Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN IN THE BLUE HOSPITAL GOWN
Margaret arrived twenty minutes after midnight.
By then, Julian had stopped looking at the clock.
He sat at the conference table.
His hands were clasped.
His expression was unreadable.
I should have gone home.
Instead, I stayed.
Not because of the money.
Because I recognized the look on his face.
I'd seen it in hospital waiting rooms.
On the faces of people who had been told something terrible and were trying to remain standing.
Margaret entered carrying a leather folder.
She looked at me.
“Who is she?”
Julian answered.
“Lena Morales.”
Margaret frowned.
“The cleaner?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Yes. We have names.”
Margaret blinked.
Then smiled faintly.
“My apologies.”
She placed a photograph on the table.
A young woman in a blue hospital gown.
Holding a newborn baby.
Julian stared.
“Who is that?”
Margaret swallowed.
“Her name is Claire Whitmore.”
Julian frowned.
“And?”
“She gave birth eleven months ago.”
Silence.
Margaret looked directly at him.
“The child's father is Nicholas Vale.”
Julian went completely still.
I watched his face lose color.
Then he whispered:
“My brother has a daughter?”
Margaret nodded.
“Yes.”
Julian stared at the photograph.
Then asked:
“Where is she?”
May you like
Margaret's expression changed.
“That's the problem.”
