The nurse looked directly at me.
“I thought this was something you and your husband had already discussed.”
My heart began pounding.
“Discussed what?”
She glanced at Daniel.
Daniel slowly lowered his eyes.
Margaret stepped forward. “This is unnecessary.”
“No,” Daniel said quietly. “She deserves to know.”
The nurse placed the papers on the small table beside my bed.
“There was a request made before your delivery,” she said carefully. “Your mother-in-law contacted the hospital several days ago.”
I stared at Margaret.
“For what?”
The nurse swallowed.
“She asked whether your newborn could be placed temporarily under another family member’s care immediately after birth.”
The room went silent.
I looked at Daniel.
“You knew about this?”
“I found out tonight.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I was trying to stop it before you had to deal with it.”
My hands began trembling.
“Why would your mother want custody of my baby?”
Margaret’s expression changed.
For the first time, the confident woman I’d known for years looked frightened.
“She isn’t safe with you,” Margaret said.
I stared at her.
“What?”
“You’ve been exhausted. You had complications during pregnancy. Daniel works constantly. Someone needs to make sure the baby has stability.”
I almost laughed.
“You mean you.”
Margaret didn’t answer.
The nurse quietly opened the folder.
“There is something else.”
She pulled out a photocopy.
“This document was submitted to the hospital administration yesterday.”
I looked at it.
My name was printed at the top.
My signature appeared at the bottom.
But I had never seen the document before.
My blood ran cold.
“What is this?”
Daniel stepped beside me.
“A temporary guardianship authorization.”
I looked at him in disbelief.
“I never signed this.”
“I know.”
The nurse nodded.
“That was my concern.”
She pointed toward the signature.
“We compared it with the signature on your admission paperwork. They aren’t the same.”
Margaret suddenly became defensive.
“It was only a preliminary document.”
Daniel turned toward her.
“You forged her signature?”
“I was trying to protect my granddaughter!”
“You were trying to take my daughter!”
Margaret’s eyes filled with tears.
Then she said something that made the room completely still.
“You don’t understand what happened with Rebecca.”
Daniel froze.
I looked at him.
“Rebecca again.”
Margaret wiped her eyes.
“Grace wasn’t just her middle name.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
His mother continued.
“Rebecca was pregnant when she died.”
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