Chapter 4: The Hospital Truth

When I finally arrived at the hospital, the air felt sterile and suffocating.

Chris was waiting near the emergency entrance, his face drawn and weary.

He held a folder in one hand.

That folder scared me before he even opened it.

“Where is she?” I asked.

“Pediatrics,” he said. “She’s stable.”

Stable.

The word almost dropped me to my knees.

I found Sarah in a hospital bed, small beneath a white blanket, her fingers wrapped around a stuffed rabbit Carolyn had brought.

When she saw me, tears slipped down her face.

“Daddy,” she whispered. “I tried to be quiet.”

My throat closed.

“Quiet about what, sweetheart?”

Her eyes shifted toward the door, even though Melissa and Norma were nowhere near us.

“Grandma said if I told, Mommy would go away forever.”

I looked through the glass at Chris.

He lowered his eyes.

He already knew. Continue Reading ⬇️