
Rachel saw a shovel.
A coil of rope.
Several bags of lime.
And Daniel’s black leather briefcase.
Rachel knew that briefcase.
Daniel carried it to work every day.
He had supposedly taken it to Chicago.
Claire rushed to close the door.
Rachel kicked it back open.
“What is his briefcase doing here?”
“You need to leave.”
Rachel reached for it.
Claire grabbed her wrist.
Mia screamed.
The sound cut through Rachel like a blade.
She pulled free and stepped between Claire and her daughter.
“If you come near Mia again, I will call the police.”
Claire’s expression suddenly became calm.
Too calm.
“Go ahead.”
Rachel stared at her.
Claire pulled out her phone.
“Call them.”
“Why aren’t you afraid?”
“Because they already know about you.”
Rachel felt the ground shift beneath her.
“What does that mean?”
Claire smiled without warmth.
“It means Daniel told people he was afraid of you.”
“That’s a lie.”
“He said you had been threatening him.”
Rachel’s hand tightened around Mia.
“He would never say that.”
“You don’t know what Daniel has been saying.”
Rachel pulled out her phone and dialed his number.
It rang once.
Then someone answered.
No one spoke.
“Daniel?”
Rachel heard breathing.
Slow.
Uneven.
A machine beeped in the background.
Then a woman whispered, “You shouldn’t have called.”
The line went dead.
Rachel looked at the bracelet again.
Room 614.
She carried Mia toward the car.
Claire followed them.
“Rachel, stop.”
Rachel opened the back door and placed Mia in her car seat.
“Mommy,” Mia whispered, “is Daddy hurt?”
Rachel forced herself to stay steady.
“I’m going to find him.”
Claire grabbed the car door before Rachel could close it.
“If you go to that hospital, you’ll make everything worse.”
“For whom?”
“For Daniel.”
Rachel stared into Claire’s eyes.
There was no concern there.
Only panic.
Rachel slammed the door shut.
Claire stepped aside just in time.
As Rachel rounded the car, Claire called after her.
“You think you know your husband?”
Rachel stopped.
Claire’s voice lowered.
“You don’t even know why he was admitted.”
Rachel got behind the wheel.
Claire struck the window with her palm.
Mia cried out.
Rachel locked the doors and started the engine.
The tires threw dirt as she drove away.
In the mirror, Claire stood beside the open pit.
She was already making a call.
Rachel drove faster.
North Valley Medical Center was forty minutes away.
She reached it in twenty-eight.
During the drive, she called Daniel’s office.
His assistant answered.
“Mercer Development. This is Anna.”
“Anna, it’s Rachel. I need to speak to Daniel.”
There was a pause.
“I thought Mr. Mercer was with you.”
Rachel nearly missed a turn.
“What?”
“He hasn’t been in the office for almost two weeks.”
“You were told he was on a business trip.”
“No. Ms. Mercer said there had been a family emergency.”
“Claire told you that?”
“Yes.”
“Did Daniel contact you himself?”
Another pause.
“No.”
Rachel’s fear deepened.
“What was he working on before he disappeared?”
“I probably shouldn’t discuss that.”
“Anna, I just found his hospital bracelet in Claire’s pocket.”
Anna inhaled sharply.
“Mrs. Mercer, Daniel asked me for financial records the day before he vanished.”
“What kind of records?”
“Transfers from the family trust.”
“Transfers to whom?”
“I don’t know. He took the files with him.”
Rachel thought about the briefcase in the shed.
“Did the files have blue covers?”
“Yes.”
The briefcase had been partly open.
Rachel remembered seeing the edge of a blue folder inside.
“Anna, listen carefully. Don’t call Claire. Don’t call anyone in Daniel’s family.”
“Is Daniel in danger?”
“I don’t know.”
Rachel glanced at Mia in the mirror.
Her daughter was watching her silently.
“But I think he has been for two weeks.”
Rachel ended the call as she entered the hospital parking lot.
She carried Mia inside.
At the reception desk, she gave Daniel’s name and room number.
The receptionist typed.
Her polite expression vanished.
“Are you family?”
“I’m his wife.”
The woman looked at Rachel, then at Mia.
“May I see your identification?”
Rachel handed over her license.
The receptionist compared it to something on the screen.
Then she picked up the phone.
“Why are you calling security?” Rachel asked.
“I need you to wait here.”
“Is my husband in room 614?”
“Ma’am, please wait.”
Rachel leaned over the desk.
“Tell me if my husband is alive.”
The receptionist’s face softened.
“He’s alive.”
Rachel nearly collapsed with relief.
“Then take me to him.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because his medical file says you are not permitted to visit.”
Rachel stared at her.
“That’s impossible.”
“His authorized contact made the request.”
“Who is the authorized contact?”
The receptionist hesitated.
“Claire Mercer.”
Rachel’s stomach turned.
Two security guards approached.
Mia hid behind her leg.
Rachel held up both hands.
“I’m not causing trouble. My daughter and I are leaving.”
She guided Mia toward the elevators instead of the exit.
“Ma’am,” one guard called.
Rachel pressed the button.
The doors opened.
She stepped inside and hit six.
A guard caught the door, but Rachel looked at him desperately.
“My husband has been missing for two weeks. His sister put my child in a dirt pit today. If you stop me from seeing him, and something happens, you’ll have to explain why.”
The guard’s expression changed.
He released the door.
The elevator rose.
When it opened on the sixth floor, Rachel hurried down the corridor.
Room 608.
610.
612.
She reached 614.
The door was closed.
A nurse stepped in front of her.
“Mrs. Mercer?”
Rachel stopped.
“How do you know who I am?”
The nurse looked nervous.
“I saw your photograph in the chart.”
“Let me see him.”
“I can’t.”
Rachel heard a monitor behind the door.
Mia tugged her hand.
“Daddy is in there.”
The nurse glanced at the child.
“You brought her here?”
“She deserves to know her father is alive.”
The nurse lowered her voice.
“Mr. Mercer was admitted unconscious. His sister said you gave him something before he collapsed.”
“That is a lie.”
“His bloodwork showed a dangerous sedative.”
“I never gave him anything.”
“Police officers came yesterday.”
Rachel’s heart stopped.
“Why?”
“Someone found the same medication in your bathroom.”
Rachel shook her head.
“No. Claire has a key to our house.”
The nurse looked toward the station.
“Please leave before security arrives.”
“Have you seen Claire with him?”
“Every day.”
“Has anyone else visited?”
The nurse hesitated.
Then she whispered, “A woman signed in using your name.”
Rachel stared at her.
“What did she look like?”
“Older. Silver hair. Red coat.”
Rachel knew exactly who that was.
Judith Mercer.
Daniel’s mother.
The woman who had always told Rachel she was not good enough for the family.
A door opened behind them.
Claire stepped into the corridor.
She had arrived faster than Rachel thought possible.
And she wasn’t alone.
Judith stood beside her in a red coat.
Her face was cold.
Her voice was colder.
“Take that child away from here,” Judith ordered.
Rachel moved Mia behind her.
“You signed in using my name.”
Judith didn’t deny it.
“You have done enough damage to my son.”
“I haven’t even seen him.”
Claire walked toward the nurses’ station.
“Call the police.”
Rachel turned to the nurse.
“Open that door.”
“I can’t.”
“Please.”
Mia slipped from Rachel’s hand.
Before anyone could catch her, she ran to room 614 and pushed through the door.
“Daddy!”
Rachel followed.
The sight inside broke her.
Daniel lay motionless in the bed.
His face was pale.
A breathing tube covered his mouth.
Wires ran beneath his hospital gown.
A bruise darkened one side of his forehead.
Mia climbed onto the mattress.
“Daddy, wake up.”
Rachel touched Daniel’s hand.
It was cold.
Judith entered behind her.
“You were never supposed to find him.”
Rachel turned slowly.
Claire stopped at the doorway.
A police officer appeared beyond her.
May you like
Then Judith pointed directly at Rachel.
“That is the woman who poisoned my son.”
