Chapter 5 - The True Reveal
The guests had all been ushered out.
The police had taken the evidence and the statements.
My mother had eventually woken up and started blaming Cormac for "causing a scene," but we had ignored her until she finally left in a huff.
Now, it was just me and Cormac in the ruins of the party.
Blue frosting was everywhere.
It was on the walls, the rug, and my skin.
Cormac grabbed a wet cloth and started gently wiping the blue marks off my face.
"I'm so sorry, Maddie," he said. "I should have known sooner."
"How could you have known?" I asked. "She's my sister. I didn't even see it."
I looked down at the destroyed cake.
The "reveal" was supposed to be the start of our new, safe life.
Now, we were back in the crosshairs.
"We have to move again, don't we?" I asked.
Cormac nodded slowly. "The Marshals are already setting it up. We leave tonight."
I looked around the house I had spent so much time decorating.
Every hydrangea. Every picture frame.
It all had to go.
But then, I saw something in the middle of the smashed cake.
A small, plastic container that hadn't broken.
It was the envelope from the doctor.
The one the baker had used to determine the color of the frosting.
Wait.
I looked at the frosting on my dress.
It was blue.
Deep, vibrant, boy-blue.
But I looked at the envelope in the middle of the mess.
The seal was broken.
Rowan had broken it before she gave it to the baker.
I picked it up and pulled out the card.
"IT’S A GIRL!" the card read in bright pink letters.
I gasped, looking at Cormac.
"Cormac... look."
He looked at the card, then at the blue frosting everywhere.
"She changed it," I whispered.
"She didn't just ruin the cake. She lied about the gender."
"She wanted me to believe I was having a boy, just so she could mock me when I found out later."
"She wanted to take away the one thing that was actually true."
I started to laugh.
It was a hysterical, shaky laugh that turned into tears.
"It's a girl, Cormac. We're having a daughter."
He pulled me into his arms, blue frosting and all.
"A daughter," he repeated.
We left that night with nothing but two suitcases and the black binder.
We left the blue house, the blue cake, and the sister who had tried to steal our future.
We drove through the night, headed toward a place where no one knew our names.
Sawyer was in the back seat, sleeping for the first time in days.
I looked out the window at the passing lights.
Rowan thought she had destroyed my day for "content."
But in her greed, she had accidentally shown me the truth before it was too late.
She wanted a viral moment.
Instead, she got a life sentence.
And I got my daughter.
As the sun began to rise over a new state line, I felt a sharp kick against my ribs.
A girl.
Strong. Resilient.
Just like her mother.
May you like
And for the first time in my life, I wasn't overreacting.
I was finally free.
