“That is not the baby your son walked out of the delivery room with.” I let out a confused, uneasy laugh.
“You must be confusing him with another Daniel.” The nurse went completely pale.
“Do you really know nothing?” Before I could ask her what she meant, someone called her name down the corridor.
She hurried away instantly, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the hallway.
I tried to convince myself that it was all just a simple misunderstanding.
But then I began to notice subtle details that I had previously ignored.
Daniel had never allowed me to visit them during Claire’s pregnancy. He had sent me pictures of the nursery, the clothes, and the toys, but I didn’t have a single photograph of Claire actually pregnant.
Whenever I brought up the topic of the delivery, Claire remained quiet, and Daniel quickly answered on her behalf.
The hospital identification bracelet resting on Noah’s tiny wrist looked as though it had been cut and taped back together.
One of the handwritten details on it was visibly smudged and erased. That afternoon, Claire whispered softly, “It’s strange.
I remember not hearing the baby cry right after he was born.” Daniel spun around sharply toward her.
“You were heavily medicated. You aren’t remembering things correctly.”
Claire fell silent, but I could see a deep, growing unease in her eyes.
