Chapter 2: The Secret Richard Buried
Emma rushed back inside with the baby in her arms.
The hospital staff panicked.
Doctors came running.
The baby was examined immediately.
Alive.
Healthy.
Just cold and dehydrated.
But Emma could not stop thinking about Quincy’s words.
This happened before.
She found him sitting alone in the waiting room.
“Quincy.”
The boy looked up.
Emma sat beside him.
“Tell me everything.”
Quincy’s hands trembled.
“I wasn’t supposed to know.”
“Know what?”
He looked toward the hallway.
“Grandma did it before.”
Emma froze.
“Before?”
Quincy nodded.
“When my little sister was born.”
Emma stared at him.
Richard’s daughter.
Before Emma.
“What happened to her?”
Quincy looked down.
“Dad said she died.”
A terrible feeling filled Emma’s chest.
“Did you see her?”
Quincy shook his head.
“But I heard her cry.”
Silence.
A seven-year-old boy had carried this secret alone.
Emma realized something.
Quincy wasn’t just telling the truth.
He was the only witness.
Then Richard appeared.
His face was full of anger.
“Emma, give me the baby.”
She stood immediately.
“No.”
Richard stopped.
“She is my daughter.”
Emma held the baby tighter.
“And you left her to die.”
His expression cracked.
“I didn’t know.”
Quincy suddenly stood.
“Yes, you did.”
Richard looked at him.
“Quincy…”
The boy’s eyes filled with tears.
“You knew Grandma was taking babies.”
Richard went silent.
Emma felt sick.
“Richard?”
He looked broken.
“I thought my mother was protecting the family.”
“What does that mean?”
Richard looked away.
“Years ago, my father left when my sister was born with health problems.”
Emma frowned.
“So?”
“My mother believed weak children brought shame.”
The truth was horrifying.
Margaret had been hiding children she considered imperfect.
Not because they were sick.
Because she believed they damaged the family image.
Emma looked at her daughter.
A baby who had already been judged before she had a chance to live.
Then the police arrived.
Because Quincy had secretly recorded Margaret admitting everything.
The hospital staff heard it.
The evidence was enough.
Margaret was arrested.
But before she was taken away, she looked at Emma.
“You think you won?”
Emma held her daughter.
“No.”
May you like
She looked at Quincy.
“We survived.”
