Chapter 3

Declan plants himself in front of the two of them and glares at me. "It’s a standard family safety drill. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Then his eyes drop.

"Elise… why are you bleeding?"

Before I can answer, Sienna cries out. "Ow! It hurts!"

She clutches her wrist, tears spilling over. "Dec, don’t be mad at her. Mrs. Ward was just worried about Poppy."

Poppy looks up at him, panicked. "Daddy! Miss Sienna got hurt protecting me from Mommy!"

Declan’s head snaps toward Sienna. His brows knit together. "I’m taking you to the ER."

And just like that, the three of them are gone.

I’m left curled up against the wall, blood running down my legs.

In the end, it’s the security guard at the front desk who can’t stand to watch anymore and calls 911 for me.

A woman passing by shakes her head at me. "Did you see that guy? Now that’s the kind of man you marry. His wife barely twists her wrist and he loses his mind."

"And look at you, all banged up and nobody here with you. Where’s your husband?"

I stare at the door Declan just walked out of.

A bitter laugh slips out. "He’s dead."

At the hospital, the doctor examines me, and her face falls. "You’re miscarrying. You’ve lost too much blood."

"I’m so sorry. We can’t save the baby. You need a D&C right away."

My hand goes to my stomach. To the baby I never even got to tell him about.

"We’ll have to put you under,” she says gently. “We need a family member to sign the consent form."

Declan brought Sienna to this same hospital. Her ER bay is just down the hall.

I grit my teeth through the pain and go looking for him.

Sienna only sprained her wrist, but Declan and Poppy are hovering over her like she’s been shot.

I walk up, white as a sheet. "Declan… the doctor needs you to sign something—"

Sienna cuts me off. "Elise, I know Dec hasn’t had much time for you lately. But following us all the way to the hospital? That’s a little sad."

"I get hurt, and suddenly you’re hurt too? It was just a little bump against the wall."

Poppy pouts. "She’s faking! She was being mean to Miss Sienna, and now she wants everyone to feel sorry for her!"

"She just wants attention!"

Declan snatches the papers out of my hand without a word.

He doesn’t read them. He just signs.

"Quit acting like a child. Sienna’s actually hurt. We don’t have time for this."

"Go home."

My chest feels like it’s full of needles.

When I had Poppy, I was in labor for a whole day and night before they rushed me in for an emergency C-section.

By the end, I didn’t even have the strength to scream.

Declan knelt by my bed, sobbing.

"Babe, I swear I’ll never let you hurt like this again."

Now he’s tossed two signed papers on the table. One is my surgery consent.

The other is the divorce agreement I’d tucked underneath it.

His eyes never leave Sienna.

He has no idea what he just signed.

I pick up both papers. It hurts like hell, but for the first time in years, I can breathe.

I turn around and walk back down the hall to get prepped for surgery. Alone.

Two hours later, they wheel me out.

My stomach feels hollow. Somehow, it hurts less than I expected.

I’m on my way out of the hospital when a detective calls.

"Mrs. Ward, our tech team managed to recover the preschool’s security footage from last month. You… might want to come see this for yourself."

My heart drops. I race to the police station.

Poppy’s case went cold weeks ago. Now, finally, there’s a lead.