Chapter 2

The next morning, I called the private investigator Sarah recommended.

His name was Mr. Davies. His voice was gravelly, no-nonsense.

I told him what I knew, what I suspected. About Noah. About Veronica.

"I need the truth, Mr. Davies. All of it."

He said, "It will cost you."

"I don't care."

A week later, he called me to his small, cluttered office downtown.

He handed me a thick envelope.

"Your son, Noah Hayes-Cole, was born alive, Mrs. Cole."

The words hit me like a physical blow.

Alive.

"He was swapped at birth with Veronica Bell's daughter. A nurse was paid off. By your husband."

I couldn't speak. My throat closed.

"Noah was taken by Ms. Bell. She was supposedly on a brief post-doc in the US at the time. He died a few weeks later. Neglect, officially SIDS. His body... Ms. Bell had connections. It was acquired by a private research facility she was linked to in Switzerland. Preserved. As an anatomical specimen."

He slid a photograph across the desk.

A small, perfect body in a glass jar. My son.

Horror. Pure, undiluted horror.

Rage burned through me, so hot it felt like it would consume me.

Mr. Davies also had surveillance footage. From a hidden camera Ethan had in our bedroom. From years ago.

During the time I was supposedly grieving my stillborn son, Ethan was with Veronica. In our bed.

The footage showed them. Laughing. Kissing.

I saw myself in the background of one shot, a shadow passing the door, my face pale, drawn.

He had been with her. While I mourned the son he stole and let die.

I remembered how blind I had been. How I'd clung to Ethan for comfort.

The weight of it all crushed me.

I stumbled out of Davies' office, the envelope clutched in my hand.

The city sounds faded. My vision tunneled.

I collapsed on a bench, the world spinning.

My phone buzzed. A message from Ethan.

"Thinking of you, honey. Hope you're having a better day. Love E."

The hypocrisy was a suffocating blanket.

I wanted to scream. To shatter something.

Instead, I walked. Aimlessly.

Hours later, I found myself outside a bar. The city lights blurred.

I saw them. Through the window.

Ethan and Veronica.

Sitting close. Her head on his shoulder. His arm around her.

He was laughing, that charming laugh I used to adore.

She looked up at him, her eyes full of adoration.

My heart shattered into a million pieces.

Lightning. That's what it felt like. A strike, right through my chest.

My face must have been pale. I felt cold.

I turned and fled.

Into the sudden downpour. The rain matched the storm inside me.

I ran, sobbing, not caring who saw.

My carefully constructed life, my perfect family, all a grotesque illusion.

The city blurred around me. The rain plastered my hair to my face.

I was a fool. A blind, trusting fool.

I reached home, drenched, shivering.

I fell into bed, the chill seeping into my bones.

A fever took hold.

Nightmares plagued me. Noah's small face, trapped. Veronica's cold smile. Ethan's lies.

I woke up screaming, drenched in sweat.

Ethan was there the next morning. Feigning concern.

"Clara, you're burning up! What happened?"

He tried to fuss over me, to take my temperature.

His touch felt like fire.

I recoiled. "Don't touch me."

He looked hurt. "Clara, what's wrong?"

His acting was flawless.

I wanted to tell him I knew. Everything.

But Sarah's words echoed: "Gather evidence. Be smart."

I closed my eyes. "Just a bad dream. I'll be fine."

Later that week, Ethan made the announcement.

"Clara, darling, Veronica Bell is arriving today. An old family friend, a brilliant scientist. Her new research position in Seattle isn't quite ready, so she'll be staying in the guesthouse for a bit."

He said it so casually.

Veronica. In my home. Near my... near Lily.

She arrived that afternoon.

Ethan introduced us.

Veronica smiled, a cool, polite smile. "So lovely to finally meet you, Clara. Ethan has told me so much about you."

Lily came running in.

She stopped when she saw Veronica.

Then, a slow smile spread across Lily's face.

She ran to Veronica, hugged her legs.

"You're so pretty," Lily said.

Veronica's smile softened, a genuine warmth appearing as she looked at Lily.

Ethan panicked. "Lily, honey, that's Miss Bell. A visitor."

His explanation was flimsy. Too quick.

Lily looked from Veronica to me, then back to Veronica.

"She looks like my pictures of Grandma Bell," Lily said, pointing to Veronica.

Ethan's mother, Eleanor, had photos of Ethan's extended family. Veronica must have been among them.

My heart sank. The child knew. Instinctively.