Page 87 of Don’t Open Your Eyes

Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself. Annabelle closed her laptop and left the house to meet Tara.

—

Tara was already seated, looking at something on her phone when Annabelle arrived at Sugar’s. She put the phone down on the table and stood up as Annabelle approached, leaning over to give her a hug.

“I got you a coffee and a muffin. You look like you need to eat something,” Tara said, smiling.

Annabelle sat down. “Thanks. I haven’t had much of an appetite lately. How’re you doing? I saw the article in the paper about Chase. I hope it hasn’t negatively impacted you too much.”

Tara shrugged. “Some of my clients have dropped me, but what can you do? Everyone loves a salacious story. They’re making him out to be some sort of pedophile with the texting thing. It’s been hard.” She sniffed and brought a tissue to her face, dabbing at her eyes. “I don’t care for myself so much, but poor Lucas.”

“I’m sorry. This is so unfair. People can be so cruel.”

Tara’s lip trembled. “I’m grateful that I’ve found a friend in this.” She grabbed Annabelle’s hand and squeezed it. “Your support means so much to me. And I can’t tell you how much it takes the pressure off, your deciding not to do anything official in terms of Lucas.” Annabelle had spoken to her lawyer, who had strenuously advised her to seek legal status as Lucas’s biological mother, but she didn’t have the heart to do it. She kept imagining how she would feel if the situation were reversed, and she had to give up legal custody of Scarlett or Olivia. Or how Lucas would feel if he had to leave the person who’d been his mother all these years. And Tara seemed to have been a good mother. It wasn’t her fault that James had switched the babies. Both their husbands had done horrible things, and it wouldn’t do any good for them to be at odds with each other. They needed to stick together. “We’ve both been betrayed by our husbands. We have to support each other.”

Tara took a sip of her coffee. “I appreciate that. This has been particularly hard on Lucas. All this publicity has caused problems at school. Honestly, I’m thinking it might be wise to move.”

Annabelle’s heart skipped a beat. “Move? Where?”

“Oh, not move. Just take a little break. My parents have a house in Paris, and I was thinking maybe I’d take him there for the rest of the school year. To let him get away from all this and get a reset. Homeschool him.”

“Um, that seems extreme.” She couldn’t let Tara take Lucas out of the country. “Tara, listen, I know I said I wouldn’t take any legal action, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to take him to Paris right now. Surely you can understand that.”

“It was only a thought. Living in such a small town makes it even harder. You must understand how awful this is for Lucas.”

“It’s awful for all of us. But you can’t run away from the problem.”

Tara was about to speak when a woman rushed by and knocked her tote bag from the back of her chair. All the contents were scattered across the floor. Tara’s face turned red, and she jumped up. “Watch where you’re going!” she yelled, then murmured under her breath, “Idiot.”

Annabelle was taken aback by the comment. She leaned down to help her.

“Are you okay?” Annabelle asked.

“Yeah, fine. Just wish people were more careful.” She gave Annabelle a bright smile.

They sat back down. “Where were we?” Tara asked, her good humor seemingly restored.

“I was saying I don’t think you should go to Paris right now.”

Tara waved a hand. “Oh, right. Don’t worry, it was just an idea.”

But Annabelle was worried. She had a bad feeling. She had to be careful, though. Even if she decided to assert her claim, it would take time. And if she made Tara angry, nothing was stopping her from taking Lucas and leaving the country. “I’m sorry. I’m being insensitive. Maybe some time away would be good, but can you wait a little bit? I’d really like to meet him before he’s away for an extended period. Could you try again with him?”

Tara smiled. “Of course.”

They finished their coffee and walked outside, saying goodbye. Annabelle went to her car and slid behind the wheel. The next thing she did was make another call to her lawyer. There must be something she could do.

Annabelle

Ever since her coffee date with Tara yesterday, Annabelle had been uneasy. Her lawyer was ready to initiate the paperwork to compel a legal DNA test to assert Annabelle’s parental rights. The DNA test that Scarlett had taken should be enough to convince the court to do the test. If not, then she would have to implicate James and tell the court that he had admitted to switching the babies. That would bring criminal charges against him, which would be terrible for Scarlett and Olivia, but in the end, Annabelle would do whatever she had to do to prove that Lucas was her son. He had a right to know her, just as she did to know him. And she couldn’t sit back and do nothing while Tara took him away.

Their first move was to file a motion prohibiting Tara from taking Lucas out of the country. After Annabelle’s meeting with the lawyer this afternoon, everything would be set in motion. She had a splitting headache and decided to lie down for a while. Stretching out on the sofa, she pulled the fleece blanket up to her chin and closed her eyes.

I’m inside someone’s house, in a large hallway. It’s a big house; everything is white, and nothing is out of place. My heels click on the marble floor as I walk from the hallway into a living room where large French doors lead out to a stone terrace. I glance at the walls. Black framed professional photos: Chase, Tara, and Lucas. I’m in their house. I walk over to one wall to peer more closely at the picture, my heart clenching as I drink in the image of Lucas. I hear a woman’s voice, and I walk toward it, up the stairs, down the hall, to a room that looks like a home office.

It’s Tara. I call out to her, but she doesn’t hear me. I approach her, but she can’t see me either. She’s on a laptop, and I peer over her shoulder. She’s searching for how to purchase a prepaid smartphone. It takes her to a link. I watch as she puts in Chase’s name and credit card information. Everything goes dark. I blink and she’s holding a phone, texting. She’s texting Scarlett. She begins to laugh.

“Stupid girl. So gullible.”