The attorney’s hand remained suspended over the sealed document as Denise Walker’s words settled over the front porch.
“Madison has no idea what we know about that baby.”
Ethan stared at his mother.
Until that moment, his panic had been focused on the empty house, the changed locks, and the separation papers trembling in his hand.
Now something colder entered his face.
“Mom,” he said quietly.
“Stop.”
Denise ignored him.
She stood on the walkway in white resort trousers and a silk blouse, looking as composed as if she had arrived for brunch instead of returning from a trip built around her son’s affair.
Her husband, Richard, lingered near the SUV with his shoulders rounded and his eyes lowered.
The attorney, Martin Hale, studied her for a moment.
“What exactly do you believe you know, Mrs.
Walker?”
Denise folded her arms.
“That my son should not sign anything until a paternity test is completed.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
That was the first sign that the accusation had not surprised him.
Martin noticed it too.
“You have already discussed this?” he asked.
“It’s a reasonable precaution,” Denise said.
“Madison became pregnant during a difficult period in the marriage.”
“A difficult period caused by your son’s relationship with Vanessa Cole?”
Denise’s jaw tightened.
From the SUV, Richard finally spoke.
“Denise, that’s enough.”
She turned on him.
“You stay out of this.”
Martin lowered the sealed envelope.
“This document is not a paternity result,” he said.
“It is a preservation notice.
The shared tablet, joint-account records, doorbell footage, and all communications concerning the Scottsdale trip are now potential evidence.
Destroying or altering them would be unwise.”
Ethan looked toward the dark front window.
The nursery curtains were gone.
So was the rocking chair he had never assembled.
The rooms beyond the glass held only the possessions he had purchased himself: a television, a leather sofa, golf equipment, and boxes of clothes.
Everything connected to Madison and the baby had disappeared.
For the first time, Ethan seemed to understand that she had not staged a dramatic threat.
She had made a decision.
Across town, Madison sat upright in a hospital bed with her newborn son asleep against her chest.
Claire stood near the window, listening to Martin through the speakerphone.
She had muted the call so Denise and Ethan could not hear the hospital sounds.
Madison’s body ached from labor.
Her hands shook from exhaustion, but her voice was steady when she said, “Ask Ethan where the paternity accusation came from.”
Claire unmuted the phone and relayed the question.
Martin looked directly at Ethan.
“Mrs.
Walker would like to know why you expected a paternity dispute.”
Ethan rubbed his mouth.
“I didn’t say I expected one.”
“Your mother did.
You did not appear surprised.”
Denise stepped between them.
“Madison had lunch with an ex-boyfriend last summer.
Ethan saw the receipt.”
Madison almost laughed.
The man Denise called an ex-boyfriend was Daniel Ruiz, a former college classmate who had become an obstetric anesthesiologist.
Madison had met him and his wife, Sofia, for lunch after Daniel recommended a specialist for a pregnancy complication.
Ethan had known where she was.
He had even asked her to bring him dessert.
“Tell them Daniel’s wife was at the lunch,” Madison said.
Claire did.
Martin’s expression did not change, but
