Chapter 2 - The Woman in the Old Photograph
Abigail had never seen Richard Sinclair look frightened before, but the billionaire now seemed desperate to escape his own charity gala.
Matteo noticed.
"Richard, you know her mother?"
Richard recovered quickly.
"Only the name. I may be confusing her with someone else."
Abigail shook her head.
"My mother was Evelyn Marie Foster. She worked as a nurse."
Richard went visibly pale.
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
"Daddy, why are you entertaining this?"
"Be quiet, Vanessa."
The sharpness of his response stunned her.
Matteo studied Richard carefully.
Before he could ask another question, Abigail pressed her palm against her abdomen.
Another cramp.
This one stronger.
Isabella caught her elbow.
"Abigail, you're hurting."
"I'm okay."
"No," Matteo said firmly. "You're getting checked."
He called his security chief, Gabriel Hayes, and asked him to arrange transportation to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Abigail protested.
"I have insurance, but I don't know if they'll cover everything."
Matteo crouched slightly to meet her eyes.
"Forget the bills for tonight. You and your baby come first."
Something in his voice made her stop arguing.
Twenty minutes later, she was resting in a hospital examination room while a doctor monitored her baby's heartbeat.
The sound was steady.
Strong.
Abigail cried with relief.
The doctor explained that the baby appeared well, but the pain and stress warranted observation.
Matteo waited outside with Isabella.
When the doctor gave permission for visitors, Isabella entered first.
She held a small photograph.
"I've carried this for years," she said.
Abigail looked down.
It showed seventeen-year-old Isabella lying in a hospital bed.
Beside her stood a younger Abigail, wearing a faded green sweater.
Abigail laughed softly through her tears.
"I remember that sweater."
Isabella smiled.
"You told me your mom bought it for your sixteenth birthday."
Then her expression changed.
"Abigail, there's something else."
She turned the photograph over.
A second image had been tucked behind it.
Abigail's breath caught.
Her mother stood beside a much younger Richard Sinclair.
They were holding hands.
May you like
And beneath the photograph was a handwritten message.
Evelyn, I promise no one will ever know about our daughter.
