AT MY DAD’S WEDDING, I POINTED AT HIS PREGNANT BRIDE AND SCREAMED, “THAT BABY ISN’T YOURS!”—I WAS ONLY 6, BUT WHAT I SAW 11 NIGHTS EARLIER MADE HER TURN DEATHLY PALE!

Harper came to Nina's office carrying a paper grocery bag. She wore a loose blue sweater instead of silk and had dark circles beneath her eyes. Joyce wasn't with her. Neither was Silas.

Nina reminded Harper she represented Daniel. Harper called her own lawyer before agreeing to give a written statement.

"Silas and I were together before I met Daniel," she began. "We broke up. Then Bellweather ran into trouble, and I let him convince me we could fix it."

"By using my company?" Daniel asked.

"By making you an investor. That's what I told myself." Her hands folded over the bag. "I knew the guarantee wasn't approved. I gave him the documents he needed. I told myself we'd get the real signature after the ceremony."

"And the baby?"

Harper looked at her lap. "The timing points to Silas. I told him that during the storm. I should have told you before I ever said yes to your proposal."

The words hurt less than the sight of Lucía at the altar. Daniel couldn't explain why.

"Did you threaten my daughter?"

"Yes." Harper cried then, quietly, without asking anyone to comfort her. "I told her your heart couldn't take another loss. It was cruel. I wanted her silent."

"She thought she'd kill me by telling the truth."

Harper covered her face. "I know."

She emptied the grocery bag. It contained invoices, her messages with Silas, and a worn appointment card. A small bottle of ordinary pregnancy supplements rolled onto the table. "These spilled when she caught us. I was looking for them when I saw her on the stairs."

There was no frightening secret in the pills, only one more proof that a child had witnessed an adult panic.