Chapter 3 - TEN DAYS BEFORE THE BEDROOM
Ten days earlier, Lily stood in the nursery folding tiny blankets while Adam packed for a business trip.
At thirty-four weeks pregnant, she moved more slowly than she wanted to admit.
Her doctor had warned her to avoid stress and call immediately if she experienced severe pain, bleeding, or reduced movement from the baby.
Adam watched her place another blanket in the drawer.
“You should sit down.”
“I’ve been sitting all day.”
“My mother can stay here while I’m gone.”
Lily’s hands stopped.
“No.”
Adam sighed.
“Lily.”
“She doesn’t help. She watches me.”
“She worries.”
“She searches through our drawers.”
“She likes things organized.”
“She asked our building manager for access to our security system.”
Adam zipped his suitcase harder than necessary.
His mother, Margaret Cole, had always been difficult.
She criticized Lily’s clothes, career, friends, and even the way she planned to raise the baby.
But Adam still believed Margaret’s behavior came from loneliness after his father’s death.
“She’s intense,” he admitted. “But she would never hurt you.”
Lily looked toward him.
“You always say that before asking me to tolerate something else.”
The words stung because they were true.
Adam sat beside her.
“This trip is only three days. I’ll be back Thursday night.”
“You said Friday.”
“I moved the meetings.”
Lily softened.
Adam placed his hand on her stomach.
The baby kicked.
He smiled.
“See? She knows I’m coming home early.”
They had already chosen the name Rose, though they had told no one except Adam’s late father’s attorney.
Before leaving, Adam placed an emergency number beside the bed and asked the building concierge to check on Lily.
Then he made one mistake.
He gave Margaret the apartment’s backup access code.
“She’ll only use it if you need something,” he promised.
Lily stared at the code written on the card.
“She doesn’t wait until people need her.”
Adam kissed her forehead.
“I trust you.”
But he did not say the words Lily needed most.
I believe you.
After Adam left, Lily returned to the nursery.
A folder sat on the desk beside the baby books.
It contained financial records from the Cole Family Trust.
She had found a discrepancy that morning.
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Nearly four million dollars had disappeared while Margaret was in control.
👉 Lily had finally found proof that Margaret’s obsession with the baby was not about love—it was about what would happen to the family trust after Rose was born.
