A baby.

She rested her hand on her abdomen, even though there was nothing to feel yet. She imagined it, nestled inside her, relying on her for everything.

What was she going to do?

How could she leave the hospital when she was so weak she could barely cross the room without needing help? There was no way she could travel, and the nurse had told her that a group of reporters and photographers had been watching the entrance of the hospital for days, waiting for her to emerge. One had been caught prowling the corridors and been forcibly ejected by security.

The police had interviewed her again, and she’d told them what she could. She told them that she’d met Cliff before, that he’d asked her to take a drive with him, that her name was Ashley Blake and that she’d recently arrived in LA looking for a fresh start after the death of her mother. All of it was true.

She’d described the moments before the crash. The police had asked her to recall the conversation and she’d told them that she couldn’t remember exactly. They’d been chatting about nothing in particular, which was definitely untrue but she didn’t see how the truth was going to help Cliff now. He was gone, and she needed to protect herself and her baby. She didn’t want the media delving into her life. She needed to lie low while she made a new plan. So far she was out of inspiration.

Gingerly, treating her body like a fragile object that could break any moment, she slid back into bed and closed her eyes.

She opened them an hour later to find a nurse hovering over her.

“Ashley? You have a visitor.”

Her heart plummeted. “Not the police again? There’s nothing more I can tell them.”

“Not the police. A friend.”

Friend? Her friends didn’t even know where she was and since she’d lost her phone in the accident she hadn’t been able to contact them.

Ashley was about to tell the nurse that she didn’t want to talk to anyone when a figure appeared in the doorway. She wore a large sun hat and her hair, blonde, poured over her shoulders. She looked as if she was ready for the beach.

Ashley stared, her mind blank. She didn’t know this person. Was she a photographer? No, there was no sign of a camera or even a phone. A reporter, muscling her way into the hospital by claiming to be Ashley’s friend? She looked more closely and decided there was something familiar about the woman’s face.

The nurse smiled at her. “I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.” She smiled at the woman on her way past and closed the door behind her.