Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Knew Too Much
I couldn’t stop staring at Nurse Mae.
“What do you mean she has done this before?”
Mae looked toward the hallway.
Like she was afraid someone might hear.
“Doreen Carver has a history of controlling people around her.”
“That doesn’t explain this.”
“No.”
Mae paused.
“But it explains why she knows exactly where to push.”
She took a deep breath.
“Before you arrived, she spoke to several staff members.”
“About me?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
Mae’s expression changed.
“She told them you were struggling emotionally.”
I felt anger rise through my exhaustion.
“That’s a lie.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because I was the nurse assigned to you during your first monitoring visit.”
Mae looked at me.
“You were happy.”
“You were nervous.”
“You asked a thousand questions about your baby.”
“That is not instability.”
I looked down.
A tear fell onto my son’s blanket.
“I trusted Nathan.”
Mae softened.
“I know.”
“He was the person everyone thought would protect you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone was wrong.”
Before Mae could answer, someone knocked.
Both of us froze.
A voice came from outside.
“Leah?”
Nathan.
My heart reacted before my mind did.
For one second…
I wanted to open the door.
I wanted him to explain.
I wanted him to say everything I heard was a misunderstanding.
Because loving someone makes you search for any reason to forgive them.
But then I remembered his voice.
“Leah doesn’t get a choice.”
Mae shook her head.
“Don’t answer.”
Nathan knocked again.
“Leah, please.”
“I know you’re upset.”
“I know my mother said things she shouldn’t have.”
My hands trembled.
He knew.
He knew I heard something.
“Leah, open the door.”
I stayed silent.
Then his voice changed.
From gentle.
To frustrated.
“Mae, this is ridiculous.”
My eyes widened.
He blamed the nurse.
“She is my wife.”
Mae stepped closer to the door.
“She is also a patient.”
Nathan lowered his voice.
“You don’t understand what’s happening.”
Mae answered.
“I understand more than you think.”
Silence.
Then Nathan walked away.
I waited.
Ten seconds.
Twenty seconds.
A minute.
Then Mae whispered,
“He’s gone.”
I looked at her.
“No.”
I knew my husband.
“He’s waiting.”
And I was right.
Because five minutes later, my phone vibrated.
A message from Nathan.
I know you’re scared. Your hormones are making you think something terrible is happening. Please trust me.
I stared at the screen.
The words were carefully chosen.
Too carefully.
He wasn’t apologizing.
He wasn’t asking what I heard.
He was telling me my own mind couldn’t be trusted.
Exactly what Doreen wanted everyone to believe.
I handed the phone to Mae.
She read the message.
Then she whispered,
“They planned this.”
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What do I do?”
Mae looked at me.
“Survive.”
That answer frightened me.
Because it meant I was no longer fighting for my marriage.
I was fighting for my child.
Later that afternoon, Mae helped me return to my room.
She checked the hallway first.
Then moved quickly.
When we entered, Simone was sitting on her bed.
But she wasn’t taking pictures anymore.
She was crying.
The confident woman I met earlier was gone.
“Simone?”
She wiped her face quickly.
“I’m fine.”
Nobody says “I’m fine” when they are fine.
I looked at her.
“What happened?”
She hesitated.
Then she looked at my baby.
“You heard them too, didn’t you?”
My stomach tightened.
“Heard who?”
Simone looked toward the door.
“Your husband and his mother.”
The room became silent.
“You know about them?”
Simone nodded.
“Because I was part of their plan.”
My blood ran cold.
“What?”
Simone looked ashamed.
“I didn’t know the whole truth.”
“What did you do?”
She looked down.
“My husband paid me to pretend I was another patient.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
“To observe you.”
My hands tightened.
“Observe me?”
Simone nodded slowly.
“They wanted information.”
“About whether you were emotional.”
“Whether you were unstable.”
“Whether you would react badly.”
I felt sick.
“They hired you?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you telling me now?”
Simone looked at my son.
May you like
“Because I realized they weren’t trying to help you.”
“They were trying to destroy you.”
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