Vanessa arrived twenty minutes late in yoga pants and oversized sunglasses. She didn’t acknowledge me. She walked straight up to Robert and kissed his cheek.
“This is ridiculous,” she said. “I already showed you the test.”
“It’s just a formality, babe,” Robert said. “For the landlord.”
She sighed theatrically. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
Nicole handed her the paperwork. Vanessa filled it out, rolled up her sleeve, and didn’t even flinch when the needle went in. I watched her the whole time. She smiled at the phlebotomist and made small talk about the weather.
She was good. I’ll give her that.
“Results in forty-eight hours,” Nicole said.
We got them in twenty-four.
Nicole called me at noon on July fifth.
“She’s not pregnant. Never was. The hCG levels are zero.”
I closed my eyes.
“Send the report to my email. And to Robert’s.”
“Already done.”
I hung up and waited.
Robert called thirty minutes later. He was crying.
“She lied. She lied about everything.”
“I know.”
“I confronted her. She said it was a miscarriage. That it happened yesterday and she didn’t want to tell me because I was already stressed.”
