Chapter 1 - The Girl Who Wouldn't Let Go
Emma woke beneath white hospital lights with both hands wrapped in gauze.
She didn't know how long she had been asleep.
Her first thought was not about her pain.
"The babies?"
Nurse Sarah turned from the window.
"They're alive."
Emma sat up too quickly.
Pain shot through both arms.
"Where are they?"
"They're in the neonatal unit."
"Can I see them?"
Sarah hesitated.
Emma saw it immediately.
Adults always thought children did not notice hesitation.
Emma had learned differently.
"What's wrong?"
Sarah pulled a chair closer.
"They were very cold and dehydrated. One of them has an infection. But Dr. Carter says you brought them here in time."
Emma's shoulders loosened.
Only slightly.
"They didn't die?"
"No."
Emma began crying without making a sound.
Sarah reached toward her, then stopped.
She had already noticed that Emma flinched whenever an adult touched her unexpectedly.
So Sarah waited.
After several seconds, Emma whispered, "I promised Mommy."
"What did you promise her?"
"That I wouldn't let anything happen to Noah and Ellie."
Those were the twins' names.
Sarah nodded.
"You kept your promise."
Emma looked toward the doorway.
"Can Mommy come see them when she wakes up?"
Sarah's chest tightened.
Nobody had told Emma yet.
The police had instructed the hospital to wait until a child-services specialist arrived.
But there was something Sarah needed to understand.
"Emma, before your mom went to sleep, did anything happen?"
Emma stared at the blanket.
"She was scared."
"Of what?"
Emma did not answer.
Sarah waited.
Finally, Emma whispered, "Uncle Robert."
Sarah remained very still.
"Who's Uncle Robert?"
"My daddy's brother."
"Was he at your house?"
Emma nodded.
"When?"
"The night Mommy went to sleep."
Sarah felt the hairs rise along her arms.
"What happened?"
Emma squeezed her gauze-wrapped fingers together.
"He yelled because Mommy said no."
"No to what?"
"I don't know."
Emma looked frightened now.
"He said the babies belonged to him."
Sarah's pulse accelerated.
"What did your mother say?"
"She said nobody owns babies."
"What happened next?"
Emma's eyes drifted toward the wall.
"He hit the table."
Sarah waited.
"Then Mommy told me to take Noah and Ellie upstairs."
"And you did?"
Emma nodded.
"I heard something break."
"What?"
"A cup, maybe."
"Anything else?"
Emma's breathing changed.
"He said Daddy already paid the debt."
Sarah leaned forward slightly.
"What debt?"
"I don't know."
A social worker appeared in the doorway.
Sarah gave her a small nod, then looked back at Emma.
"Did Robert hurt your mother?"
Emma swallowed.
"I didn't see."
The answer sounded rehearsed.
Sarah knew it.
Emma knew Sarah knew it.
Before either could continue, Dr. Carter entered.
He looked troubled.
"Sarah."
His tone pulled her aside.
Emma watched them.
Dr. Carter lowered his voice.
"We got the twins' preliminary bloodwork."
"And?"
"Something doesn't make sense."
"What?"
Michael glanced toward Emma.
"The babies show traces of phenobarbital."
Sarah frowned.
"A sedative?"
"Enough to suppress crying and respiration in newborns."
Sarah stared at him.
"Could the mother have given it accidentally?"
Michael's expression answered before his words did.
"Not from anything in an ordinary household."
Sarah looked back toward Emma.
The little girl was staring at them.
"What happened to my babies?"
Sarah forced herself to remain calm.
"Someone gave them medicine."
Emma's face drained of color.
"No."
"Do you know who?"
"No."
Sarah moved closer.
"Emma."
The child began shaking.
"No."
"What is it?"
Emma pulled her knees against her chest.
"He said the babies cried too much."
"Who?"
Emma's eyes filled.
"Uncle Robert."
Across town, Officer James Holloway stood at the bottom of a narrow staircase inside Emma's farmhouse.
The footsteps above had stopped.
Ryan covered the hallway.
"Police!" James called. "Come down with your hands visible."
Silence.
James moved up one stair.
Then another.
At the landing, he saw a bedroom door moving slowly.
He raised his gun.
"Hands where I can see them!"
A figure emerged.
Not Robert.
A teenage boy.
Thin.
Terrified.
Blood covered the front of his shirt.
"Don't shoot."
James lowered the weapon slightly.
"What's your name?"
"Caleb."
"Are you hurt?"
The boy shook his head.
James pointed toward the blood.
"Then whose is that?"
Caleb began crying.
"Mrs. Miller's."
Emma's mother.
James stepped forward.
"What happened?"
Caleb looked past him toward the kitchen.
"I tried to stop him."
"Stop who?"
May you like
Caleb whispered the name that Emma had already spoken at the hospital.
"Robert."
