That night, I couldn’t sleep.
I kept seeing those babies.
Their faces.
Their hair.
The way Emily had protected them from the dust blowing across the road.
The next morning, I hired a private investigator named David Reynolds.
“Find everything,” I told him.
Three days later, he called.
His voice sounded different.
Serious.
Concerned.
“Michael,” he said quietly, “you need to sit down.”
My stomach tightened.
“What did you find?”
“Eleven months ago, Emily checked into a county hospital while pregnant.”
I froze.
Pregnant.
Eleven months ago.
That timeline made my blood run cold.
“She listed you as her emergency contact.”
“What?”
“She gave your private number. Your office number. Your home number.”
I gripped the phone.
“I never received anything.”
“I know.”
Silence filled the line.
Then David spoke again.
“Because someone paid to remove the records.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“Who?”
“I sent the documents.”
Seconds later, an email appeared.
My hands shook as I opened it.
At the bottom of the payment authorization was a name.
Ashley Bennett.
