Chapter 5
Mason did not reach me.
I stepped behind the security desk and lifted my phone.
“Take one more step and I’ll call the officers who just arrested my mother.”
His smile disappeared.
The child-services investigator studied both of us.
She introduced herself as Tessa Morgan.
“I need everyone to remain calm.”
“I am calm,” I said. “That man abandoned Chloe four years ago.”
Mason placed a hand over his heart.
“I tried to stay in contact.”
“You sent three birthday cards with no return address.”
“You changed your number.”
“My number has been the same since college.”
“You blocked me.”
“Show her your phone.”
His mouth tightened.
Tessa raised a hand.
“This is not the place to argue about your relationship. I received a report that Chloe may have been given medication before she was left in the vehicle.”
“She was,” I said. “The hospital confirmed it.”
“And Mr. Reed claims you administered it.”
Mason looked at me with practiced sorrow.
“She’s had problems before.”
I almost laughed.
He was using Mom’s script.
“What problems?”
“Depression. Anger. Obsession with work.”
“My medical history is none of your business.”
“It becomes my business when our child almost dies.”
“Our child?” I stepped closer. “You have not spoken to her in four years.”
Tessa moved between us.
“Ms. Carter, I understand you’re upset.”
“No. You understand what he told you. You haven’t heard the truth.”
“Then tell me.”
I held up Grant’s drive.
“My mother and sister arranged this incident as part of a plan to gain guardianship and control Chloe’s trust. My mother was arrested minutes ago after admitting she put a sleep aid in Chloe’s drink. Rachel is already in custody for leaving her inside the car. Mr. Reed has been working with them.”
Mason’s face remained composed.
“That’s a very dramatic story.”
“It is also documented.”
Grant approached.
“I can verify it.”
Mason finally noticed him.
The confidence vanished from his eyes.
“You signed an agreement,” Mason said.
“I did not sign an agreement to conceal a crime.”
Tessa turned to Grant.
“Who are you?”
“A licensed private investigator. Mr. Reed, Rachel Carter, and Diane Carter hired me to gather information for tomorrow’s guardianship hearing.”
Tessa’s posture changed.
“Do you have proof?”
“Emails, recordings, bank transfers, and photographs.”
Mason pointed at him.
“He stole private communications.”
“No,” Grant said. “You sent them to me.”
Mason looked toward the elevator.
He was calculating whether he could leave.
I saw it because I had seen him do it before.
Whenever responsibility entered a room, Mason searched for the nearest exit.
Tessa noticed too.
“Mr. Reed, please remain here.”
“I came voluntarily.”
“And now I’m asking you to stay voluntarily while I contact law enforcement.”
“I need to call my attorney.”
“You can do that.”
Mason stepped away and dialed.
Grant handed Tessa his card.
“I’ll cooperate fully.”
She called her supervisor.
I returned to Chloe’s room.
She was watching cartoons without sound.
When she saw me, she smiled weakly.
“Can we go home?”
“Not tonight.”
Her smile faded.
“The doctor wants to make sure you’re strong.”
“Will Aunt Rachel be there?”
“No.”
“Grandma?”
“No.”
She relaxed against the pillow.
That reaction hurt more than words.
“Someone came to see you,” I said carefully.
“Who?”
“Your father.”
Chloe frowned.
“My real father?”
“Yes.”
She had seen pictures.
I kept one wedding photograph in a box because I never wanted her to think she came from something shameful.
But I had not prepared her to meet him in a hospital.
“Why is he here?”
“I’m trying to find out.”
“Did he bring a birthday card?”
Her innocent question almost broke me.
“I don’t know.”
“Can I see him?”
Every protective instinct screamed no.
But I also knew Mason might use a refusal against me.
“Only if you want to, and I’ll stay beside you.”
Chloe thought for a moment.
“Okay.”
I told Tessa.
She allowed the visit but asked to observe.
Mason entered carrying a stuffed bear from the hospital gift shop.
He stopped near the bed.
“Hi, princess.”
Chloe looked at me.
I kept my face neutral.
“Hi,” she said.
“I’m your dad.”
“I know.”
He held out the bear.
“I brought you this.”
She accepted it politely.
“What’s his name?” Mason asked.
“It’s a girl.”
“Then what’s her name?”
Chloe looked at the bear.
“Maybe Sunny.”
“That’s beautiful.”
He sat in the chair beside her.
“You’ve gotten so big.”
“You didn’t come to my birthday.”
The sentence landed without warning.
Mason blinked.
“I wanted to.”
“Mommy said you live far away.”
“I did.”
“Where?”
“Different places.”
“Why didn’t you call?”
His eyes moved to me.
“Sometimes grown-ups make it difficult.”
I stepped forward.
Tessa spoke first.
“Mr. Reed, focus on your relationship with Chloe without blaming anyone.”
Mason nodded.
“You’re right.”
Chloe hugged the bear.
“Did you know Aunt Rachel left me in the car?”
“I heard.”
“Are you mad at her?”
He hesitated too long.
Chloe noticed.
Children always noticed the pause adults hoped they would miss.
“She made a mistake,” he said.
Chloe’s face changed.
“She came back.”
“What?”
“She saw me and didn’t open the door.”
Mason looked at me again.
“I wasn’t there.”
“But you’re going to marry her.”
The room went still.
I had not told Chloe.
Tessa turned toward me.
I shook my head.
“Who told you that?” Mason asked.
“Grandma.”
“When?”
“This morning. She said Aunt Rachel would be my new mommy.”
Chloe’s voice trembled.
“I told her I already have a mommy.”
Mason stood too quickly.
The chair scraped against the floor.
“Diane shouldn’t have said that.”
“Is it true?” Chloe asked.
He did not answer.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You knew Aunt Rachel was mean to me.”
“I didn’t know.”
“She said when she married you, Mommy would go away.”
Mason’s mouth opened, but nothing came out.
I moved beside Chloe.
“That will not happen.”
She pressed against me.
“I don’t want him here.”
Mason looked wounded.
“Chloe, give me a chance.”
“I want him to go.”
Tessa stepped toward the door.
“You need to leave.”
“Olivia is influencing her.”
“No,” Tessa said. “Your daughter clearly asked you to leave.”
He set his jaw.
“I have parental rights.”
“Rights do not override a hospitalized child’s emotional safety.”
Mason pointed toward me.
“This is what she does. She turns everyone against me.”
I stared at the man I had once planned to grow old with.
“No, Mason. You do that all by yourself.”
He stormed out.
Tessa followed.
Grant remained in the hallway, speaking to Officer Hernandez, who had returned.
I kissed Chloe’s hair.
“You did nothing wrong.”
“I don’t like him.”
“You don’t have to decide anything tonight.”
“Do I have to live with him?”
“No.”
“Grandma said a judge could make me.”
I took her face gently between my hands.
“I will fight with everything I have to keep you safe.”
She nodded.
Then she reached into the pocket of her hospital gown.
“There’s something in my dress.”
“What?”
“Aunt Rachel’s phone.”
I stared at her.
“How did it get there?”
“She gave me her purse in the car. She told me to find her lipstick. Her phone was inside.”
“What happened?”
“She came back and grabbed the purse. The phone fell between the seats.”
“Did you take it?”
“I put it in my pocket because I wanted to call you, but it had a lock.”
The yellow dress had been placed in a sealed hospital belongings bag.
I found it in the cabinet.
Inside the small front pocket was a phone.
Its battery was nearly dead.
The screen showed twenty-three missed calls.
Most were from Mom.
Three were from Mason.
One was from a contact saved only as J.
I handed it to Officer Hernandez.
“This belongs to Rachel.”
He placed it in an evidence bag.
The screen lit again.
A message preview appeared from J.
You promised the child would stay quiet. Destroy the second bottle before police find it.
Officer Hernandez photographed the screen.
“Do you know who J is?” he asked.
“No.”
Grant leaned closer.
“I might.”
He opened one of the files on his tablet.
The guardianship petition had been prepared by a Nashville attorney named Jonathan Pierce.
Mom’s attorney.
The man who had taken Rachel’s folder from the restaurant.
“What second bottle?” I asked.
Hernandez looked grim.
“We need to search your sister’s apartment and your mother’s house.”
My phone vibrated.
The alarm company monitoring my home had detected motion at the back door.
I opened the camera feed.
A man wearing a baseball cap entered my kitchen with a key.
He moved directly toward the cabinet where I kept Chloe’s medicine.
He looked up for one second.
May you like
It was Jonathan Pierce.
And in his gloved hand, he carried a small pink bottle.
