Chương 3
Dana sat down.
For the first time since Lauren had met her twelve hours earlier, she looked tired.
Not shift tired.
Not end-of-a-long-night tired.
Older.
“Claire is Margaret Vale’s granddaughter.”
Lauren closed her eyes.
There it was.
The connection.
Her brain tried to build the rest faster than Dana could speak.
Claire Kerr. Another newborn boy. Margaret Vale. A second bracelet. Fifty-two missing minutes.
“What happened to Claire’s baby?”
“I can’t—”
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
The answer came too quickly.
Lauren opened her eyes.
“Is he dying?”
Dana’s mouth moved, then stopped.
That was answer enough.
Lauren pressed her lips to Noah’s hair.
He smelled faintly sweet and medicinal, like warm skin beneath hospital soap.
Her stomach turned.
“They were going to give me her baby.”
Dana looked at the floor.
“And give mine to her.”
Dana said nothing.
Lauren waited.
The silence became unbearable.
“Say it.”
“I don’t know exactly how far they planned to take it.”
“You know enough.”
“Yes.”
“You knew at three twenty.”
Dana’s eyes lifted.
Lauren saw the truth before she heard it.
“No,” Lauren whispered.
Dana’s face collapsed inward, not dramatically, just a tired surrender around the mouth.
“No.”
“You knew before.”
Dana nodded.
Lauren stood too quickly.
Pain cut through her so hard she gasped and nearly dropped back onto the mattress. Dana jumped forward.
“Don’t touch me.”
Dana stopped.
Noah startled at the sound of Lauren’s voice. His arms shifted beneath the blanket.
Lauren immediately lowered her tone.
“Don’t touch me.”
Dana stepped back.
“How much?”
“Lauren—”
“How much did they pay you?”
Dana stared at her hands.
“Ten thousand.”
The number was so ordinary that it seemed obscene.
Not a million dollars.
Not a suitcase of cash.
Ten thousand.
Less than the used SUV Evan had bought two years ago and complained about every month.
Lauren’s voice became very quiet.
“You sold my son for ten thousand dollars.”
“I didn’t.”
“You took the money.”
“Yes.”
“You helped them get him.”
Dana’s face tightened.
“Yes.”
“You put the bracelet on him?”
“No.”
“But you were supposed to.”
“Yes.”
Lauren turned away because for one dangerous second she wanted to hit her.
Her body could barely stand.
She imagined hitting Dana anyway.
She imagined the sound.
She imagined Noah between them.
She lowered herself back onto the bed.
“Why is the bracelet in the blanket?”
“I took it off.”
“When?”
“Four ten. Before I brought him back.”
“So they had switched him.”
“Not completely.”
“What does that mean?”
Dana looked at the door.
“Claire’s baby was transferred upstairs before the change was finished. Things started moving faster than the person arranging it expected. There were too many staff in the hall. A respiratory team came through. Your son was in a bassinet in the procedure room for less than twelve minutes.”
Lauren felt dizzy.
“Without me.”
“Yes.”
“With the wrong name.”
“For part of that time.”
“And where was Claire?”
“In recovery.”
“Did she know?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know.”
“No.”
“You took ten thousand dollars and you don’t know whether the other mother knew you were stealing my baby?”
Dana looked sick.
“I was told there were legal papers.”
Lauren stared at her.
“You believed that?”
“I wanted to.”
That answer landed differently.
It contained no defense.
Only ugliness.
Lauren looked at the nurse’s white shoes. One lace had come partly undone.
It was an absurd thing to notice.
Dana followed her gaze and, almost automatically, bent to retie it.
Lauren nearly laughed.
The normal movement in the middle of everything made her throat ache.
“What was the money for?”
Dana remained bent over for an extra second.
“My mother.”
Lauren said nothing.
Dana straightened.
“She has dementia. She’s in assisted living. Her insurance doesn’t cover what I thought it would. I’m behind. That isn’t an excuse.”
“No.”
“No.”
“You keep saying that like it matters.”
Dana’s lips pressed together.
“It matters to me.”
“It doesn’t to me.”
“I know.”
Lauren looked at Noah.
His nose wrinkled, then relaxed.
“Who approached you?”
Dana hesitated.
Lauren’s eyes lifted.
“Don’t start protecting yourself now.”
“A man named Pierce.”
“First name?”
“Lionel.”
“What is he?”
“He called himself a family services consultant.”
“That means nothing.”
“I know.”
“Now you know?”
Dana took the hit without responding.
“He said there was a private placement,” she continued. “He said the birth mother had consented but there were delays because of a medical emergency. He said Ms. Vale wanted the babies moved before relatives arrived and made the situation harder.”
“And you thought a private placement involved changing hospital bracelets?”
“No.”
Dana’s voice cracked for the first time.
“I knew that part was wrong.”
Lauren stared at her.
“Then why?”
“I was scared about the money. He knew exactly how much I owed.”
That made Lauren look up.
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you tell him?”
“No.”
“How much do you owe?”
Dana paused.
“Twenty-eight thousand.”
“And he knew?”
“Yes.”
Lauren felt another piece shift.
“Somebody looked into you.”
Dana nodded.
“They picked you.”
“Yes.”
“Because you were desperate.”
Another nod.
Lauren leaned back against the raised bed.
Her body had begun shivering beneath the cardigan.
Dana noticed.
“I need to check your blood pressure.”
“No.”
“Lauren.”
“No.”
“You had significant blood loss. You’re shaking.”
“I’m angry.”
“You can be angry and hypotensive at the same time.”
The nurse’s clinical tone returned so naturally that Lauren almost resented it more than the apology.
Then Noah made a small grunting sound.
Lauren looked down.
Dana waited.
Finally Lauren said, “You can check it without touching him.”
“I won’t touch him.”
Dana wrapped the cuff around Lauren’s arm.
Her movements were slow and careful now, as if working near a frightened animal.
Outside, voices multiplied in the corridor.
Someone tried the handle.
Lauren tensed.
Dennis’s voice came through the door.
“Hospital administration is here. They want to speak with you.”
Lauren looked at Dana.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
The cuff tightened around her arm.
May you like
Lauren winced.
Dana read the machine.
