Chương 5
Dr. Hart stepped toward the door.
“Should I ask her to leave?”
I looked at the handle.
A month ago, I would have wanted the door closed.
I would have wanted the pain to stop.
Now I wanted the opposite.
I wanted answers.
“Let her in.”
The door opened.
And the woman standing there looked more afraid than I felt.
Rachel Miller stepped into the office holding a worn leather bag against her chest like it was the only thing keeping her upright.
She looked younger than I expected.
Not young exactly.
Just tired in a way that made age difficult to guess.
Her eyes moved around the room before landing on me.
Then they moved to Arthur.
Then back to me.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“I almost didn’t come.”
I stayed seated.
“Why did you?”
She swallowed.
“Because I saw your name on the news.”
I frowned.
“What news?”
Rachel looked uncomfortable.
“The divorce.”
I felt something sharp move through my chest.
There had been no news coverage that I knew of.
At least, not anything important.
Just a small community where everyone knew everyone’s business.
“My divorce was not on the news.”
She looked down.
“Not the divorce.”
A pause.
“The accusations.”
The room became quiet.
“What accusations?”
Rachel opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
She looked at Dr. Hart.
“I thought she knew.”
Dr. Hart’s expression changed.
“Knew what?”
Rachel gripped the strap of her bag.
“That Julian was telling people Sloan caused the divorce because she had been hiding a pregnancy problem.”
My fingers curled against the chair.
I had heard enough versions of that story already.
But there was something different about hearing it from a stranger.
Someone who had no reason to protect me.
“Why would you know that?” I asked.
Rachel looked at me.
“Because I helped him create the records.”
The sentence was so quiet that for a second I wondered if I had misunderstood.
Arthur leaned forward.
“Say that again.”
Rachel closed her eyes briefly.
“I helped Julian change the records.”
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Even the sounds from the hallway outside seemed to disappear.
I looked at her face.
I expected arrogance.
Defensiveness.
Some kind of excuse.
Instead, I saw shame.
It did not make me forgive her.
But it made me believe she was telling the truth.
“Why?”
The question came out colder than I intended.
Rachel looked at the floor.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“My job.”
I stared at her.
“That doesn’t explain anything.”
“No.”
Her voice cracked slightly.
“It doesn’t.”
She sat down slowly.
“Julian hired me three years ago to handle some financial consulting for his company.”
I remembered the name.
The consulting company.
The payments.
The documents.
“He paid me through that company,” she continued.
“I thought it was normal at first.”
“But it wasn’t.”
“No.”
She looked at Arthur.
“You already found that.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
“How much do you know?”
“Enough.”
“That is not an answer.”
Rachel looked away.
“Enough to know Julian was desperate.”
“For what?”
She looked at me.
“For control.”
The word stayed there.
I hated how accurate it felt.
Rachel continued.
“Julian told me his marriage was falling apart.”
She looked embarrassed.
“He said Sloan was obsessed with having a baby and refusing to accept reality.”
My jaw tightened.
“He made himself the victim.”
“Yes.”
Rachel looked down.
“He was very good at that.”
The room went quiet again.
I thought about every dinner where he sighed dramatically.
Every conversation where he talked about pressure.
Every time I comforted him because I believed he was hurting too.
“What did he ask you to do?”
Rachel took a deep breath.
“He wanted me to access a medical document system.”
My stomach turned.
“You had access?”
“Not directly.”
She shook her head.
“I knew someone who did.”
The answer made my skin crawl.
“Who?”
Rachel hesitated.
“I can’t say yet.”
Arthur’s expression hardened.
“You came here to confess but still want to protect someone?”
“No.”
Rachel looked at him.
“I’m trying to avoid making another mistake.”
That answer caught me off guard.
Because it sounded like something I had said to myself.
Not because I understood her.
Because I recognized fear.
“What happened after you changed the records?” I asked.
Rachel’s eyes filled with tears.
“I thought he only wanted to make you believe you couldn’t have children.”
My hands went still.
“What?”
“I thought it was cruel.”
She wiped her cheek.
“But I didn’t think it went further.”
“What went further?”
Rachel looked at Dr. Hart.
Then back at me.
“The pregnancy record.”
The air left my lungs.
“You knew about that?”
She nodded.
“I created the entry.”
The words felt impossible.
“You created a pregnancy record for me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Rachel looked broken.
“Because Julian told me to.”
I stood up so quickly the chair moved backward.
“Why would he want that?”
Rachel looked at me with tears running down her face.
“Because he wanted something to hold over you.”
My hands began shaking.
“What does that mean?”
“He told me if you ever found out you were pregnant, you would become difficult to control.”
The sentence was so cruel that for a moment I could not process it.
“Control?”
Rachel nodded.
“He wanted you dependent on him.”
Arthur stood.
“That’s enough.”
Rachel flinched.
“No.”
She looked at him.
“She needs to know.”
Arthur stopped.
Rachel opened her bag.
She pulled out a small envelope.
“I kept copies.”
Dr. Hart looked concerned.
“Copies of what?”
“Emails.”
Rachel placed the envelope on the desk.
“Messages between Julian and me.”
My heart beat faster.
“Why keep them?”
Rachel gave a sad smile.
“Because I knew someday I might need proof that I wasn’t the only person who made a terrible choice.”
Dr. Hart opened the envelope carefully.
Inside were printed emails.
Dates.
Times.
Names.
I watched her eyes move across the pages.
Then she looked at me.
May you like
“Sloan.”
I knew from her expression.
