Chapter 6 - THREE WOMEN AND ONE LIE
The next morning, I called an attorney named Rebecca Shaw.
She had handled a complicated custody case for one of Rachel's friends.
I expected to explain a messy divorce.
Instead, I found myself describing a wedding confrontation, a hidden medical letter, conflicting statements, and a nine-year-old girl who had become frightened of her own father.
Rebecca listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she asked one question.
"Has your daughter told you that anyone threatened her?"
I thought of Ryan trying to take the letter.
"He frightened her at the wedding."
"Has he done anything else?"
I hesitated.
"She says Lauren told her not to repeat certain conversations."
Rebecca's tone became firmer.
"Write down Amelia's exact words without questioning her repeatedly."
I reached for a notebook.
"Okay."
"And arrange for a qualified child therapist if she's struggling."
"I will."
"Most importantly, don't turn her into a witness for a battle between adults."
I looked toward the hallway.
Amelia was laughing with her younger brothers.
For the first time since the wedding, I felt my anger settle into something useful.
A plan.
Rebecca helped me identify immediate priorities.
Protect the children.
Preserve documents.
Request the medical records.
Continue the divorce through proper legal channels.
And stop discussing sensitive matters with my parents.
That last instruction should have been easy.
It wasn't.
Because at eleven that morning, my mother arrived at my front door.
She wasn't alone.
Lauren stood beside her.
Neither woman looked like she'd slept.
I opened the door without inviting them inside.
"What do you want?"
My mother adjusted her purse.
"We need to talk."
"Then talk."
Lauren looked past me.
"Where's Amelia?"
I stepped into the doorway.
"Why?"
"Because she owes us an apology."
For a moment, I couldn't believe what I'd heard.
Then I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because the cruelty was almost impressive.
"My nine-year-old daughter owes you an apology?"
Lauren crossed her arms.
"She ruined my wedding."
"Your affair ruined my marriage."
"You're still doing this?"
"Doing what?"
"Acting like the victim."
My mother lifted a hand.
"Girls, please."
I looked at her.
"Don't."
She frowned.
"Annie—"
"Don't stand on my porch and pretend we are two children fighting over a toy."
Her expression hardened.
"We came to make peace."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You came because Amelia said something you couldn't control."
Lauren's face flushed.
"She misunderstood."
"What did she misunderstand?"
"Everything."
"Then explain it."
Silence.
I waited.
Finally, Lauren looked at our mother.
"Tell her."
My mother stiffened.
"Lauren."
"Tell her why we went to the clinic."
My pulse jumped.
I stepped closer.
"What?"
Lauren's eyes filled.
"You think I wanted to be involved in any of that?"
My mother caught her wrist.
"Stop."
Lauren pulled away.
"You told me it was the only way."
I felt the world narrow.
"Only way to do what?"
Neither answered.
I looked from one face to the other.
"Mom?"
She inhaled.
"You were extremely fragile."
I laughed bitterly.
"Stop saying that."
"We were worried about you."
"So you went to my medical clinic without telling me?"
My mother looked away.
Lauren began crying.
Then she said, "Ryan told us you were hiding something."
I stared at her.
"What?"
"He said you had been lying about the pregnancy."
My throat tightened.
"Lying how?"
Lauren wiped her cheeks.
"He said there was a possibility the baby wasn't his."
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Then I felt something inside me become perfectly still.
"That's impossible."
My mother looked at me with an expression I couldn't read.
"Annie, we didn't know what to believe."
I stared at her.
"You believed my husband had cheated on me with my sister, but somehow I was the one you suspected?"
She said nothing.
Lauren whispered, "Ryan showed us something."
"What?"
"A document."
"What document?"
She looked toward my mother again.
And this time, my mother looked genuinely afraid.
May you like
Lauren swallowed.
"He said it came from the hospital."
