His 47 Seconds Of Silence Cost Him Everything Chapter 03
Three days later, Evan showed up with Linda and Mark.
They promised that the family weekend at Lake Lanier would involve no filming and no more pranks.
“Jude keeps asking why you aren’t coming,” Linda said, taking my hand. “Don’t let adult conflicts affect the child. You’re his favorite bonus mom. You should be the bigger person for his sake.”
I wanted to refuse.
But Evan showed me a family portrait Jude had drawn. In it, I was standing beside him, with “Bonus Mom Mara” written in crayon over my head.
In the end, I got in the car.
When we reached the lakeside cabin, Cassidy had already set up the grill.
The moment she saw me, she gave me a loaded smile.
“Jude can like a lot of people, but he only has one mother.”
She deliberately bumped my shoulder as she passed.
“Today will be a good chance to show everyone the difference between being liked and being loved.”
“Cassidy,” I said, stopping. “You promised there wouldn’t be any tests today.”
“Of course not.” She spread her hands. “We’re just talking. Don’t be so tense.”
Linda immediately stepped in to smooth things over. “We finally got everyone out here together. Don’t ruin the mood over one little comment.”
Mark frowned, too. “Cassidy is Jude’s biological mother. A little understanding won’t kill you.”
Evan didn’t look at me. He just told me to go around back and bring out the food for the barbecue.
“Stop arguing. For Jude’s sake, let’s just get through the day.”
When I returned with the tray, the dock had gone eerily silent.
“Where’s Jude?”
No one answered.
I set down the tray and hurried toward the water.
A blue sneaker lay on its side on the wooden planks.
Farther out, Jude’s yellow life jacket was floating on the lake’s surface.
Cassidy let out a piercing scream and collapsed.
“He fell in!”
She covered her face, her sobs hysterical.
“He was just here! How is he gone? My baby!”
Evan ran to the edge of the dock, his face stricken with panic as he scanned the water.
Linda pointed toward the boat ramp. “Mara, you love Jude the most, don’t you? Go find him!”
Mark urged me on. “You’re closest to the water. Hurry!”
My mind went blank.
“Jude!”
I bolted down the dock and sprinted toward the water along the slick concrete boat ramp.
My shoe slipped.
I pitched forward, my abdomen slamming into the raised concrete edge.
Pain exploded through me.
For a few seconds, I couldn’t even breathe.
Then a warm liquid began to run down my thigh.
I looked down and saw red blooming across my light-colored pants. My whole body started to shake.
“Evan…”
He ran to my side. I grabbed his pant leg, my fingers already weak.
“An ambulance… call an ambulance…”
His hand had just touched my shoulder when a head popped out from the cabin of a yacht moored nearby.
Jude grinned.
“Surprise!”
Evan let go of me instantly and turned toward him.
Cassidy sprang up from the ground, not a trace of tears on her face.
“It worked! I told you she’d run for it!”
Linda and Mark crowded around Jude, hugging and kissing him as they laughed.
“Our little actor did an amazing job!”
Cassidy lifted her phone and aimed it at me, crumpled on the boat ramp.
“Bonus Mom Test: Passed! She really was willing to jump in the lake for Jude!”
“Don’t film…”
My voice was a faint whisper.
I braced a bloodied hand against the ground and tried to push myself up.
“Evan, I’m bleeding. Our baby…”
No one heard me.
Or no one wanted to.
Linda glanced back and said impatiently, “Enough already. Stop pretending. Come look at Jude. He hid in that cabin for half an hour so you could prove your motherly love.”
My vision slowly faded to black.
The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was all of them gathered around Jude, replaying the video of me on their phones.
When I woke up, I was in a hospital.
The doctor stood by my bed, his voice gentle.
“Mrs. Hale-Reed, you were eleven weeks pregnant.”
I stared at him, waiting for the rest.
“The impact to your abdomen caused a miscarriage. I’m very sorry. We couldn’t save the baby.”
I laid a hand over my stomach.
It still ached.
But it was empty.
My tears slipped silently into the pillow.
The door to my room never opened.
A nurse told me that the people who brought me in had left only a contact number before leaving. Evan and his parents were still at the lake with Cassidy and Jude, who were “badly shaken.”
My phone lit up.
A message from Evan.
*I heard you’re just bruised from the fall. Rest up and come back when you’re feeling better.*
*Don’t forget to thank Cassidy. She planned this whole thing because she wanted everyone to know you really do love Jude.*
I looked at the screen for a long time, then turned it off.
I handled my own discharge paperwork.
Before leaving the hospital, I called my lawyer.
“Send him the papers.”
That night, Cassidy held a celebratory dinner at a lakeside restaurant.
While they were raising their glasses to the successful shoot, Evan received an email from my lawyer.
He opened the attachment, and the smile froze on his face.
There were two documents.
One was the divorce agreement.
The other was the emergency room report detailing my miscarriage.
Eleven weeks pregnant. Miscarriage caused by blunt force trauma to the abdomen.