Chapter 10
Linda’s trial began when Noah was eight months old.
He had two teeth and a laugh that made strangers smile.
Emily had started sleeping through the night again.
I had stopped flinching at hospital shows on television.
Mostly.
The courtroom brought it all back.
The cold floor.
The shoes.
The words.
She should be ready now.
Leonard Voss took a plea deal.
He testified that Linda hired him to sedate me and transfer Noah to a private home nurse.
He claimed he did not know the papers were forged.
No one believed that.
The prosecutor showed texts.
Linda had written:
Sarah is weak after labor. Emily is dramatic. Michael will fold once the baby is with me.
Michael sat behind me.
I heard him inhale sharply.
Another text:
The boy must be raised correctly from the first day.
Then:
I will not lose another Carter man to a woman who already brought someone else’s child into our family.
Emily.
She meant Emily.
My daughter had been eight years old, and Linda had already marked her as an intruder.
When I testified, Linda watched me like I was a disobedient maid.
The prosecutor asked why I hid under the bed.
May you like
I looked at the jury.
“Because my daughter was terrified. And because every instinct in me said she was telling the truth.”
