Chapter 2

But I waited all night, and he never showed up.

Instead, I got a text message from him at 2:00 AM.

Eleanor said Leo's fine, just a minor fall. Hailey has terrible jet lag and just fell asleep. If I leave now, I'll wake her up. I'll pick you guys up tomorrow morning.

Without a second thought, I emailed him the divorce papers I had already drafted.

The thought of divorce hadn't just appeared overnight.

But at this moment, my decision was final.

Just because my mother had married Hailey's widowed father, and just because Julian--whom Hailey had a crush on for years--had chosen me, they all acted as if I owed Hailey my entire life.

But I had done nothing wrong.

Why should I keep giving in?

At dawn, the red "Surgery in Progress" light finally turned off.

The doctor rushed out.

"The child is in critical condition. We need to fly in a specialist from out of state for an emergency surgery. We need to verify custody and file the insurance papers immediately. Did you bring his birth certificate and ID?"

"I'll go get them right now," I said, running out of the hospital.

But when I got to my apartment and entered the passcode, the lock beeped red. Error.

I tried again. Error.

This passcode had always been Leo's birthday.

Just as I was about to call Julian, the door swung open.

Julian stood there, shirtless, his hair messy. He immediately snapped at me.

"Keep it down! Hailey is still sleeping."

Seeing me stare at the smart lock, he rubbed the back of his neck guiltily.

"Oh, Hailey couldn't remember our old passcode. We talked about it and decided to change it to her birthday."

"We?" I asked, my voice cold.

"Eleanor, Richard, and me."

The down payment for this apartment came from selling the house my grandmother left me. I was the one paying the monthly mortgage.

Yet, when they decided to lock me out of my own home, nobody bothered to ask me.

I pushed past him and walked straight toward the primary bedroom.

Julian scrambled to block me. "What are you looking for? I'll get it for you."

But the bedroom door was already half-open.

Hailey was sitting on my bed, wearing Julian's oversized pajama shirt and my slippers.

Leo's small pillow and favorite blanket had been tossed carelessly into the trash can by the door.

Seeing me, she quickly pulled the shirt tighter around her neck.

"Chloe, please don't get the wrong idea. Julian let me sleep in here because my jet lag is so bad."

Julian chimed in, "Yeah, I slept on the couch last night. Don't start imagining things."

Our raised voices woke up Eleanor and Richard.

Richard walked out, his face dark. "Hailey finally came back after all these years. What's wrong with her using your room for a night?"

Eleanor grabbed my arm, dragging me back. "It's just a bedroom, Chloe. Do you have to make everyone miserable?"

I shook her hand off and walked over to the safe in the corner.

Next to it was a pile of Hailey's dirty laundry.

As I reached for the safe, two torn, square foil wrappers fell out from the pile of clothes and landed right by my feet.

My eyes went red instantly.

Julian's face drained of color. He quickly stammered, "It's--it's not what you think!"

"Hailey ordered takeout late last night. Those are just... foil packets from the wet wipes. You know how takeout packaging looks these days..."

I didn't say a word. I bit my lower lip so hard I tasted copper, trying to stop my hands from shaking.

I kicked the wrappers aside, knelt down, opened the safe, and grabbed Leo's birth certificate and insurance documents.

Seeing my silence, Julian tried to clear the awkward air. "Where's Leo? Why didn't he come back with you?"

I slammed the safe shut, stood up, and glared past him at Eleanor.

"Oh, so you finally remember you have a son? Why don't you ask Eleanor over there?"

"Ask her why she didn't tell you!"

"Leo is only six years old, and you put him on a roller coaster meant for ten-year-olds!"

"He fell off the tracks, had surgery all night, and is currently lying in the ICU!"

Julian turned pale. "ICU? How could he be in the ICU?"

My mother looked away guiltily. "Oh, please. Kids fall all the time. How bad could it really be?"

"I didn't tell Julian because I didn't want everyone worrying and ruining Hailey's welcome-home party."

My son was lying in the ICU with tubes down his throat.

But to her, his life-threatening injuries were just a "minor fall" that wasn't worth ruining Hailey's party for.

Julian stepped toward me, panicked. "I didn't know it was that serious. Chloe, I'll go to the hospital with you right now."

I looked at him with sheer disgust.

"The park staff warned you. They told you kids under ten couldn't ride."

"But you didn't even know how old your own son was, and you didn't care to listen. You just wanted to get rid of him quickly so you could run off to buy a cake for Hailey."