Chapter 6 - THE NIGHT I LOST FOUR HOURS
The rooftop disappeared around me.
December eighteenth.
I remembered champagne.
Music.
A headache.
Then waking up the next morning in Julian’s guest room.
I had assumed I drank too much.
But I barely drank.
I never had.
“Chloe?”
My mother squeezed my arm.
“What is she talking about?”
“I don’t know.”
Eleanor folded her arms.
“Of course you don’t.”
Julian stepped toward me.
“You left the gala around ten.”
“I know.”
“You called me.”
“I don’t remember calling you.”
His eyes filled with fear.
“You were crying.”
My skin prickled.
“What did I say?”
“You said someone was following you.”
Everyone went quiet.
“I came outside.”
“Did you find me?”
“No.”
“Then how did I get home?”
Julian’s lips parted.
“I thought my mother’s driver took you.”
Eleanor said nothing.
I looked at her.
“Did your driver take me?”
“No.”
The detective stepped closer.
“Mrs. Sterling.”
Eleanor shrugged.
“Chloe was drunk.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You could barely stand.”
“I had one glass of champagne.”
Rachel suddenly spoke.
“What was served at that gala?”
We all turned.
She looked at Detective Hayes.
“Liam said his drink tasted strange the night he died.”
A chill ran through me.
Detective Hayes nodded.
“We need medical records.”
My mother went pale.
“She’s pregnant.”
“We know.”
I wrapped both arms around my stomach.
“What are you suggesting?”
Nobody answered quickly enough.
I looked at Julian.
“Did we sleep together that night?”
He looked confused.
“No.”
My stomach dropped.
“When?”
“The night before.”
I counted backward.
Dates.
Weeks.
The due date.
My doctor had told me conception likely occurred within a five-day window.
December eighteenth fell right inside it.
I shook my head.
“No.”
Julian grabbed my hand.
“The baby could still be mine.”
I pulled away.
“That’s not the point!”
Everyone watched.
My voice broke.
“I lost four hours of my life.”
Mom held me.
“We’re going to the hospital.”
Detective Hayes nodded.
“I’ll have an officer drive you.”
Eleanor rolled her eyes.
“So dramatic.”
I turned.
“Did you drug me?”
She smiled.
“No.”
“Then why do you know I don’t remember?”
For the first time, she had no answer.
Detective Hayes noticed too.
“Mrs. Sterling?”
Eleanor’s attorney finally pushed through the guests.
A short man named Gordon Pike.
I had seen him at family dinners.
He grabbed her elbow.
“Say nothing else.”
Eleanor pulled away.
“I don’t need your protection.”
“Yes, you do.”
Their eyes met.
Something passed between them.
Fear.
Then Gordon looked at me.
And I recognized him.
Not from dinner.
From December eighteenth.
Rain outside the gala.
A hand around my elbow.
A man saying, “Easy, Miss Bennett.”
I stumbled backward.
“You.”
Gordon froze.
Julian turned.
“What?”
I pointed.
“He was there.”
“Where?”
“That night.”
Gordon’s face changed.
“I attend every foundation event.”
“No.”
My breath shortened.
“You put me in a car.”
He shook his head.
“You’re confused.”
I heard his voice again in my memory.
Easy, Miss Bennett.
I grabbed my mother.
“He touched me.”
Julian lunged.
“You son of a bitch!”
Security caught him.
Gordon backed away.
“I drove her home.”
Eleanor snapped her head toward him.
Too late.
Everyone heard.
Detective Hayes stepped forward.
“You just said you didn’t remember her leaving.”
Gordon went pale.
“I misspoke.”
“Where did you take her?”
“To the Sterling house.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I woke up at Julian’s apartment.”
Gordon stopped talking.
Detective Hayes smiled without humor.
“Congratulations.”
He pulled out handcuffs.
“You just gave us our first real break.”
Then Eleanor whispered one sentence.
May you like
“Gordon, you idiot.”
And I knew immediately that whatever happened to me that night had been planned.
