Chapter 3 - THE MESSAGE
Lucas opened Hannah’s phone with her permission.
At first, there was nothing strange.
Then he searched her deleted messages.
His heart dropped.
Three nights earlier, at 2:14 a.m., Hannah’s account had sent a message to Evelyn.
I wish Sophie would stop crying forever. Sometimes I think everyone would be better without me.
Lucas felt cold.
“I never wrote that,” Hannah said.
He checked the timestamp.
That night, Hannah had been asleep beside him by eleven.
“You’re sure?”
Her eyes flashed. “Do not ask me that like I don’t know my own words.”
“I’m sorry.”
Sophie stirred in the hospital bassinet. Hannah immediately reached over and rested a hand against the baby’s chest.
Lucas scrolled farther.
Another message.
I’m scared I might lose control.
Then another.
Maybe your mom is right. Maybe I’m not made for this.
All sent after midnight.
All to Evelyn.
Hannah covered her mouth.
“She’s building a story.”
Lucas wanted to reject the idea because rejecting it meant his mother was still simply difficult, not dangerous.
But he had seen her hands in Hannah’s hair.
He had seen the unplugged monitor.
Officer Reyes returned to take a formal statement. Lucas showed him the messages.
“Don’t delete anything,” Reyes said. “Screenshot them, but keep the originals.”
Hannah nodded.
A nurse entered with discharge instructions, then hesitated.
“Mrs. Mercer, your bloodwork is back.”
Hannah looked up. “Is something wrong?”
The nurse glanced at Lucas, then at the chart.
“The doctor wants to talk to you about your sedative level.”
“I don’t take sedatives.”
The room went silent.
“You were prescribed a low-dose sleep aid after delivery,” Lucas said slowly.
Hannah shook her head. “I stopped taking it ten days ago.”
The nurse’s expression tightened.
“Well,” she said, “there’s enough in your system to suggest you took some tonight.”
Hannah looked at Lucas.
Lucas remembered the mug beside the nursery chair.
May you like
Chamomile tea.
Made by Evelyn.
