He had spent years believing she had chosen another life.
Now he stared at the photograph in Maria’s hand.
“Where did they find this?”
“On the table beside her.”
He looked toward the treatment room where Lily sat wrapped in his coat.
The girl had Anna’s eyes.
He had noticed it the moment she arrived.
He simply had not allowed himself to follow the thought.
“How old is Lily?” he asked.
“Seven.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Eight years earlier, Anna had vanished.
“Daniel,” Maria said softly, “are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
He did not answer.
At 4:02 p.m., the ambulance carrying Anna Carter arrived.
Doctors rushed her into a trauma bay.
She was severely dehydrated, dangerously anemic, and suffering from a serious postpartum infection.
She had given birth at home approximately six days earlier.
Without medical care, the infection spread through her body.
The medical team started antibiotics, fluids, oxygen, and medication to stabilize her blood pressure.
