“Anyway, enough of me. Thank you for coming to our breakfast.” Piper did that prayer-hands thing again. “Thank you for being part of our tribe. And enjoy the breakfast! Please, stay as long as you like! Mingle and meet—I always say that Silver Swans parents are the best this town has to offer.”

Everyone smiled and clapped as Piper waved and exited the building—quickly, like she had somewhere important to be. Ronnie, Lauren, and Andrea applauded: they still felt full of hope, like they were accepted members of this shiny group.

Little did they know that what was going to happen next had already been put into motion. Someone watching had already made up their mind. The notes came so soon afterward, after all.

Someone in the room was already preparing a plan.

Two

A half hour later, after the breakfast ended, Lauren went to pick up her son from the nursery. This morning was just a trial run at Silver Swans, only an hour of time for the teachers and kids to meet one another.

Piper had vanished, but her assistant, Carson, stood at the big red door that led to the classroom building, trafficking families along. Bizarre that this dude would want to work at a preschool, Lauren thought as she stood in line at the door. But then, maybe he just wanted to work with Piper. That woman sure did have a fan club.

Ahead of Lauren, moms were chatting like old friends, which made her feel lonely. She looked around for the drinking buddies she’d made inside, but they’d gotten lost in the throng. And . . . were some of the moms looking at her strangely? She glanced down and mentally compared her wrinkled skirt to the polished outfits on everyone around her. She hadn’t known this was going to be such a fashion show. You’d think after so many people lost their life savings and jobs, people wouldn’t care about fashion as much.

She also couldn’t help but notice how many couples there were—moms and dads. She glanced over her shoulder for her husband, Graham, and could just make out his head through the windows of her car. Still on the phone! He was going to miss out on picking up his son for the first time. Graham was missing out on everything. Even Matthew’s birth, for God’s sake: Lauren’s water broke while Graham was out of town for work, and her labor progressed so quickly that he couldn’t get back in time. As the contractions came on stronger, sad-eyed nurses hovered over Lauren, their pity palpable.