Chapter 1
I was in a hospital bed preparing to give birth when my husband walked in with his mistress—and offered me enough money to disappear from my own baby’s life.
I was thirty-nine weeks pregnant when contractions sent me to a hospital in Boston.
My husband, Ryan, had ignored my calls all morning.
I finally stopped expecting him to come.
Then my hospital room door opened.
Ryan walked in.
But he wasn’t alone.
A woman named Vanessa stepped inside beside him.
I recognized her immediately from messages I had found months earlier.
I gripped the bedrail.
“You brought her here?”
Ryan closed the door behind them.
“Emily, just listen.”
Vanessa placed an envelope on the table beside my bed.
“We want to make you an offer.”
I stared at her.
“Get out.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“There’s a lot of money in that envelope.”
I felt another contraction building, but anger hurt worse.
“What exactly are you buying?”
Vanessa answered before he could.
“Your agreement.”
My stomach dropped.
Ryan looked straight at me.
“After the baby is born, Vanessa and I will raise him.”
For a second, I thought I had misunderstood him.
“You want me to give you my baby?”
Vanessa calmly said, “You’ll be financially secure for life.”
I reached for the nurse call button.
Ryan grabbed my wrist.
“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
I screamed for him to let go.
A nurse rushed into the room, and Ryan immediately released me.
Vanessa picked up the envelope.
But something slipped out and landed on the floor.
The nurse bent down and picked it up.
It wasn’t a check.
It was a document with my name already signed at the bottom.
I stared at the signature.
“That’s not mine.”
Ryan’s face changed.
May you like
Then the nurse read the heading and looked directly at me.
“Emily… this document says you already surrendered parental rights.”
