As I walked past the side of her house, voices came from the slightly open living room window. I would never have stopped on purpose. But then I heard Vanessa say, clearly and naturally, “I swear I can’t stand this nonsense for another week. It’s getting on my nerves.”
I remained motionless.
Then I moved a little closer to the window and saw her.
She was standing in the middle of the room, wearing leggings and a tight t-shirt, her stomach completely flat, holding a flesh-colored silicone belly in both hands. For a moment, my mind refused to process what I was seeing. It felt wrong, like watching someone change costumes after a funeral.
Ethan was sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands.
Vanessa tossed the fake belly aside and said, “Relax. Your mother already signed the trust papers, didn’t she?”
My heart stopped.
Ethan looked up. “You don’t know that yet.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please. You said Caleb was going to see her this morning. She’s sentimental, she’s lonely, and she’s obsessed with being a grandmother. Of course he signed.”
I couldn’t breathe.
The gift bags slipped out of my hands.
Then Ethan said the phrase that destroyed what was left inside me:
“As soon as that cabin is secured for our ‘baby,’ we’ll tell her there was a complication and the pregnancy was lost. After that, she’ll feel too guilty to question anything.”
The silver rattle fell out of my hand and hit the stone path.
Inside the house, the two turned towards the window.
For a long second, nobody moved.
The rattle rolled once across the stone and hit a flowerpot. Inside, Vanessa’s face went pale. Ethan froze, like a child caught not only doing something wrong, but something so cruel he didn’t know how to hide it.
I should have left.
I should have gone back to the car, called my lawyer, and handled everything calmly.
