“And then what happened?” Gift pressed gently.
“Nothing at first. He kept abusing me. I kept taking it. Until one day, I couldn’t hide my condition anymore. He demanded to know if the baby was his. I lied and told him it was and that if he didn’t give me money to leave and start over somewhere else, I’d tell everyone he was corrupt and I would tell his wife about the baby. I just wanted him to leave me alone. I wanted to start a new life…with you.”
Gift made a choked sound, then nodded, swallowing audibly.
Park could see where this was going, like watching a train barreling towards a busload of children. He couldn’t do anything but watch.
“He said he needed time to arrange things. That it could take weeks—months, even—but I had to be patient. I agreed. As long as he stopped…touching me. The day Kendrick was supposed to give me the money, he called me into his office and said he’d changed his mind. I told him I was serious, that I would tell everyone who he really was. He told me that I was threatening the wrong man, that he could ruin my life, that he could make it look like I was the one who was selling secrets.”
Gift looked enraged.
“He demanded I come to his office that night, said he missed me. I’d had enough, though. I couldn’t stomach the idea of him touching me again, of him thinking he…owned me.”
Gift squeezed her hands.
“I went home and found my husband’s gun and went to his office as planned.”
Her voice had morphed from monotone to horrified as if she were right back in it. Like Anchali moments before.
“I was so afraid he would take the gun from me that the moment I opened the door, I fired. But it wasn’t him. It was Anchali.” A choked sob escaped. “I shot her. In the stomach.”
A look of horror washed over her as if she was realizing, perhaps for the first time, the consequences of her own actions. She turned to Anchali. “I… Your baby…”
Anchali’s face crumpled, and she just nodded. Gift looked at Park and he could see he was barely holding it together.
“I killed your baby.” She sobbed, dropping to her knees and putting her head in Anchali’s lap. “Forgive me. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you or your sweet baby. Please, know that.”
Anchali was crying too hard to form words.
“Is that why you took my baby from me?” Sukhon asked. “To punish me?”
Anchali shook her head, voice thick. “No.No. Kendrick told me you died. He said there was a firefight and you’d been shot but they’d managed to save the baby. He said there was nobody to take him, to care for him. I could have checked, looked for your family, but I was selfish and convinced you were a criminal and…and I wanted him so much.”
Sukhon shook her head vehemently. “He didn’t shoot me. He took me to a prison somewhere inThailand—one run by your government. Told me I no longer existed. Said the world would only know me as a traitor to the United States. That I would be held indefinitely. I begged him not to do this. I was still pregnant, due any day. He ignored me. I thought I would never see him again, but the next day, he was back. Two guards dragged me to a medical suite and a man in a surgical mask knocked me out. When I woke up, I wasn’t pregnant anymore.”
“Oh, my God,” Anchali said. “Oh, my God. He went back for the baby. He went back so he could use him to buy my silence.”
“That son of a bitch,” Park muttered.
Anchali hugged Sukhon and the two of them cried, their apologies blending together.
When they pulled apart, Anchali said, “He told me you died. I swear, I didn’t know. I didn’t. I would never have let him do that to you. I should have listened to you. I should have believed you. I’m so sorry.”
Sukhon nodded. “I’m sorry about your baby. I will never forgive myself.”
“You didn’t know. This is all Kendrick’s fault,” Anchali promised. “And he’s going to pay for his crimes once and for all.”
Sukhon looked up at her, eyes hopeful.
“How are you here?” Gift asked. “How did you get free?”
She collapsed onto the floor before Anchali, feet tucked beneath her. “I escaped. The prison was closing, some kind of funding issue. They were moving us to a different facility. When I saw my chance, I took it. There were so many of us, they didn’t notice. And I wasn’t officially there, after all. I didn’t exist in any computer system.”
“Are you a…fugitive?” Gift asked.
She looked at him with hollow eyes, shaking her head. “No. I’m a ghost.”
Gift shivered, looking away.
