A new succulent on the balcony. Chocolates on the coffee table. A parking stub from a neighborhood I'd never been to, crumpled in his jacket pocket.
Cracks everywhere.
But the old me had never noticed a single one.
My phone rang. Lucinda.
"I found it. The woman's name is Corinne Henson. The Emerald Bay house is registered under her name, but the purchase funds came from one of David's offshore accounts."
"There's something else."
Her tone shifted.
"I pulled the hospital records from that year. Corinne was admitted to the same hospital three years ago to give birth."
"You were discharged within hours of each other. Ellie, the child she had was born only six hours apart from yours."
I stared at the wedding portrait hanging on the wall. In the photo, David's smile was so tender.
Six hours.
The same hospital.
My baby was pronounced dead.
Her child was now three years old.
"Lucinda."
"Yeah?"
"Get me that child's birth certificate."
Lucinda paused. "You sure?"
"It's because I'm not sure that I need to see the proof with my own eyes."
I closed my eyes.
Three years.
Three years.
Every year I went to the cemetery. Burned paper offerings. Laid flowers. Talked to a slab of cold stone.
I told my baby that Mommy missed him.
I told my baby that Mommy was sorry, that I'd failed to protect him.
What if that child never died?
Lucinda pulled some strings and got her hands on the medical checkup file for Corinne's son at the community clinic. An oral swab sample was on record.
I went to a separate facility myself. Drew blood, provided samples, and submitted everything for a paternity test.
Results would take five to seven business days.
For those seven days, I cooked, did laundry, and waited for David to come home. Same as always.
He'd been in a good mood lately.
On Wednesday, he came home early for the first time in months.
A bouquet of roses in his arms.
"Your birthday's next Saturday. I want to throw a little get-together with friends and family."
He handed me the flowers with a smile. "Something big. At the Grand Ballroom. I've invited all our friends, plus my business partners."
"I want to give you a surprise. Ellie, you've had it rough these past few years."
He pulled me into his arms.
His chin rested on the top of my head.
My cheek pressed against his chest.
"I want everyone to know that you're the most important person in my life."
Friday morning. Ten o'clock.
My phone rang.
An unknown number.
"Hello, is this Ms. Pruitt?"
"Speaking."
"This is Trumark Forensic Testing Center. The paternity test samples you submitted have been processed. The results are ready."
My heart skipped a beat.
The voice on the other end continued: "The report indicates that the submitted sample compared against your DNA shows a match of..."
