see Jessica. I needed to see her face, to hear her voice, now that I knew the truth. I found her in the hospital' s pristine, sunlit

or a fraction of a second before she

you doing here? Is

r, my silence a hea

oice dripping with fake sympathy. "I' m so hap

daughter' s name, from her l

I asked, my own vo

he doctors are calling it a miracle. The new kidney... it' s lik

"It' s such a tragedy what happened to Lily. But I gue

just a beneficiary of my daughter' s murder, she was a willin

idence, not with accusations. I was smarter th

as we sat in the living room, t

m his tablet. "

"She said Lily' s

the grieving father slipped, and for a

ached. "A tragedy for us, but a miracle for her. You have to l

sting like poison. "Lily was our famil

s future! Ethan is a Miller. He carries the name. Lily... Lily was a girl. This new baby, hopefu

a transactional loss for a greater good, left me breathless. He wasn' t ju

look confused, hurt. I couldn' t let him see the cold rage soli

g a hand to my forehead. "I... I thin

. The cold CEO vanished, and t

rushing to my side to help me up.

d to stay calm. I had to survive. For now, I was a vessel, a container for h

t, the stillness, the little birthmark that confirmed the nightmare was real. That image, once a sou

stroking my arm. His touch felt l

ised. "We should go for a full check-up tomorrow. A comprehensive one. Make sure the baby is

were a product on an assembly line, ready for quality con

pered into the pillow,

those exclusive places that catered to the ultra-rich. The air

professional smile, explained the procedure. It was an amniocentesis. A long, thin need

id, squeezing my hand. "To make sur

for health. It was about cataloging. It was

the area with a cold antiseptic solution. I stared at the ceiling, my body rigid.

With every second that needle was inside me, I felt the truth of my situation more acutely. I was not