The Affair, The Baby, The Betrayal

My flight from Geneva was long, fueled by the anticipation of seeing Ethan and picking up our lives. My surgical fellowship was finally complete.

But as I cleared customs, a text from an unknown number shattered my world: "Ava, don't go to Cedar View Birthing Center. Ethan is there with Chloe. The baby has arrived."

Chloe. His high school friend, the one he always said he owed a life debt. Then, another text: "Eleanor and Richard hired them. They said to keep you from 'causing a scene'."

His parents, who once called me the daughter they never had, were complicit. My hands went cold.