Margaret gasped.
Evelyn’s face changed only for a second, but I saw it.
“Clara,” she said, with the kind of patience people use on children. “You fainted. You were freezing. You probably don’t remember clearly.”
“I remember you smiling.”
Daniel’s hand tightened around mine.
Evelyn stood. “Daniel, listen to me. She has been waiting for a chance to turn you against me. You know how dramatic she gets. She cried last month because I said the nursery looked unfinished.”
“You said it looked like we couldn’t afford a real baby room,” I whispered.
“Because you twisted it that way.”
“Enough,” Daniel said.
It was not loud, but the room stopped breathing.
Evelyn turned toward him, stunned.
He did not look away from her. “Clara said you locked the door.”
“And I said I didn’t.”
“She said you had her phone.”
For the first time, Evelyn blinked too quickly.
“What?”
I tried to sit up. Pain tightened across my abdomen, and the nurse who had been checking the monitor stepped forward.
“Please don’t move yet,” she said.
Daniel looked down at me. “Your phone was found under a coat by the service hallway. I thought you dropped it.”
“She had it,” I said. “She was deleting something.”
Evelyn laughed once, sharp and false. “That is insane. Why would I take her phone?”
The nurse’s expression shifted. She did not say anything, but she looked at Evelyn as if memorizing her face.
A knock came at the door before Daniel could answer.
A doctor entered, followed by a second nurse. He was a middle-aged man with tired eyes and a calm voice. The badge on his coat read Dr. Arjun Singh.
He looked at me first.
“Mrs. Bennett, I’m glad you’re awake. Your baby’s heart rate is stable right now, and your temperature has improved. We are still watching the contractions closely.”
I nodded, tears slipping into my hairline.
“There is something we need to discuss,” he said. His gaze moved over the room. “I need everyone except your husband to step outside for a few minutes.”
Evelyn straightened. “I’m her sister-in-law.”
Dr. Singh’s expression did not change. “Then you can wait outside.”
Margaret took one step toward the door, looking shaken. Paul followed. Evelyn did not move.
“This is ridiculous,” she said. “I was the one who told Daniel she was missing.”
Daniel turned slowly.
“No,” he said. “You told me she was probably resting in the lounge. My cousin found her shawl near the rooftop stairs. That’s why I went up.”
Evelyn opened her mouth. Closed it.
Paul came back and took his daughter by the elbow. “Outside.”
The door shut behind them.
The room felt smaller after they left.
Dr. Singh pulled a chair closer to my bed. “Mrs. Bennett, your initial bloodwork showed something unusual. There are traces of a sedating medication in your system. Not enough to be fatal, but enough to contribute to dizziness, confusion, reduced blood pressure, and vulnerability to collapse, especially combined with cold exposure and late pregnancy.”
Daniel stared at him.
“Medication?” he said. “She didn’t take anything. Clara is careful about everything. She calls her OB before taking cough drops.”
“I understand,” Dr. Singh said. “That is why I’m asking. Did you drink anything shortly before the incident?”
I closed my eyes.
