Chapter 2 - The Man in the Photograph
Emma waited until Jason went downstairs before examining the new medicine bottle.
Her name appeared on the printed label.
The clinic’s name was correct.
Even the dosage instructions looked familiar.
Still, something felt wrong.
The tablets inside were slightly darker than the ones she had taken since leaving the hospital. The difference was subtle enough that she might not have noticed if the earlier doses had not vanished.
She took a photograph of the bottle with her phone.
The image blurred because her hand would not remain steady.
When Emma opened the clinic’s patient portal, the page failed to load. A message appeared at the top of the screen.
No internet connection.
She looked toward the signal booster mounted above the nursery door. Its usual green light was dark.
Jason’s voice rose from downstairs.
“Yes, Mom. I already replaced them.”
Emma became still.
He was speaking quietly, but sound traveled easily through the cabin’s open staircase.
“No, she didn’t call anyone.”
A pause followed.
“I know what the schedule says.”
Emma moved toward the door.
The floor creaked beneath her.
Jason stopped speaking.
“Mom?”
Silence.
Then Jason continued in a louder voice.
“Yes, I’ll bring the chocolate cake on Friday.”
Emma returned to the chair before he came upstairs.
He entered carrying a glass of water.
“You need to take your medicine.”
“I want to call the clinic first.”
“For what?”
“The tablets look different.”
“The pharmacy changed suppliers.”
“How do you know?”
Jason placed the water beside her.
“Because I asked.”
“You said you went to town, but you were gone less than ten minutes.”
His eyes shifted briefly toward the window.
“I met the pharmacist’s assistant at the bottom of the road. She was already making a delivery nearby.”
“Which assistant?”
“Emma, why are you interrogating me?”
“I’m trying to understand what I’m taking.”
“You’re exhausted. That’s all this is.”
He crouched in front of her and softened his voice.
“My mother warned me this could happen.”
“What could happen?”
“The suspicion. The confusion. The mood changes.”
Emma felt cold.
“Your mother isn’t my doctor.”
“She raised three children.”
“One of whom disappeared.”
Jason’s face lost all expression.
Emma immediately regretted revealing that she had found the photograph.
“Who told you about Caleb?”
“I found a picture.”
“Where?”
“In the nursery drawer.”
Jason stood.
“That drawer was locked.”
“It wasn’t.”
He crossed to the changing table, pulled the drawer open, and searched inside.
The photograph was gone because Emma had hidden it beneath the crib mattress. The note remained inside her robe.
Jason turned.
“What else did you find?”
“Nothing.”
“Did you find a phone number?”
Emma held his gaze.
“No.”
Jason watched her for several seconds.
Then he smiled again.
“My brother was dangerous.”
“You told me he stole money.”
“He did more than that.”
“What?”
“He became obsessed with our father’s death. He accused everyone. He threatened my mother. Eventually he vanished before the police could question him.”
“Was he ever charged?”
Jason did not answer directly.
“You shouldn’t believe anything connected to Caleb.”
He picked up the medicine bottle and removed one tablet.
“Take this.”
Emma stared at the tablet in his palm.
“I’ll take it after I eat.”
“You’re supposed to take it now.”
“I feel sick on an empty stomach.”
Jason’s jaw tightened.
Noah made a soft sound from the crib.
Emma stood slowly and reached for him.
Jason closed his fingers around the tablet.
“All right,” he said. “After breakfast.”
He left with the water but took the medicine bottle with him.
Emma waited until his footsteps reached the kitchen.
Then she removed the note from her robe and typed the number into her phone.
She did not press call.
Without service, it would not connect.
Instead, she saved the number under the name Caroline Mercer.
May you like
Jason’s late aunt.
A woman he never mentioned because she had left nearly everything she owned to Emma.
