Chapter 1
Ciera
I sat there staring at my phone, tears rolling down my face.
Where could Jim possibly be?
My hands were shaking as I grabbed my baby's diaper bag. My son was only two months old, and his father had been completely unreachable for four days.
That wasn't like Jim.
We would FaceTime throughout the day, especially since the baby was born. Jim always wanted to see his son, even when we were arguing or going through one of our rough patches.
But now...
Nothing.
I had called his phone so many times I had lost count.
Straight to voicemail.
I had spoken to his friends.
Nobody had heard from him.
I called his job.
They hadn't seen him.
I even called his mama, Ms. Dee, but she wasn't giving me any answers.
Something wasn't right.
Was he cheating on me?
Did something happen to him?
Was he hurt?
My mind was running a million miles a minute.
Jim and I had been on and off for five years. We had our problems, but disappearing like this wasn't something he did.
Especially not now.
Not when we had a newborn son.
I picked up my phone and sent Ms. Dee a text.
Ciera: I'm coming over. We need to figure out what's going on. I'm ready to file a missing person's report.
A few minutes later, my phone rang.
My heart jumped.
I thought it was Jim.
But it was Ms. Dee.
I answered immediately.
"Hello?"
"Ciera, what are you doing?"
"What do you mean? I'm trying to find Jim!"
"You don't need to be calling the police."
"Why not?"
There was a long silence.
Then she finally said,
"Because Jim isn't missing."
I froze.
"What?"
"He's at the hospital."
My heart dropped.
"The hospital?! Why? What happened to him?"
"He'll be okay."
"Ms. Dee, that's not an answer! What happened?"
"I can't explain everything over the phone."
"Then explain something!"
She sighed.
"Just come to my house."
I grabbed my baby's diaper bag.
"Why won't you just tell me what's going on?"
"Ciera..."
Her voice became quiet.
"You need to talk to Jim."
I stopped moving.
"Talk to Jim?"
"Yes."
"Is he awake?"
"Yes."
"Can I see him?"
Another pause.
"Yes."
"Then why didn't anybody tell me he was in the hospital for four days?!"
"I told you, Ciera. You need to talk to Jim."
There was something in her voice.
Something she wasn't telling me.
"Ms. Dee, what's going on?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"Because it's not my story to tell."
I felt my stomach twist.
"What does that even mean?"
She didn't answer.
"Just come to the house," she said. "We'll go to the hospital together."
Then she hung up.
I stood there staring at my phone.
It's not my story to tell.
What the hell did that mean?
I picked up my son and held him against my chest.
"Mommy's gonna find Daddy," I whispered.
But deep down, I was terrified of what I was about to find.
When I arrived at Ms. Dee's house, she was already waiting outside.
The second I got out of the car, I rushed toward her.
"Where is he?"
"He's at the hospital."
"Why?"
She looked at me.
"Ciera, I already told you. You need to talk to Jim."
I shook my head.
"You keep saying that, but nobody is telling me anything!"
She walked over and hugged me.
I stood there stiffly, confused and angry.
"Is he really okay?"
"Yes."
"Then why do I feel like something is wrong?"
She pulled away from me and looked into my eyes.
"Because something is wrong."
My heart sank.
"What?"
She looked away.
"I can't tell you."
I stared at her.
"Ms. Dee, please. I'm his woman. I'm the mother of his child. I deserve to know what's going on."
She wiped a tear from her cheek.
"You do."
"Then tell me!"
She shook her head.
"Jim needs to tell you himself."
I felt tears building in my eyes.
"What could possibly be so bad that you can't tell me?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she grabbed her purse and walked toward her car.
"Come on."
I followed her, my mind racing.
The entire drive to the hospital, I couldn't stop thinking.
Maybe Jim had been in an accident.
Maybe somebody hurt him.
Maybe he was sick.
But then another thought entered my mind.
What if he did something?
What if the reason he disappeared wasn't because he was hurt?
What if he was hiding something from me?
When we finally arrived at the hospital, Ms. Dee parked the car.
I looked at the building in front of me.
My heart was pounding.
I grabbed my baby's diaper bag and followed her inside.
We walked down a long hallway until we reached the elevators.
I pressed the button.
Ms. Dee stood beside me silently.
"Which floor?"
"Fourth."
I pressed the button.
The elevator doors opened.
We stepped inside.
I looked at her.
"Ms. Dee..."
She wouldn't look at me.
"Is there somebody else here?"
She finally looked at me.
"What makes you ask that?"
"I don't know. I just feel like you're hiding something."
She swallowed hard.
Then the elevator doors opened.
She stepped out.
"Ciera..."
"What?"
She turned around.
"Whatever Jim tells you..."
She paused.
"...please let him explain before you make any decisions."
My heart started pounding.
"Decisions about what?"
She didn't answer.
She just started walking.
I followed her down the hallway until we stopped outside a hospital room.
She put her hand on the door handle.
I looked at her.
"Is Jim in there?"
She nodded.
I took a deep breath.
"Okay."
She opened the door.
I stepped inside.
And there he was.
Jim.
Lying in the hospital bed.
Alive.
My heart immediately broke with relief.
"Jim..."
His eyes met mine.
But instead of smiling when he saw me, his face filled with guilt.
I walked closer.
"Why didn't you call me?"
He looked down.
"Where have you been?"
Silence.
"Jim, I've been worried sick about you."
He still wouldn't look at me.
Then I noticed something.
There was a woman's purse sitting on the chair beside his hospital bed.
I stopped.
I looked at the purse.
Then at Jim.
"Who is that?"
Jim's face went pale.
Ms. Dee immediately looked away.
I felt my heart start pounding.
"Jim..."
He finally looked at me.
"Ciera, there's something I need to tell you."
My eyes filled with tears.
"What?"
He took a deep breath.
"I didn't want you to find out like this."
My stomach dropped.
"Find out what?"
Before he could answer, the hospital room door opened.
A nurse walked in holding a small baby.
"Mr. Johnson?"
Jim looked at the baby.
Then he looked at me.
And in that moment, I knew...
Whatever he was about to say was going to change everything.
