Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Smiled in the Hospital CorridorWendy slept until almost noon.
When she woke, she looked different.
Still pale.
Still weak.
But more present.
The fog had lifted slightly from her eyes.
Noah was beside her in a heated bassinet, pinker now, breathing peacefully.
I had spent the morning doing what Daniel told me to do.
Nothing emotional.
Everything documented.
I photographed the household account records.
I exported the transaction history.
I backed up the bank notifications.
I made a list of every medical appointment Wendy had missed.
I requested the discharge records from the hospital where Noah had been born.
And I called Northstar Family Services.
The woman who answered sounded cheerful.
“Northstar Family Services, how may I brighten your day?”
“I’m Luca Morgan. My wife is Wendy Morgan.”
A pause.
“Oh.”
The cheer disappeared.
That single syllable told me enough.
“I understand you provided postpartum care for my wife.”
“We did.”
“You stopped eleven days ago.”
Another pause.
“I’m sorry. There was a change in the service arrangement.”
“Who authorized that change?”
“Mr. Morgan, I’m not at liberty to—”
“My wife nearly died last night.”
Silence.
“I’m asking you a simple question.”
The woman exhaled.
“Mrs. Morgan’s account was marked as financially inactive.”
“My account?”
“Yes.”
“I paid thirty-eight thousand dollars in advance.”
“That’s not what our system indicates.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“What does your system indicate?”
“That the balance was depleted.”
“By what?”
“I can’t disclose transaction details over the phone.”
“I’m standing in a hospital room with my wife and newborn son. If you refuse to explain why a service you were paid for disappeared while my wife was hemorrhaging, I will have my attorney subpoena every record you have.”
The woman’s tone changed.
“Mr. Morgan, I’m not trying to cause you difficulty.”
“Good. Then tell me the truth.”
She hesitated.
“Your mother was listed as the authorized financial contact.”
My stomach dropped.
“She was not my wife’s legal guardian.”
“No.”
“Then why could she terminate services?”
“She didn’t terminate them.”
“Who did?”
The woman said nothing.
I heard typing.
Then she said, “A request came through from your wife.”
“My wife never made that request.”
“That is what the system shows.”
I looked at Wendy.
She had turned her face toward the window.
“Can you send me the request?”
“We require a formal records request.”
“Fine.”
I hung up.
Ten minutes later, someone knocked on the hospital room door.
I expected a nurse.
It was Stephanie.
She stepped inside carrying a large bouquet of white flowers.
“Luca.”
I stared at her.
She smiled nervously.
“Mom told me you were back.”
“She told you?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
I glanced at the clock.
She knew.
They knew.
My mother had figured out I was home before I had told anyone outside Daniel.
“How?”
Stephanie’s smile froze.
“What?”
“How did Mom know I was back?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were at the airport?”
“No.”
“Then how?”
She looked at Wendy.
“Maybe she saw your flight online.”
“My flight wasn’t public.”
She shifted the bouquet in her hands.
“I just came to see Wendy.”
Wendy didn’t answer.
Stephanie placed the flowers near the window.
“They’re beautiful,” she said softly.
I didn’t respond.
She moved closer to the bed.
“Wendy, I’m so sorry.”
Wendy looked at her.
“You are?”
“Of course.”
“For what?”
Stephanie swallowed.
“For everything.”
That was interesting.
Wendy had never told her what had happened.
My sister had walked into that room already apologizing.
“Everything” was a broad confession.
I sat down.
“Stephanie.”
“Yes?”
“Did you tell Mom about the Singapore deal?”
Her face drained.
“What?”
“The contract. The one she told Wendy collapsed.”
Stephanie stared at me.
Then she laughed.
A short, uncomfortable laugh.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
“There hasn’t.”
“I knew you were worried about the deal.”
“You knew it closed?”
“I…”
She stopped.
“Who told you?”
She looked away.
That was all I needed.
“You knew.”
“Luca, I think you’re upset.”
“Of course I’m upset.”
“You just walked in and saw something traumatic.”
“No. I walked in and saw what you and Mom did.”
Her eyes widened.
“What we did?”
“You spent $38,000 of household money.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Your mother’s credit card records say otherwise.”
“You checked her cards?”
“No. I checked my account.”
She went pale.
I continued.
“Miami. Airfare. Resort. Clothing. Cash.”
Stephanie opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Wendy whispered, “Stephanie…”
My sister looked toward her.
“You know I love you.”
Wendy’s expression tightened.
“You were supposed to help me.”
“I did.”
“You stopped my nurse.”
“I didn’t.”
“You told the agency to stop coming.”
“I never said that.”
“You had access to the account.”
“I was helping Mom.”
The room went silent.
Stephanie realized what she had said.
Her mouth fell open.
I stood slowly.
“Helping Mom do what?”
“I didn’t mean—”
“What were you helping her do?”
“Luca.”
“No. Answer me.”
She started crying.
“I thought she was making a temporary decision.”
“A temporary decision?”
“She said you were going through financial problems.”
“She knew the deal closed.”
“She didn’t tell me that.”
“You just said you knew.”
“I knew something.”
“You knew enough to spend my money.”
“I didn’t spend it!”
“So where did it go?”
“I don’t know.”
I looked at the flowers.
Then at my sister.
Then at Wendy.
“Leave.”
“Luca—”
“Leave.”
She wiped her face.
“I’m your sister.”
“And she’s my wife.”
I nodded toward Wendy.
“Your loyalty should have been obvious.”
Stephanie walked out.
The door clicked shut.
Wendy stared at the ceiling.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t.”
“I should have called you.”
“I tried to protect you.”
“I believed them.”
“You were exhausted and recovering from childbirth.”
She turned her head.
“They told me you didn’t want me anymore.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“My mother said you were ashamed.”
“Of you?”
She nodded.
“She said you had been talking about divorce.”
I felt something crack inside me.
“I never said that.”
“I know now.”
Her tears spilled.
“I was so scared.”
I took her hand.
“You don't have to be scared anymore.”
She looked at our son.
“What are we going to do?”
I stared through the window.
A black SUV was parked across the street.
It had been there when I arrived.
The same vehicle was there now.
I wrote down the license plate.
Then I turned back.
“We’re going home.”
Wendy shook her head.
“No.”
“We’ll have heat.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
She swallowed.
“What if they come back?”
I looked at her.
“They will.”
Her fingers tightened around mine.
“And when they do?”
I leaned closer.
“We’ll be ready.”
That afternoon, Daniel arrived.
He brought another attorney from his firm and a private investigator named Marcus Bell.
Marcus didn’t shake my hand.
He sat quietly.
Listened.
Asked questions.
Then he said, “Your mother didn’t make one mistake.”
“What do you mean?”
“She made several.”
He opened his laptop.
“Your bank records show funds moved in stages.”
He displayed a timeline.
The first transfer was a medical payment.
The next was a cash withdrawal.
Then a resort deposit.
Then several retail purchases.
Then something strange.
“Look here.”
A $2,100 payment to a company called EverBright Consulting.
“What is that?”
Daniel looked at me.
“You know them?”
“No.”
Marcus zoomed in.
EverBright Consulting shared a registered business address with a property management company.
That company owned a townhouse in Evanston.
“Who lives there?”
Marcus looked at me.
“You’re going to want to sit down.”
I was already sitting.
“Who?”
“Your father.”
I froze.
My father had been dead for eight years.
Marcus corrected himself.
“His second wife.”
I blinked.
“Claire?”
“Yes.”
My father’s widow.
A woman my mother had despised for twenty years.
I looked at Daniel.
“Why would my mother send money to Claire?”
Marcus closed the laptop.
“That’s what we need to find out.”
Then my phone rang.
Private number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A man’s voice spoke quietly.
“You don’t know me.”
“Who are you?”
“You should leave the hospital tonight.”
My grip tightened.
“Why?”
“Because your mother isn’t the person you need to worry about.”
“Then who?”
Silence.
Then:
“Ask Wendy who the baby’s doctor really is.”
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Wendy watched me.
“What happened?”
I looked at Noah.
May you like
Then at the door.
And suddenly the room felt cold again.
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