Chapter 7 - THE THIRTY-EIGHT CHILDREN THEY ERASED
There were thirty-eight names.
Toby was number thirty-eight.
Lily was number thirty-one.
Some had survived.
Some were listed as deceased.
Others had blank spaces where outcomes should have been.
I stared at the pages until the letters blurred.
"Why didn't you give this to police?"
Theresa looked ashamed.
"I tried."
"What happened?"
"An investigator came."
"And?"
"He took the original."
My stomach tightened.
"Who?"
She swallowed.
"Detective Paul Brennan."
Damien knew the name.
Everyone in Chicago did.
Brennan had led the Kesler investigation nine years earlier.
He later became deputy superintendent.
He also attended Anthony Rourke's funeral.
Another connection.
Theresa continued.
"Two days after I gave him the files, he told me the evidence was inconclusive."
"Then?"
"My apartment was broken into."
I closed my eyes.
"You were threatened."
She nodded.
"I had two children."
For once, I couldn't judge her.
Fear worked because people had something to lose.
Then Theresa looked toward me.
"I kept one copy."
The list.
Thirty-eight children.
Thirty-eight families who might never have known.
Damien's attorney delivered it to investigators.
St. Bridget Hospital opened a larger internal review.
Federal health authorities became involved.
Helix Meridian issued a statement denying wrongdoing.
I hated every polished word.
"Patient safety remains our highest priority."
Tell that to Toby.
Tell that to Lily.
Tell that to parents who spent years blaming themselves.
Damien returned from Wisconsin with Elena and Lily only after protective arrangements were made.
The first time Lily entered the mansion, Bernadette cried openly.
She was seven.
Dark curls.
Gray eyes.
A nervous habit of twisting her sleeves.
Damien knelt.
He didn't call himself Daddy.
Didn't demand a hug.
He simply said:
"My name is Damien."
Lily studied him.
"Mom says you're my father."
His eyes filled.
"Yes."
She looked toward Elena.
Then back.
"Do you have cookies?"
Damien blinked.
Bernadette burst out laughing.
"Yes, sweetheart."
Lily nodded.
"Okay."
That was their beginning.
Not dramatic.
Not perfect.
A cookie.
Later, Toby and Lily met.
They stared at each other's medical bracelets.
Then Toby said:
"I have a port."
Lily pulled down her collar slightly.
"Me too."
He looked impressed.
"Cool."
I almost cried.
Children could make tragedy ordinary in the strangest ways.
Then Elena asked to speak with me privately.
We sat in the library.
"I know about you and Michael."
My stomach tightened.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"He lied to you."
I looked down.
"Did he love you?"
She smiled sadly.
"Not like that."
Relief made me feel guilty.
Elena continued.
"Michael and I were legally married, but we hadn't been a real couple for years."
I nodded.
Then she said:
"He loved you."
My eyes filled.
"How do you know?"
"He told me."
My throat closed.
"He said you made him imagine a normal life."
I began crying.
Then Elena handed me an old envelope.
Michael's handwriting.
For Laura.
Inside was a photograph of an ultrasound.
Toby.
And a note.
I'm going to tell Damien everything after Kesler.
I covered my mouth.
"He knew I was pregnant."
Elena nodded.
"He was planning to come back."
For years, I had believed Michael abandoned us.
He hadn't.
He disappeared trying to expose the company that later treated his own son.
Then Elena's expression changed.
"There's something else."
I looked up.
"Michael didn't enter Kesler alone."
My stomach tightened.
"Who went with him?"
She swallowed.
May you like
Then whispered:
"Damien's father."
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