For a heartbeat, he didn't understand. "You, what?"
"I had a bridge game with Hilda and the rest. It completely slipped my mind," she said airily, waving a hand as though that explained everything, completely oblivious to the rising horror on his face. "You know how they are if I cancel last minute. And really, it would have been difficult with Coral. She's such an attention-seeking child, bless."
Connor could only gape at her. "Attention-seeking?" He almost laughed, but the sound that came out sounded strangled.Coral?His quiet little girl who could sit for hours building towers or drawing flowers on scrap paper? "She doesn't bother anyone, Mum."
Kayla sighed. "You always take her side. I'm only saying she likes to be noticed. Girls like her are clever that way."
But he wasn't listening anymore. His pulse had started to hammer in his ears.
"Matty?" he said slowly. "You left her with Matty? Why would you do that?"
A bolt of terror slid down his spine. He pulled his dead phone from his pocket and crossed the hall to plug it in. His fingers shook as he connected the charger. The screen stayed black for the longest second before the faint battery icon flickered to life. Too slow.
He grabbed his mother's mobile off the console table.
"Connor, really—"
"Not now, Mum."
He scrolled through her contacts until he found Matilda's number and hit dial. It rang twice before she answered.
"Matty, where's Coral?" he demanded, voice tight. " Where is she?"
There was a pause, then a faint, confused laugh. "Oh... she made such a fuss earlier," Matilda said, voice slightly slurred and completely put out. "I told her not to touch the hotplate, but she threw a tantrum. You know how kids are. She must've touched it when I was in the toilet. Such a ruckus over a tiny burn… "
The world tilted.
"What?" His voice cracked. "Matilda. What did you just say?"
"She should be fine," Matilda continued, oblivious. "Horace took her to the hospital. Just a precaution, really."
For a second, Connor couldn't breathe. His hand clenched around the phone until his knuckles turned white. His daughter. In the hospital. The words felt jumbled in his head.
"Why the hell didn't you call me? Why didn’t you say anything when I dropped Jacob off?” Connor roared.
"Oh, don't shout, you are giving me a headache," Matilda slurred. "I thought she'd be home by now. Fern must've gone to get her. Why are you… "
The sound that tore from his throat wasn't quite human.
He was barely aware of ending the call, staring at the wall as a low ringing filled his ears. Kayla was talking—something about discipline, about how unreliable Fern could be—but he didn't hear a single word.
"She is your granddaughter!! How could you leave her with Matty?" he whispered again, moving towards the door. "You know what we have been through. Did you know? ... Did you know Coral got hurt?"
A flicker in her eyes betrayed the truth. He grabbed his keys, his heart slamming against his ribs.
"Connor?" Kayla said sharply, no remorse in her eyes, only a slight tightening in the corners of her mouth. "Matty said it was just a small burn… nothing at all."
He turned toward her, still pale from the shock. "Your granddaughter… she is your granddaughter… ," he said hoarsely.
Then he was gone—out the door, into the rain, running for the car as panic took hold, choking and all-encompassing.
***
There was only one hospital she could have been taken to.
Connor ran every red light getting there.
The wipers beat frantically against the rain, but his vision kept blurring, anyway. Every red light felt like a personal punishment, every slow car, a deliberate test. His hands were locked around the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles hurt.
