“That’s what I meant when I said Chance saved me. I was so scared what I had done, what I put my body through might have hurt him. When the doctors–Ted–assured me he was okay, I was so relieved. I already loved my baby so much.” I stare down at my hands in my lap, allowing my hair to fall over my shoulder, providing me with some privacy. “Then I realized…” My throat constricts with shame. “I didn’t know if…I couldn’t be sure you were the father,” I whisper.

“Baby, come here.” This time, I allow Z to wrap me up in his arms and pull me closer. He kisses the top of my head. “I wouldn’t have cared, Lilly. I just wanted you.”

“It mattered to me. I didn’t know what to do.”

“You should’ve told me.” His anguished voice doesn’t make this any easier. “So I could help you.”

“How? How could I explain that?”

He pushes me back gently to look me in the eyes. “You should have told me everything.”

“How could I? What would you have done?”

“Killed the motherfucker,” he says simply.

“See?” I push my way out of his hold and sit back. “I knew that’s what your answer would be. What you’d try to do.”

He shakes his head and jumps up, pacing in front of me. “Try nothing.”

“Are you going to let me finish?”

He stops pacing and stares at me, as if he’s surprised there’s more to the story.

“The night it happened. At the hospital, the police came and spoke to me. I didn’t shy away or hide who did it. Sure, in the back of my head, I worried someone would try to cover it up because he was a Senator. But I told myself that was stupid. That this is the real world and he wouldn’t get away with what he’d done.”

Z stares at me.

“Trust me, I understand now how foolish that was. In hindsight, I think I was in shock.”

“Who came?”

“First Empire PD, but then they kicked it up to the State Police.”

“Do you remember who?”

That murderous gleam in Z’s eyes melts my heart but also scares me to death. “Give it a rest, Z. They listened and took me seriously. At least I thought so at the time.”

“What changed?”

“An investigator from the US Attorney’s office showed up at my house the next morning.”

“What? Why?”

“Do you remember the leader of the Senate, Shane Kelly, the one who was forced to resign after he and a small group of other senators were arrested on federal corruption charges?”

“Yeah, a few were from the city and one was from western New York, right?”