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.”
“Robert, the report says she was never pregnant. Not two months ago. Not yesterday. Not ever.”
