Chapter 3
The morning sun filtered weakly through the hospital window, casting long shadows across Lily’s crib. The baby was sleeping peacefully, her breathing steady and deep. David sat in the vinyl armchair beside the bed, thumbing through emails on his phone, his face bathed in the cold blue light of the screen. Elena stood by the window, watching the traffic crawl along the highway below. She hadn't slept. The image of Sarah kneeling on the nursery floor kept replaying in her mind, distorted by a growing, nagging suspicion.
"David," Elena said quietly, not turning around. "Did you actually verify Sarah’s references before we hired her?"
David paused, his thumb hovering over his phone. He didn't look up immediately. "Of course I did. The agency handled it. Why are you bringing this up now?"
"Because I looked at her intake form last night," Elena said, turning to face him. "Her emergency contact address is an abandoned warehouse district. No agency worth its salt would miss something like that unless the paperwork was rushed. Or forged."
David set his phone down on the side table, the plastic clacking loudly against the metal frame. He ran a hand over his clean-shaven jaw, exhaling a sigh of exhaustion. "El, we were desperate. The nanny we had before quit out of nowhere, you were drowning at work, and Sarah had glowing recommendations from the agency owner. I trusted them."
"You never trust anyone without checking, David. That’s your entire rule in business," Elena pressed, walking over to stand directly in front of him. "What else don't I know about how we found her?"
"Nothing!" David snapped, rising from the chair to tower over her. The dark, aggressive edge from the previous night flickered back into his posture. "Drop it. Our daughter is safe. That’s all that matters. Why are you trying to create a conspiracy out of an accident?"
"Because it wasn't an accident," Elena said, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "The floor didn't give out. I went back to the nursery this morning before coming here. I checked the floorboards. They're solid oak, nailed down tight. Sarah lied."
May you like
David stared at her, the color draining slightly from his face. For a brief second, his defensive posture collapsed, replaced by something resembling genuine shock—or perhaps realization. He quickly masked it, shaking his head. "You're seeing things. Stress makes people paranoid. Let's just focus on bringing Lily home."
Elena watched him closely, noting the micro-twitch in his left eye and the way his fingers curled into tight fists inside his pockets. He was hiding something. The realization settled into her stomach like lead.
