Chapter 19: Withdrawal

Elena was the mother.

The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. I stared at Mark, my brain trying to process the impossible geometry of his statement. *Elena wasn't the baby. Elena was the mother.*

That meant...

"You were married," I whispered.

Mark didn't answer. He just looked at the floor, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Before me," I said, the pieces clicking into place like the tumblers of a lock. "You were married to her. To Chloe. To Elena."

"It was a long time ago," he said, his voice thick with misery. "We were young. Stupid."

"And the rattle?" I asked. "Elena and Mark 2016?"

"Our anniversary," he said.

"So who is Sarah?"

"My sister," he said. "My real sister. She died in a car accident four years ago."

I felt the blood drain from my face. The receipt in my bra burned against my skin. *Rest in Peace, Sarah.* It wasn't a lie. It was the only truth in this entire house of mirrors.

"So you replaced her," I said, my voice rising. "You brought your ex-wife into our home, told everyone she was your dead sister, and..."

I stopped. The implication hit me like a physical blow.

If Chloe was his ex-wife...

If she was the woman he had loved before me...

Why was she here? Why was she nursing my baby?

"She couldn't have children," Mark whispered. "After... after the accident. The one that killed Sarah. Elena was driving. She lost the ability to carry."

He looked up at me then, his eyes wet.

"She just wanted to be a mother, Elara. That's all she ever wanted."

I took a step back, my hand going to my throat.

"So you gave her mine?"

"No!" Mark took a step toward me. "No, it wasn't like that. She just wanted to help. She wanted to be close to a baby. I thought... I thought it would be good for her. Healing."

"You let her breastfeed my daughter!" I screamed.

Mark flinched. "She... she induced lactation. She took hormones. She said it was the only way to bond."

"And you let her?"

"I didn't know how to stop her!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "She knows things, Elara. About me. About my business. She threatened to ruin everything if I didn't let her stay."

"So you drugged me?" I asked, my voice trembling with rage. "You gaslit me? You made me think I was crazy so you could play house with your ex-wife and my baby?"

"I was trying to protect you!" he pleaded. "If you knew the truth... if you knew who she really was... I knew you'd freak out. I knew you'd leave."

"You're damn right I'm leaving."

I turned and ran for the front door.

I didn't get far.

Chloe stepped out of the shadows of the living room. She was holding the 9-iron from Mark's golf bag.

"I told you," she said, her voice calm, conversational. "We're leaving in ten minutes. Together."

She raised the club.

"Mark, grab her."

I looked at my husband. The man I had vowed to love and cherish. The man who had held my hand while I pushed our daughter into the world.

He looked at me. Then he looked at Chloe.

He took a step toward me.

"I'm sorry, Elara," he said.

And then he lunged.