But before I could finish, Monica clutched her chest and collapsed into Thaddeus's arms.
"Thaddeus, my chest hurts so much. Is something wrong with my heart? I'm so scared."
A flicker of hesitation crossed Thaddeus's eyes. Beside him, Lily tugged at his sleeve.
"Mr. Abbott, please check on my mommy. She's about to faint."
Thaddeus pressed his lips into a hard line. He handed Lily off to Nathan, then swept Monica up in his arms and strode toward the door without looking back.
As he passed me and Marilyn, his brow creased with undisguised disgust.
"Go to the restroom and clean yourselves up. Look at the two of you—you're a mess!"
I watched them disappear through the doorway, and a cold so deep it ached settled into the pit of my stomach.
I gathered Marilyn in my arms and hurried to the underground parking garage, ready to drive home. But there, in the dim light, Thaddeus's Maybach sat with its headlights glowing.
The rear passenger door hung open, and a bare, porcelain-pale foot dangled out from inside.
The parking garage was quiet, which made the man's and the woman's voices carry with painful clarity.
I pressed my hands over Marilyn's eyes, terrified she might see something no child should witness.
The woman's voice was syrupy, dripping with a breathy softness that could melt bone.
"Alberta has every right to resent me. After all, if it weren't for me, she and Marilyn wouldn't have had to go through any of this."
The man's voice was rough, thick with the kind of rasp that only came from one thing.
"Don't say that. The decision was mine. If she has a problem, she can take it up with me."
"Besides, medical technology is advancing so fast these days. There'll be a solution eventually. I'll make it up to them both."
...
I choked back my tears, scooped Marilyn into my arms, and left the parking garage. I hailed a cab and went straight home.
The moment we walked through the door, Marilyn burst into tears and threw herself into my arms.
"What was Daddy doing with that lady just now? And what did she mean at the party, all those things she said?"
"Has Daddy been lying to us this whole time? Does he not love me and Mommy? Does he love that lady and her daughter instead?"
"Mommy's chest always hurts, and I can't even go to the bathroom like a normal kid. Is it because of them?"
Marilyn was six years old. She understood more than enough of what adults said.