Daniel stayed beside her through every X-ray and every question.
There was no fracture.
Her right wrist was badly bruised, and she had a scrape across her knee.
The doctor was more concerned about the bruise developing along her shoulder and ordered additional imaging.
Fortunately, there was no serious injury.
“She’s lucky,” Dr. Lawson told Daniel quietly outside the examination room.
Daniel glanced through the doorway.
Emily was sitting on the hospital bed, holding a small stuffed bear a nurse had given her.
“How lucky?”
“If she fell down as many stairs as you described, very lucky.”
Daniel looked at him.
“I didn’t describe how many.”
The doctor frowned.
“I thought your wife told registration she fell from near the middle landing.”
Daniel felt a chill.
“My wife isn’t here.”
The doctor checked his notes.
“Someone called ahead. A woman identifying herself as the child’s mother.”
Daniel looked at his phone.
Four missed calls from Claire.
Three text messages.
Please call me.
You’re making this bigger than it is.
Emily was running. I don’t understand why you’re acting like I did something.
Daniel locked the screen without replying.
Dr. Lawson studied him.
“Is there something I should know?”
“I don’t know yet.”
The doctor nodded slowly.
“I’m required to ask Emily some questions privately.”
Daniel understood.
He did not like leaving her, but he understood.
“Of course.”
A pediatric nurse stayed with the doctor.
Daniel waited outside.
Those twelve minutes felt longer than the five-hour flight he had taken that morning.
His mind moved backward through the previous two years.
Claire had entered his life when Emily was four.
Daniel’s first wife, Rachel, had died from complications following an aggressive illness when Emily was only two.
For nearly eighteen months after Rachel’s death, Daniel had barely functioned outside of work and fatherhood.
He managed Whitmore Development, the real-estate company his grandfather had founded in 1968.
The company employed more than eight hundred people across the southeastern United States.
Daniel could walk into a conference room and negotiate a hundred-million-dollar deal without hesitation.
But learning how to raise a toddler alone had terrified him.
He learned.
He learned to braid hair badly, then adequately, then surprisingly well.
He learned which cereal bowl Emily preferred.
He learned the names of every princess in every animated movie she loved.
He rearranged meetings around preschool performances.
He slept on the floor beside her bed when thunderstorms frightened her.
For a long time, Daniel had no interest in dating.
Then he met Claire.
She was elegant, intelligent, patient.
At least, that was what Daniel believed.
They met at a museum fundraiser in Atlanta.
Claire never seemed intimidated by his wealth.
She had her own career in interior design.
She talked to him about books instead of business.
Most importantly, she appeared to adore Emily.
Daniel remembered their third date.
He had been unable to find a babysitter.
He offered to cancel.
Claire suggested they take Emily to the aquarium instead.
They spent three hours looking at sharks.
Emily held Claire’s hand.
That night, after Daniel put his daughter to bed, Emily asked, “Is Miss Claire coming back?”
Daniel smiled at the memory.
At the time, he had interpreted it as proof he had chosen correctly.
Now he began questioning every memory.
Had Claire really wanted Emily at the aquarium?
Or had she understood that winning Daniel meant winning his daughter first?
The examination-room door opened.
Dr. Lawson stepped outside.
His expression was different now.
More serious.
“Mr. Whitmore.”
Daniel stood.
“Is she okay?”
“Physically, yes.”
The doctor closed the door behind him.
“I think you should speak with our pediatric social worker.”
Daniel’s stomach tightened.
“What did Emily say?”
“I would prefer that she tell you herself when she’s ready. But there are enough concerns that we need to document what she told us.”
Daniel felt the corridor narrowing around him.
“Did someone hurt her?”
The doctor did not answer directly.
“She described being frightened at home.”
Daniel stared at him.
“By Claire?”