“What are you up to, Hadley?”
The question startled her. She hesitated, caught off guard. Before she could answer, the phone began ringing again.
Inside, Hadley felt a wave of relief. The timing could not have been better. She quickly retrieved the phone and offered it to him. “It’s for you.”
A small, polite smile touched Hadley’s lips as she explained, “You missed a call earlier. I was about to get your phone out, but the call dropped. It’s probably the same person.”
She handed the phone over and stole a quick look at the caller ID. The name Megan appeared on the screen.
“Hadley, I—” Eric noticed it as well. Concern darkened his face as he stared at the phone, unsure.
“You should take that,” Hadley said, pressing the phone into his hand. “Joy needs me upstairs, so I’ll let you see yourself out. Thank you for tonight.”
Without another word, Hadley brushed past him and hurried up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Eric stood frozen, the phone buzzing insistently in his palm. Megan’s name glowed on the screen.
With an annoyed swipe, he answered the call. “What do you want now? Calling at this hour—do I look like your personal comedy show?”
“There you are.” Megan’s familiar voice came through, unbothered by his attitude. “I was starting to worry, you know. I didn’t want to bother you this late, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something might have happened.”
“Something might have happened?” A cold laugh slipped from Eric. “If anyone’s a problem here, it’s you. Don’t call me again.”
His patience snapped, and he ended the call abruptly. He rubbed his forehead, a dull ache spreading behind his eyes.
The evening had been going so well. For once, he’d felt a sense of peace with Hadley and Joy. These rare moments meant everything to him, even if he knew they couldn’t last forever.
But Megan had a knack for spoiling things.
Night settled over the house. Peaceful breaths escaped Joy, fast asleep. Hadley hovered by her side, unwilling to let herself sleep in case her daughter needed her.
Quietly, Hadley pulled out her phone and opened her calendar app. A moment later, she sent a quick message. “Are you working the night shift tonight, Colleen?”
“Yeah, I am,” Colleen replied almost instantly.
“Are you busy right now?”
“Come on, if I were busy, would I even have time to reply? What’s got you up this late?”
“I need your help with something. Can you check it for me?”
“Sure, send it over.”
Hadley scrolled through her gallery, found the image, and forwarded it to Colleen. The photo showed the label of the medicine bottle she had found in Eric’s jacket pocket.
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