Chapter 2 - The Perfect Uncle
The waiting game was pure torture.
Every minute felt like an hour.
The monitors beeped in a steady, rhythmic rhythm.
Lily had drifted off to sleep, exhausted by the medication.
I paced the length of the small room.
My mind raced through the last two years.
I thought about every time Michael had offered to help with Lily.
I thought about every time he had "accidentally" lost her homework.
I thought about the time he left the front door wide open when I was at work.
Evelyn had used that incident to call Child Protective Services.
I had blamed a faulty lock.
I had been such a fool.
The door handle slowly turned.
I stopped pacing and held my breath.
Michael walked into the room.
He looked completely disheveled.
His hair was messy, and his shirt was untucked.
He was playing the part of the frantic family member perfectly.
“Daniel!” he gasped.
He rushed forward and pulled me into a tight hug.
I forced myself not to pull away.
I forced myself to pat his back.
“I’m so sorry, man,” Michael whispered.
“I came as fast as I could.”
He pulled back and looked at the hospital bed.
“How is she?”
“She’s stable,” I said quietly.
Michael let out a heavy sigh of relief.
It sounded incredibly genuine.
If I hadn’t seen his signature on those court documents, I would have believed him.
“What exactly happened?” Michael asked.
He walked toward the bed, reaching a hand out to touch Lily’s hair.
I stepped in his way.
I didn’t want him anywhere near my daughter.
“Evelyn gave her a dessert with peanuts,” I said bluntly.
Michael’s eyes widened in fake shock.
“What?”
“That’s impossible.”
“Evelyn knows about the allergy.”
“Yes,” I agreed slowly. “She does.”
“Where was the EpiPen?” Michael asked.
His eyes darted around the room, taking in every detail.
“I had it in my jacket,” I lied.
“But I couldn’t find it in the panic.”
Michael shook his head, looking deeply sympathetic.
“Daniel, buddy.”
“You have to be more careful.”
“Evelyn was furious,” he continued, shaking his head.
“She’s going to use this against you.”
“I know,” I said.
“In fact, Evelyn was just here.”
Michael froze.
His eyes locked onto mine.
“She was here?”
“Where did she go?”
Before I could answer, the bathroom door opened.
Detective Collins stepped out.
She had taken off her police badge and hidden her radio.
She looked like a standard hospital administrator.
“Excuse me,” Collins said smoothly.
“Are you Michael Hart?”
Michael blinked, caught entirely off guard.
“Yes.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m with the hospital’s risk management team.”
Collins walked toward him with a clipboard.
“We need the next of kin to sign some preliminary insurance paperwork.”
Michael relaxed slightly.
“Of course.”
“Whatever you need.”
May you like
He reached for the pen.
He had no idea he was walking right into the snare.
