Chapter 2

I almost lost the leg.

That day he held my hand and wept like his heart was breaking.

As they lifted me onto the stretcher, he even said the words, "If you die, I won't go on living either."

But the same man was the one who let Gigi suffocate in that parked car.

And the same man was the one who, so he could keep sneaking around behind my back with his first love, pushed the recovery-suppressing injections into my veins.

Back in the room, Ella wheeled me into the bathroom and locked the door.

The phone with its screen crushed to bits in the crash was one I'd never let anyone repair. After Ella fixed it, this was the first time I'd opened it, and inside was exactly what I'd hoped for: the backup of the in-car footage.

My fingers were shaking as I tapped the file open.

On the screen I was holding Gigi, the two of us sharing a peach, taking bites off each other, mother and daughter, while Nathan drove up front with a smile at the corner of his mouth.

Then a message popped up on the phone Nathan had propped in front as a GPS.

"You're with her today, so what about me? I finally come home and it's this hard just to see you once?"

The truth was, back then I hadn't even noticed.

But he'd panicked. The wheel jerked, and by the time he looked up the big truck was already right in front of us.

The image flipped violently. I didn't even see how I got thrown clear. The last frame the camera froze on was nothing but blood.

So that was it.

I'd thought the crash was an accident, and it really had been caused by a person.

Nathan lost focus over a woman?

They'd already been in contact, even before the crash?

I bit down hard on my lip, forcing back the hatred that wanted to pour out of me, and opened the next date.

There was no sound on the footage, but Gigi had been lying fine in the passenger seat. Then the thirty-degree heat in a hospital parking lot, that kind of heat was unbearable.

And then I watched Gigi's tiny body struggle up out of the safety seat, and start pounding on the window, over and over!

One blow, then another, her breathing slower and slower, until finally her arm didn't come up again.

I felt something jam shut in my throat.

The tears hit the screen, and all I could do was press the phone to my chest, fighting the pain down as hard as I could, a dull ache coming in waves through my chest, until it nearly dropped me to my knees.

Then Nathan came back and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Sweetie? You've been in there a long time. Is something wrong?"

I bit down hard on the back of my hand and looked at the mirror. My whole face was flushed red, like it had filled with blood.

Then he spoke again from the other side. "The oatmeal's ready, the one you love. Come out as soon as you're done in there."

I wiped my face and took almost ten minutes to steady myself before I opened the door.

Nathan had just come from his little tryst, glowing, completely oblivious to anything off about me, and considerately lifted me onto the bed.

In an instant the gardenia scent Roberta always carried filled my nose.

My stomach turned sour again.

And Roberta walked in right then. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

White coat, hair swept up, striking as ever.

Then she gave the syringe in her hand a little shake. "Right on time for the injection."

Nathan stood up to greet her, the two of them drawing closer and closer, and then Roberta reached up and smoothly straightened his crooked tie.

"You've been busy all day, hasn't your tie been sitting crooked and you never noticed? Sweetie can't manage it, so let me help you."

Then she turned to me, making a show of confirming it. "Sweetie won't mind, right?"

I used to believe them.

I believed them when they said the first love was long in the past, I believed the medicines Roberta mixed really were meant to make me better. Back then I even clung to her hand and cried my eyes out, treating her like the one who'd saved me.

Like a clown, really.

I swallowed the last mouthful of oatmeal and gave a small smile. "Of course I don't mind. Roberta's always been so good at taking care of people. I got used to it long ago."

Neither of them was the least bit surprised by the answer.

Once everything was ready, the same familiar routine: the alcohol swab, the clear liquid pushed into my veins.

I clenched my teeth, the pain sharp enough to set my back teeth on edge.

But this time, for some reason, I didn't want them to feel so comfortable. I deliberately gripped Nathan's wrist. "Nathan, my legs, I think I've got a little feeling back in them."

Nathan's hand jerked, and Roberta's fingers, in the middle of tidying the medicine box, froze in midair.

"Really? That's wonderful!"

I nodded. "My toes... I think they can move. Do you think I'm getting better soon? I'll be able to see our daughter soon, won't I?"

Nathan had already recovered, his face full of emotion. "Yes! The three of us will be together again soon!"

After they left, I hid under the covers and pulled out my phone, opening the search bar.

Just now, in the moment the two of them were stunned, Ella had quietly photographed the name of the drug for me.

The result that came up was exactly what I'd expected: a nerve suppressant, sure enough!

One line read, "Compounding restricted to hospital pharmacy department director authorization only."

Wasn't that exactly Roberta's job?

I closed my eyes, and the tears slid from their corners into the pillow.

Three months, four at the most. I would stand in that courtroom and, step by step, make them pay.