Chapter 1 - THE CALL I WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO MAKE
The first person I thought of was the one person Jessica had spent three years teaching our family to hate.
Mark Bennett.
My sister's ex-husband.
I stared at Lily's tear-soaked face while the boarding announcement for Maui echoed above us.
“Group One passengers for Flight 427 to Kahului may now begin boarding.”
That was me.
That was supposed to be the beginning of ten quiet days with no clients, no family emergencies, no guilt, and no one asking me to fix their lives.
Instead, a six-year-old child had been deliberately abandoned beside my suitcase.
I took Lily's tiny hand.
“Sweetheart, stay right next to me.”
Then I opened my contacts.
Jessica had forced everyone to delete Mark's number after the divorce.
I hadn't.
He answered on the second ring.
“Brooke?”
“Mark, your ex-wife just abandoned your daughter at Gate B12.”
Silence.
Not ordinary silence.
The kind that comes right before something breaks.
“What did you just say?”
I looked at Lily.
“She left Lily with me. Mom and Dad helped her. They turned off their phones. There's a note saying I'm supposed to take Lily to Maui for ten days.”
Mark's breathing changed.
“Do not board that plane.”
“I wasn't planning to.”
“Do not leave the airport. Do not hand Lily to anybody except uniformed airport police until I get there.”
Something in his voice frightened me more than Jessica's note had.
“Mark, what's going on?”
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead he asked, “Does Lily have luggage?”
“A little pink suitcase.”
“Don't open anything until someone is standing with you.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
Another boarding announcement echoed through the terminal.
Mark finally spoke.
“Because Jessica wasn't supposed to have Lily today.”
I froze.
“What?”
“My custody time started yesterday at six.”
I looked down at my niece.
Lily was rubbing one ear of her stuffed rabbit between her fingers.
Mark continued.
“Jessica texted me yesterday morning saying Lily had a school activity and asked me to switch days. She promised she'd bring her to my house tonight.”
My mouth went dry.
“There was no school activity?”
“Brooke, school is closed for teacher training today.”
Suddenly this wasn't just Jessica dumping a child on her sister because she wanted a vacation.
She had lied to Mark to get Lily.
Then she had brought Lily to an airport.
Then she had left her there.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“Downtown Atlanta. I'm leaving now.”
“I'll call airport security.”
“Good. And Brooke?”
“Yes?”
“Photograph that note before anybody touches it.”
I did.
Front.
Back.
Lily's suitcase.
The bench.
The gate sign.
Everything.
A gate employee noticed Lily crying and approached us. I explained the situation as calmly as I could.
Her expression changed immediately.
She called a supervisor.
Within minutes, two airport police officers arrived.
One spoke gently to Lily while the other took my statement.
My flight continued boarding behind us.
Watching passengers disappear through the jet bridge hurt more than I expected.
I had dreamed about Maui for almost two years.
But one look at Lily made the disappointment seem embarrassingly small.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered.
I turned toward her.
“For what?”
“Mommy said you might be mad.”
My chest tightened.
“I'm not mad at you.”
“She said you would be at first.”
I crouched down.
“What else did Mommy say?”
Lily glanced nervously at the officers.
Then she leaned closer.
“She said Daddy couldn't know I was going with you.”
A chill crawled over my skin.
Before I could respond, the airport officer returned with Lily's suitcase.
“Ms. Carter?”
“Yes?”
“Your niece says there's something inside that her mother told her not to let anyone see unless you refused to take her.”
I stared at Lily.
She slowly nodded.
The officer unzipped the front compartment.
Inside was a sealed white envelope.
My full legal name was printed across the front.
BROOKE ELIZABETH CARTER.
May you like
And underneath it, in Jessica's handwriting, were four words that made my pulse hammer.
FOR GUARDIANSHIP VERIFICATION ONLY.
