Chapter 2 - The Box Beneath the Floor
Emily arrived forty-three minutes later.
She entered Caroline's hospital room looking as though she'd driven through a storm.
Her hair was messy.
Her coat was still buttoned incorrectly.
Her eyes were red.
She stopped beside the bed.
For several seconds, neither sister spoke.
Then Emily leaned forward.
Caroline expected her to cry.
Instead, Emily took her hand.
“I’m here.”
Those two words broke something inside Caroline.
She began sobbing.
Emily carefully bent over her.
“You don't have to be strong anymore.”
Caroline closed her eyes.
“I tried.”
“I know.”
“I thought if I stayed quiet, he'd stop.”
“I know.”
“I thought if I gave him a son…”
Her voice broke.
Emily's expression changed.
“Caroline.”
“I thought he'd finally love me.”
Emily shook her head.
“He never needed a reason to hurt you.”
Caroline looked at her.
“He blamed me.”
“I know.”
“He said I was defective.”
“I know.”
“He said my body killed our babies.”
Emily's face went pale.
“Our babies?”
Caroline nodded.
“That's what the doctor said.”
Emily looked toward the physician.
The doctor entered quietly.
“I need to tell you both something.”
Caroline tightened her grip on Emily's hand.
The doctor placed several medical reports on the table.
“The earlier pregnancies weren't random miscarriages.”
Emily stared at her.
“What are you saying?”
The doctor hesitated.
“Based on the medical records we have recovered, Caroline experienced repeated trauma during pregnancy.”
Emily's face drained.
“Trauma?”
The doctor nodded.
“Several injuries were consistent with blunt force.”
Caroline whispered, “Luke.”
The doctor didn't answer directly.
But she didn't need to.
Emily covered her mouth.
Caroline remembered every night.
Every shove.
Every fall.
Every time Luke had kicked the bedroom door after discovering she was pregnant.
And every time he'd said:
“If you lose this baby, it's because you weren't good enough.”
Caroline had believed him.
Until now.
The doctor continued.
“The current imaging also showed something unusual.”
Caroline looked up.
“What?”
“There is evidence that your reproductive organs suffered previous injuries.”
Emily stared at the doctor.
“From what?”
The doctor looked at Caroline.
“Repeated physical trauma.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Caroline whispered:
“How many?”
The doctor understood.
“How many pregnancies?”
Caroline nodded.
“We can confirm at least three pregnancies from the records.”
Emily began crying again.
“All boys?”
The doctor slowly nodded.
Caroline closed her eyes.
Three sons.
Three tiny lives.
Three children Luke had demanded.
And three children he had taken from her.
But there was another revelation.
The doctor picked up another document.
“This was found in your old records.”
Caroline opened her eyes.
The doctor handed it to her.
At the bottom was a doctor's signature.
Above it was a sentence Caroline had never seen.
Patient reports being physically assaulted by spouse during pregnancy. Patient fears for her safety.
Caroline stared at the page.
“I never said that.”
The doctor looked confused.
“It was documented.”
Caroline's breathing quickened.
“Luke was in the room.”
Emily understood immediately.
“He intimidated the doctor.”
“No,” Caroline whispered.
She remembered that appointment.
Luke had sat beside her.
He had held her wrist beneath the desk.
She had wanted to speak.
She had opened her mouth.
And Luke had squeezed harder.
The doctor at the time had asked:
“Is everything okay at home?”
Caroline had looked at Luke.
Then she had said yes.
But apparently the doctor had written down the truth anyway.
Caroline looked at Emily.
“The box.”
Emily nodded.
“I'll get it.”
“Don't go alone.”
“I won't.”
Caroline grabbed her sister's sleeve.
“Emily.”
“Yes?”
“If Luke comes back…”
Emily squeezed her hand.
“He won't.”
But neither of them knew yet that Luke had already made a phone call from the hospital.
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And the person he called wasn't a lawyer.
It was his mother.
