The Daughter He Threw Away

Courtney stepped onto the porch, one hand gripping the doorframe.

"Who is that?"" she demanded.

I pulled the phone against my chest.

"Someone who knows what you and my father are doing.""

Her expression changed.

Not much. Just a brief tightening around her mouth, followed by a quick glance toward the driveway.

But I saw it.

For the first time that morning, Courtney looked worried.

"Give me the phone," she said.

"No.""

"Emily, you're obviously not thinking straight. You're in pain, and you're upsetting yourself.""

"Then call an ambulance.""

She hesitated.

That hesitation told me everything I needed to know about how much my life mattered to her.

Behind her, Charles called from inside.

"Courtney? What's taking so long?""

"Nothing!"" she shouted back.

Then she crouched beside me and lowered her voice.

"Listen. If you start telling people that Charles hurt you, you're going to make this situation much worse.""

I stared at her.

"You mean worse than throwing a pregnant woman onto a porch?""

Her eyes narrowed.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with.""

The phone crackled against my palm.

Daniel Reeves spoke again.

"Emily, can you hear me?""

"Yes.""

"Are you still outside the house?""

"Yes.""

"Don't let anyone take your phone. And please contact emergency services now.""

Courtney reached for it.

I jerked my arm away.

"Don't touch me!""

She rocked back on her heels, then straightened and called toward the house.

"Charles! She's recording us!""

My father appeared in the doorway.

His face was red, his shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows. He looked less like a grieving father than a man interrupted halfway through a job he considered unpleasant but necessary.

"Give me that phone," he ordered.

"No.""

He walked down the porch steps.

I tried to retreat, but my back struck the railing. The pain in my abdomen tightened again, and a broken sound escaped my throat.

Charles stopped.

For one brief moment, I thought he might finally understand.

Then he pointed at the phone.

"Who are you speaking to?""

"My husband's attorney.""

His expression flickered.

Only for a second.

But Daniel must have heard the silence.

"Mr. Bennett?"" he called through the speaker.

"This is Daniel Reeves. I suggest you step away from your daughter.""

Charles leaned closer to the phone.

"Mr. Reeves, this is a family matter.""

"No. It's potentially a criminal matter. Your daughter is in medical distress, and I can hear you threatening her.""

Charles laughed without humor.

"You lawyers love throwing around words like that.""

"And people who believe they're above the law often regret saying things in front of witnesses.""

My father stared at the phone.

I had never heard anyone speak to him that way.

Not his business partners. Not his friends. Not even the police officer who once pulled him over for driving through a red light.

Charles had built his entire life around making other people lower their eyes first.

Daniel didn't.

"Emily," the attorney continued, "I need you to tell me whether you signed a transfer agreement concerning your husband's assets.""

"No.""

"Did you authorize anyone to sign on your behalf?""

"No.""

"Did your father tell you that your husband had substantial debts?""

"Yes.""

"Did he provide supporting records?""

"Some papers. I haven't checked everything.""

"All right. Don't sign anything else. And don't agree to leave the property permanently.""

Charles snatched at the phone.

I pulled it away, crying out when the movement sent pain through my side.

"Enough!"" he shouted.

"You don't get to turn my family against me!""

Daniel's voice became colder.

"Mr. Bennett, your daughter is not a possession you can transfer between rooms. Call emergency services.""

Charles opened his mouth.

Then a contraction hit me so hard that the phone slipped from my fingers.

It landed on the porch boards.

I folded over my stomach.

"Dad!"" I screamed.

"Something's wrong!""

For one terrifying second, nobody moved.

Then Daniel shouted through the fallen phone.

"Emily? Emily, answer me!""

Courtney backed toward the door.

"Charles, what do we do?""

My father stared at me as though I had deliberately created an inconvenience.

Then he muttered, "This is exactly why she shouldn't be living alone.""

He turned toward the house.

"Charles!"" I cried.

He kept walking.

Courtney followed him.

The door shut.

I lay on the porch, listening to the sound of my own ragged breathing.

My phone was just beyond my fingertips.

I stretched toward it.

A contraction stopped me halfway.

I pressed my cheek against the cold wood and whispered the only words I could think of.

"Lucas, please.""

I imagined his hand resting over mine. I imagined his ridiculous grin, the one he wore whenever he thought he'd found a solution nobody else had considered.

You don't have to solve everything in one day, Em.

He'd said that to me a hundred times.

Just the next thing. One thing at a time.

The next thing was reaching my phone.

I managed to hook two fingers around its edge and dragged it toward me.

Daniel was still there.

"Emily! Thank God. Can you hear me?""

"Yes.""

"Have you called emergency services?""

"No.""

"Can you do it now?""

I tried to unlock the screen.

My hands were shaking too badly.

"I can't.""

"Tell me your address.""

I gave it to him.

"I'm arranging help," he said.

"Stay with me.""

Then I heard something that made my heart seize.

The nursery window upstairs slammed shut.

I looked up.

Courtney stood behind the glass, holding a small yellow blanket.

My daughter's blanket.

The one Lucas had bought the afternoon we found out we were having a girl.

She lifted it to the window, examined it, then disappeared from sight.

I tried to stand.

"What is she doing?"" I whispered.

"Who?"" Daniel asked.

"Your wife," I said, correcting myself.

"My stepmother. She's upstairs in my baby's room.""

"Emily, don't try to get up.""

But I was already pushing myself onto my knees.

The door opened again.

Courtney came down carrying a cardboard box. Inside were the folded baby clothes I'd washed the night before Lucas died, the tiny socks he'd lined up on the dresser, and the soft rabbit he'd placed in the crib with a handwritten note.

She set the box beside me.

"Your father says you have until noon to leave.""

I stared at her.

"My husband bought those clothes.""

"And now they're yours to carry somewhere else.""

She reached into the box, lifted the rabbit, and examined the note tied around its neck.

"Aw. That's sweet.""

"Give it back.""

She smiled and dropped the rabbit into a puddle near the steps.

I heard myself make a sound I didn't recognize.

Courtney laughed.

"Honestly, Emily, you need to stop acting like everything in this house is sacred just because your husband died.""

I reached for the rabbit.

My abdomen tightened again.

I fell against the porch railing.

Courtney's smile faded as she looked down at the spreading wetness beneath me.

"Oh, my God.""

"Call an ambulance," I gasped.

She stared at me for another second.

Then she ran inside.

I heard her shouting.

"Charles! She's really in labor!""

A door slammed upstairs.

Then my father's voice thundered through the house.

"Nobody calls anyone until I figure out what she's told them!""

Daniel heard him.

"Emily, are you still there?""

"Yes.""

"Listen to me. I've contacted emergency services. Help is coming.""

I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Why is my father doing this?""

Daniel didn't answer immediately.

When he spoke again, his voice was quieter.

"Because Lucas discovered something about your father several months ago.""

I opened my eyes.

"What?""

"Something that could have destroyed him.""

A siren sounded faintly in the distance.

Daniel continued.

"Lucas came to my office two weeks before his accident. He brought me a set of financial records and asked me to prepare documents protecting you and the baby.""

My heart pounded.

"What kind of records?""

"The kind your father has spent years making sure nobody sees.""

The siren grew louder.

I clutched the phone.

"Did Lucas know he was in danger?""

There was a pause.

"I can't answer that yet.""

"Why not?""

"Because there's one document I haven't shown you. Lucas instructed me to give it to you only if Charles tried to take your home or force you to sign away your inheritance.""

The ambulance turned onto our street.

I heard the tires hiss against the wet road.

Daniel's next words made the world seem to tilt beneath me.

"Emily, your father didn't come to your house because he wanted to help you manage Lucas's estate.""