Page 161 of Say My Name

She was technically perfect today, but she was wound tight from the minute the presentation started.

“Do you know the company?”

“No. The intermediary hasn’t disclosed it.”

“Then pay attention when they do.”

“I will.”

“And don’t use this as an excuse to corner her.”

“I know how to do my job.”

“I’m talking about Elena.”

“So am I.” Because that’s the only job that matters now.

He releases a breath. “Good.”

Neither of us speaks for a few seconds.

When Cliff’s voice returns, the anger is gone.

“I know my sister,” he says. “For six years, no one got close enough to matter.”

My hand tightens around the phone.

“She let you in.”

He hangs up. I stay on the sofa, the phone still pressed to my ear, his last words echoing in the empty apartment.

CHAPTER 21

Elena

The second pink line appears before I finish setting the timer.

I stare at the test from where I stand beside the sink, one hand still wrapped around my phone. It lies flat on the vanity exactly as the instructions require. I checked the expiration date last night. I read every step twice this morning. There is no room for user error or wishful thinking.

One line means no.

Two lines mean pregnant.

There are two lines.

I lower my phone and grip the edge of the vanity as a breathless laugh breaks from me.

“I’m pregnant.”

The words are barely a whisper before my eyes burn.

I wanted this. I planned for it, researched it, negotiated it, and signed my name to every possible outcome. For seven months, I tracked dates, appointments, and test results. I treated becoming a mother like the most important project of my life because that was the only way I knew how to hold something this terrifying.

Now it is here. A baby. My baby, and Dominic’s.

My hand moves to my stomach even though there is nothing to feel yet. Everything inside me is as it was when I woke up, but my entire life has changed in the space of two pink lines.

Joy rises first, bright and fragile and so intense I have to close my eyes against it.