When I was five months pregnant, Derek Weston sent his beautiful personal assistant to me with an envelope of cash. There wasn’t even enough to cover a consultation at a legitimate clinic. She told me Derek thought the pregnancy was affecting our intimacy, and that I should take the money and get rid of the baby.
I fled Chicago.
Six years later, Derek donated enough to a children and family aid center to build a new housing wing and fund its operations for years. My daughter and I were living there through its work-housing program; I was temping in the cafeteria. The program didn’t cover meals.
Maisie was trembling with hunger, her small hand reaching for half a grilled cheese sandwich someone had left on a tray.
I blinked hard and caught her hand.
“Just wait a little longer, baby. Mommy will buy you some bread after work.”
Someone behind me called my name.
“Erin Collins?”
I turned.
Derek stood a few steps away, looking down at me, his expression devoid of warmth.
And then, all at once, a voice flooded my mind.
[She’s alive. She’s really alive. That child is mine, isn’t she?]
[Why are they dressed like this? Why is my daughter picking through other people’s leftovers?]
I stared at Derek’s cold face, certain I was hallucinating.
He looked at me, his jaw clenched.
“Why are you here? What happened to the money I sent you?”
His voice was ice, but the thoughts crashing through his head were chaotic.
[Did she give it all to that painter?]
[I want to hold her. I can’t. She’ll push me away. Damn it, what am I even supposed to say?]
Maisie clutched my leg, peeking out from behind me.
“Mommy, is he the bad daddy who gave you one thin envelope and didn’t want us anymore?”
He Accused Me Of Stealing But I Heard The Truth Chapter 54 No one corrected her. In three years, he had never missed a single scheduled visit and had never shown up at her school or the hospital without permission. He asked if she wanted to see Margaret, and he accepted it when she said
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He Accused Me Of Stealing But I Heard The Truth Chapter 53 Three years later, I became a full-time family resource coordinator at the children’s hospital. My desk wasn’t large, but my top drawer always held a few bus cards, meal vouchers, and color-coded application forms. Whenever a parent asked, “What else do I need
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He Accused Me Of Stealing But I Heard The Truth Chapter 52 [Remember this. Not because you paid for it, and not because you’re her father. But because she wanted to.] A few seconds later, Maisie patted his back. “That’s enough.” He let go at once. “Thank you.” She ran off to get a juice
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He Accused Me Of Stealing But I Heard The Truth Chapter 51 After the activity, the other parents took their children into the hallway for snacks. He remained seated, waiting for us to approach. “Your drawing was very good,” he said to Maisie. “Maria’s bread was the best part,” she replied. “Yes.” She dug a
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He Accused Me Of Stealing But I Heard The Truth Chapter 50 Derek arrived twenty minutes early for the family open house. True to his word, he sat alone in the last row of the classroom. The teacher had the children present their drawings of “My Home.” In Maisie’s picture, there was a yellow house.
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He Accused Me Of Stealing But I Heard The Truth Chapter 49 I looked at the line of trays in the cafeteria. “Then change the rules.” Later, the program added a new policy: children living in transitional housing could receive three meals a day, regardless of whether their parent worked in the cafeteria. Maria handed
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He Accused Me Of Stealing But I Heard The Truth Chapter 48 I paid off my credit cards and the lingering medical debts first, then bought a modest condo situated between Maisie’s school and the hospital. Two bedrooms. The kitchen window faced east. The first time Maisie stepped inside, she ran three circles around the
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He Accused Me Of Stealing But I Heard The Truth Chapter 47 The civil settlement took four months to finalize. My lawyer insisted that the returned relocation funds, the accrued interest, the losses caused by identity fraud, and Weston Group’s own liability all be calculated as separate items. The corporation could not package money that
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He Accused Me Of Stealing But I Heard The Truth Chapter 46 I also wrote about the fire escape. “When I jumped from that second-story window, I didn’t know if my baby would survive, or where I would land.” “Rachel Lane had six years after that moment to return the money, correct the records, or
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He Accused Me Of Stealing But I Heard The Truth Chapter 45 The jury took six hours. When the verdict was read, I was holding the little paper boat Maisie had given me. Its edges were soft from being kept in my coat pocket for so long. Fraud: guilty. Identity theft and forgery: guilty. Embezzlement:
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