The Night Everyone Lied
Chapter 02 - The Night Everyone Lied
Sophia remembered almost nothing clearly about the night Emma was born.
She had been twenty-three, seven months pregnant, and living under constant pressure from Richard to end her relationship with Adrian.
Adrian came from a working-class family in Queens. He had no trust fund, no political connections, and no interest in obeying Richard Bennett.
That made him dangerous.
Three weeks before the premature delivery, Adrian disappeared.
Richard told Sophia he had accepted money and moved to California.
Sophia called until his number stopped working.
She wrote letters that came back unopened.
Then the contractions began.
Richard drove her to a private clinic outside Manhattan instead of the hospital where her obstetrician worked.
Sophia remembered bright lights.
Medication.
A baby crying once.
Then silence.
When she woke, Richard sat beside her.
The doctor said her daughter had died from complications.
There was no funeral.
Richard claimed the clinic handled everything because Sophia was too weak.
For fifteen years, she carried grief for a child she was never permitted to hold.
Now Adrian stood in the balcony doorway with proof that the child had lived.
Sophia turned to Vanessa.
“Did you know?”
Vanessa shook her head quickly.
“I swear I didn’t.”
Adrian looked at Richard.
“You told me Sophia chose her family and wanted the pregnancy ended.”
Sophia stared at him.
“He told me you took money.”
“I never received a dollar.”
Richard’s voice remained calm.
“You were both young and irrational.”
Sophia walked toward him.
“What happened to my baby?”
Richard glanced through the doors toward the guests.
“We will discuss this privately.”
She slapped the doors shut behind him, cutting off the music.
“This is private.”
Richard’s composure cracked.
“You were incapable of raising a child.”
“I was her mother.”
“You were depressed, unemployed, and prepared to throw away your future for him.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“So you stole our daughter?”
Richard looked at him with contempt.
“I placed her where she would have stability.”
Sophia felt as though the city were tilting beneath her.
“Where?”
Richard hesitated.
Vanessa whispered, “Richard, tell her.”
He looked at Vanessa as if she had betrayed him simply by speaking.
Then he said, “Emma was adopted by a family in Connecticut.”
Sophia’s voice barely worked.
“Who?”
Richard looked away.
“I do not know where she is now.”
May you like
Adrian held up the photograph.
“I do.”
