The next image appeared. A high-resolution photo of the pink note.
Consider yourself the babysitter. Tomorrow is my wedding anniversary party… I can’t deal with this right now.
The words loomed over the crowd, ten feet tall. The “casual” handwriting looked grotesque when magnified.
“No,” Jennifer whispered. She stood up, knocking her chair over. “No! Turn it off! Turn it off!”
“It’s not what you think!” she screamed, addressing the room, her hands flailing. “She… she doctored it! Caroline is jealous! She’s always been jealous of me!”
At that moment, as if on cue, the baby on my chest woke up.
She didn’t cry. She lifted her head. She looked around the glittering room, her eyes wide. Then, she saw Jennifer.
She let out a sound. A clear, happy, recognition sound. She reached her tiny, chubby arms out toward the woman in the blue dress.
“Mama,” the baby gurgled. It wasn’t a word, just a sound, but the intent was unmistakable.
The silence that followed was heavy enough to crush bones.
Chapter 4: The Shattered Tiara
Jennifer froze. Her hand was outstretched, pointing at me, but now it trembled uncontrollably. The lie died in her throat.
Michael dropped his champagne glass. It hit the marble floor and shattered, the sound like a gunshot. Champagne splattered onto the hem of Jennifer’s twenty-thousand-dollar dress.
