The nurse’s warning whispered in my ear still haunted me: “Ask your son what happened at 3:00 AM.” Moments later, I eavesdropped on his panicked phone call on the fire escape: “If the police find out, we’re ruined.” My hands shook as I unlocked his briefcase in his office. The horrific adoption contract inside changed everything…

“What is it?”

He slowly looked up at me, his eyes wide with a terror so profound it made my blood run cold.

“It’s Elise,” he whispered. “She says… she says she can’t do it. She says she’s keeping him.”

Panic is a physical entity. It has teeth, and it bites down hard on your spine.

“Call the police,” I commanded, spinning toward the officer who was still continue reading …