Chapter 5 - The BoxWe stayed in the hospital until nearly morning.

Lily finally opened her eyes at 3:12 a.m.

The first thing she asked for was water.

The second was her blanket from home.

The third was Daddy.

Daniel sat beside her.

He touched her hair.

"I'm right here."

She smiled weakly.

I wanted to cry.

Instead, I asked Ava to rest.

She looked at me.

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Did Grandma hate us?"

That question almost destroyed me.

"No."

Ava looked toward the floor.

"It felt like she did."

"No."

I took her hand.

"What happened isn't your fault."

She nodded.

Then she whispered:

"Mommy, can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

"Grandpa told me not to tell Daddy."

My heart stopped.

"Tell Daddy what?"

Ava glanced at Daniel.

"He said Daddy would get angry."

Daniel sat up.

"About what?"

Ava hesitated.

"He said... the man was coming."

The room went silent.

"What man?"

"The man in the black car."

Daniel and I exchanged a look.

Ava continued.

"He came before we left."

"What did he do?"

"He gave Grandpa something."

"What?"

"A box."

I felt my pulse in my ears.

"Did you hear them talking?"

Ava shook her head.

"But Grandpa told Grandma, 'He wants the papers tonight.'"

Daniel looked at me.

"Papers?"

Ava nodded.

Then she added:

"Grandma said you weren't supposed to know."

My stomach dropped.

"Me?"

Ava nodded.

"She said if you found out, Daddy would never go to the hospital alone."

Daniel stood.

"That's enough."

He walked to the window.

I watched his face.

Something was happening inside him.

Something he had kept hidden.

"What aren't you telling me?"

He didn't answer.

"Daniel."

He closed his eyes.

"When I collapsed at work yesterday, it wasn't random."

I stared at him.

"What do you mean?"

"My office was broken into."

My mouth went dry.

"What?"

"Someone searched my desk."

"What were they looking for?"

He turned around.

"Documents."

"What documents?"

"I don't know."

I stared at him.

He ran a hand through his hair.

"I was going to tell you after the holidays."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I thought I could handle it."

I laughed bitterly.

"People always say that right before everything falls apart."

He didn't disagree.

I walked toward him.

"Tell me everything."

Before he could answer, Officer Harris entered the room.

"We need you downstairs."

"For what?"

"We found the SUV."

My heart jumped.

"Where?"

"Abandoned three blocks from your parents' house."

"Was anyone inside?"

"No."

He hesitated.

"But we found something."

"What?"

"A package."

My skin prickled.

"From the SUV?"

"Yes."

"What was in it?"

Officer Harris looked directly at Daniel.

"Medical records."

Daniel froze.

I stared at him.

"What medical records?"

Officer Harris handed him an evidence bag.

Inside was a hospital folder.

Daniel opened it.

His face drained of color.

"It's not mine."

I looked at the label.

The patient name wasn't Daniel.

It was mine.

My hands began to shake.

The folder contained test results from years earlier.

Results I'd never seen.

Results from a hospital I'd never visited.

At the bottom of the file was a handwritten note.

Eight words.

I read them twice.

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Then a third time.

ASK YOUR MOTHER WHO YOUR FATHER REALLY IS.