Chapter 2 - The Question No One Could Answer
The emergency room was quiet when they arrived.
Ethan had called ahead, but Rosa refused every suggestion that Lily receive special treatment because of his name.
“She waits like everyone else unless the doctor says otherwise.”
Ethan nodded.
It was the first decision Rosa made that evening.
It would not be the last.
A pediatrician examined Lily’s head, arm, pupils, balance, and reflexes.
The bruise near her temple looked frightening.
Fortunately, the scans showed no fracture.
The doctor diagnosed a mild concussion and significant bruising.
“She needs observation tonight.”
Rosa exhaled for what felt like the first time in an hour.
Ethan sat beside Lily’s bed.
Lily watched him with enormous gray-green eyes.
“You have my eyes.”
Ethan almost laughed.
“I think you have mine.”
Lily considered this.
“Did you give them to me?”
Rosa covered her mouth.
Ethan smiled despite everything.
“I suppose I did.”
When Lily finally slept, the room changed.
The innocence disappeared.
The unanswered questions remained.
Rosa stood beside the window.
Ethan spoke first.
“Why?”
She did not pretend she misunderstood.
“I was scared.”
“For three years?”
“Yes.”
“You worked in my house for two years.”
“I know.”
“You watched me walk past my own daughter.”
Rosa turned.
“And what exactly would you like me to say?”
“The truth would be a good start.”
Pain crossed her face.
“You disappeared.”
“My father had a stroke.”
“You stopped calling.”
“My company was collapsing.”
“And I was supposed to know that?”
Ethan fell silent.
Rosa continued.
“I was twenty-six, pregnant, terrified, broke, and watching the man I loved vanish from my life one unanswered day at a time.”
“I would have come back.”
“You didn’t.”
“You never told me.”
“I know.”
That confession disarmed him more effectively than an excuse.
Rosa wiped her eyes.
“I was wrong.”
Ethan looked at Lily.
“Yes.”
Rosa flinched.
He immediately regretted the sharpness.
But regret did not erase three birthdays.
Three Christmas mornings.
First steps.
First words.
Fevers.
Nightmares.
Hundreds of ordinary moments he could never recover.
“I want a paternity test.”
Rosa nodded.
“I expected that.”
“I believe you.”
She looked surprised.
“Then why?”
“Because Lily deserves certainty.”
Rosa understood.
The test was arranged before they left the hospital.
Ethan insisted Lily and Rosa stay at the estate that night.
Rosa refused.
“I don’t want Victoria anywhere near her.”
“She won’t be there.”
Rosa studied him.
“What did you do?”
“I had security escort her out.”
For the first time, Rosa almost felt sorry for Victoria.
Almost.
Then Ethan’s phone rang.
His security director was calling.
Ethan answered.
“Daniel?”
A long silence followed.
His face changed.
“What do you mean the footage is gone?”
Rosa stood immediately.
Ethan listened.
His eyes became dangerously still.
“When?”
Another pause.
“Before or after I ordered it locked?”
His hand tightened around the phone.
Then he ended the call.
Rosa’s heart began pounding.
“What happened?”
Ethan looked at sleeping Lily.
“Someone accessed the security server twenty-three minutes after we left.”
Rosa stared at him.
“Victoria?”
“We don’t know.”
“What did they delete?”
May you like
Ethan’s eyes met hers.
“The entire afternoon.”
