Chapter 4 - THE FATHER WHO CAME BACK
I wanted to leave Chicago that night.
Not tomorrow.
Not after breakfast.
Immediately.
Sebastian told me not to make a decision while terrified.
I hated that he was right.
The police had taken statements.
Veronica had been suspended.
Daniel had not been arrested.
There was not enough yet.
That word made me furious.
Enough.
Apparently carrying my baby toward a staircase and taking money from her father was not yet enough to make the world stop.
Mrs. Ortiz called from the hospital.
She was stable.
I lied and told her everything at work was fine.
She heard Lily crying.
“Mija, what happened?”
“I’ll explain tomorrow.”
“No.”
Her voice sharpened.
“Explain now.”
So I did.
Not all of it.
Enough.
She went quiet.
Then said, “Do not go home.”
I stopped.
“Why?”
“Someone came to your apartment this afternoon.”
“Who?”
“A woman.”
“What woman?”
“She said she was Daniel’s mother.”
Lucia.
My blood turned cold.
“What did she want?”
“To see the baby.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That you were working.”
Mrs. Ortiz inhaled.
“She asked what time you came home.”
I closed my eyes.
Sebastian was listening.
He held out his hand for the phone.
I gave it to him.
“This is Sebastian Calder.”
Mrs. Ortiz said something.
His eyebrows rose.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Another pause.
“No, ma’am.”
He looked almost offended.
“I am not Maya’s boyfriend.”
I stared at him.
He continued.
“Yes, I own the restaurant.”
Another pause.
“I agree that hiding a baby in a linen room was unsafe.”
My face burned.
Then his expression changed.
“What car?”
He grabbed a pen.
Mrs. Ortiz gave him a plate number.
Sebastian wrote it down.
When he hung up, I asked, “What?”
“The woman who visited your apartment was driving the same black SUV from the alley recording.”
I looked at Lily.
“I’m not going home.”
“No.”
“Don’t order me.”
“That wasn’t an order.”
“It sounded like one.”
“I’m working on that.”
He called someone.
Within twenty minutes, a car arrived.
Not a limousine.
A plain dark SUV with a woman driving.
“Who is she?”
“My head of security.”
“I’m not going to your mansion.”
“I didn’t say mansion.”
“Rich men always have mansions.”
He almost smiled.
“You’re going to a hotel suite under another name.”
“No.”
“Maya.”
“I can’t afford it.”
“You’re worried about the bill?”
“Yes.”
“My manager moved your child as part of what appears to be a coordinated attempt to portray you as unfit.”
He looked at me.
“The bill is not your problem.”
I hated needing help.
But I hated risking Lily more.
So I agreed.
At the hotel, Lily finally fell asleep.
I sat beside the crib.
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
It showed me carrying Lily into Calder House that afternoon.
Taken from across the street.
Under it was one message.
May you like
YOU SHOULD HAVE GIVEN HER TO DANIEL WHEN WE ASKED NICELY.
