Chapter 2 - The Photograph in the Doll Box
Matthew had survived public scandals, hostile takeovers, and the death of his father without letting anyone see him lose control.
A five-year-old girl ended that record with one question.
"Are you the Matthew my mommy cries about?"
Sarah waited while his face changed.
Matthew glanced at Maya Torres, who had heard every word.
The social worker's expression became sharper.
"Sarah, why do you ask that?"
Sarah looked down at the box.
"Because Mommy has a picture."
Matthew's throat tightened.
"A picture of me?"
Sarah shrugged.
"Maybe."
"Can I see it?"
Maya stepped between the question and the child without actually moving.
"Only if Sarah wants to show you."
Matthew nodded immediately.
"Of course."
Sarah lowered herself onto a plastic chair and placed the box across her knees.
She moved the golden-haired doll aside.
Then she lifted Luna, the rag doll Anne had made by hand.
Underneath it lay a small envelope folded twice and secured with a faded blue hair tie.
Sarah looked at Matthew before opening it.
"Mommy told me not to lose this."
"Then do not show me if she told you it was private."
Sarah considered that carefully.
"She said not to lose it."
She pulled out a photograph.
Matthew recognized the place before he recognized himself.
It was the old summer fair in Cambridge where he and Anne had spent an afternoon pretending they were normal people with normal jobs and normal futures.
Anne stood in the photograph wearing a white cotton dress and holding a paper cup of lemonade.
Matthew stood behind her with both arms around her waist.
His face was younger.
His smile was unguarded.
He looked happier than the man staring at the picture now.
Sarah held the photograph beside his face.
Her eyes widened.
"It is you."
Matthew could not speak.
Sarah looked at the photograph again.
"Mommy said he was someone she loved before everything got bad."
Matthew sat down across from her.
"Did she ever tell you what got bad?"
Sarah shook her head.
"She says children should not have to carry adult mistakes."
The answer was so Anne that Matthew nearly laughed through the pressure in his chest.
Instead, he touched the edge of the chair with both hands.
"Did she ever tell you why she kept the picture?"
Sarah nodded.
"She said some people hurt you because they leave, and some people hurt you because somebody makes them leave."
Maya's gaze shifted toward Matthew.
He felt the hallway tilt.
"Which one did she say I was?"
Sarah looked confused.
"She did not say."
Matthew lowered his eyes.
That answer was worse than either possibility.
A hospital administrator approached with a tablet.
"Ms. Torres, we need information for Ms. Miller's file."
Maya stood.
"Not in front of the child."
The administrator lowered his voice.
"We have no active insurance listed."
Matthew heard it anyway.
So did Sarah.
Her hands tightened around the photograph.
"That means money, right?"
The administrator looked uncomfortable.
Matthew rose.
"Put every charge under my private account."
The man blinked.
"Mr. Sullivan, I cannot just transfer responsibility without authorization."
"Then give me whatever form allows me to guarantee the balance."
Maya looked at him.
"You are moving very fast."
Matthew kept his voice low.
"Her mother is fighting for her life."
"And you still do not know what your legal relationship is to this child."
"I know I can make sure money is not another thing she has to be afraid of today."
Sarah stood up.
"I do not want charity."
The sentence surprised everyone.
Matthew turned toward her.
Sarah lifted her chin.
"Mommy says charity is good when people need it, but she also says not to let rich people make you feel small because they paid for something."
The administrator looked at the floor.
Maya almost smiled.
Matthew did not.
He crouched in front of Sarah.
"Then let us make a deal."
Sarah narrowed her eyes.
"What deal?"
"I help with the hospital bills."
He pointed to the cardboard box.
"You keep every doll."
Sarah frowned.
"That is not a fair deal for you."
"Maybe I owe your mom something."
"How much?"
Matthew looked at the photograph in her hand.
"I am starting to think more than money can measure."
Sarah studied him for a long moment.
Then she placed the seven dollars back in her pocket.
"Mommy has to say yes later."
"That is fair."
The administrator left to find the paperwork.
Maya sat beside Sarah again.
Matthew's phone vibrated.
This time the name on the screen was not his mother.
RICHARD SULLIVAN.
His uncle almost never called him directly before noon.
Matthew declined the call.
It rang again.
He stepped away from Sarah before answering.
"What?"
Richard's voice came smooth and controlled.
"Your mother says you canceled a board meeting over Anne Miller."
Matthew stopped breathing for one beat.
"She told you the name?"
"She was upset."
"Why would Anne Miller upset her?"
A pause followed.
It was less than a second, but Matthew heard it.
"Because you wasted years getting over that woman."
Matthew looked through the glass wall at Sarah.
"Did you know she had a child?"
The silence this time was longer.
"Matthew, listen to me carefully."
"That is not an answer."
"You are emotional."
"Did you know?"
Richard exhaled.
"Do not make decisions in a hospital hallway that could destabilize the company."
Matthew's entire body went cold.
"I asked you whether you knew she had a child."
"And I am telling you to come to the office."
"No."
"The board is already nervous."
"Then let them be nervous."
Richard's tone hardened.
"Whatever story Anne Miller is telling you, remember that she disappeared after taking money from this family."
Matthew's grip tightened around the phone.
"What money?"
Richard went silent.
Matthew had heard the accusation before.
His mother had told him Anne accepted two million dollars to leave him.
But Richard had never spoken about it directly.
"What money, Richard?"
"Ask your mother."
The call ended.
Matthew stared at the screen.
When he turned back, Maya was watching him.
"Problem?"
"Possibly six years of them."
A nurse emerged from intensive care.
"Sarah, we can let you see your mother for a few minutes before we take her for imaging."
Sarah jumped up so fast the box tipped sideways.
Matthew caught it again.
One of the cracked plastic teacups rolled across the floor.
He picked it up.
Something white was wedged underneath the cardboard flap at the bottom of the box.
Matthew did not touch it.
Sarah grabbed the box.
"Come on."
Maya took her hand.
"Only you and me right now."
Sarah looked back at Matthew.
"He should come."
Maya shook her head.
"Your mom is unconscious, and we do not have permission."
Sarah's face fell.
Matthew handed her the teacup.
"Go see her."
"Will you still be here?"
"Yes."
"Promise?"
He hesitated because the word had once meant too much between him and Anne.
Then he answered anyway.
"I promise."
Sarah disappeared with Maya through the doors.
Matthew sat alone with the photograph still burning in his memory.
Five minutes later, his mother finally texted him.
Do not tell anyone about the child until I get there.
Matthew read the sentence twice.
She had not written if there is a child.
She had written the child.
He called her immediately.
Victoria Sullivan answered on the first ring.
"Matthew."
"You knew."
"This is not a conversation for the phone."
"You knew Anne had a child."
"Come home."
"No."
"Then at least leave the hospital before Richard sends someone."
Matthew went still.
"What did you just say?"
Victoria's breathing changed.
"I said too much."
"Mother, what does Richard have to do with Anne?"
"Matthew, listen to me."
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Do not let that little girl out of your sight."
The line went dead.
Matthew stared at his phone.
A movement near the elevators caught his attention.
A tall man in a gray suit was standing thirty feet away.
He had no visitor badge.
He was not looking at Matthew.
He was looking at the intensive care doors where Sarah had disappeared.
Matthew started toward him.
The man immediately turned away.
"Excuse me."
The man walked faster.
Matthew accelerated.
The elevator opened.
The stranger stepped inside.
Matthew reached the doors just as they began to close.
He shoved his hand between them.
The doors bounced apart.
The man looked at him for the first time.
His face was expressionless.
"Which floor?" he asked.
Matthew stepped into the elevator.
"You tell me."
The stranger smiled without warmth.
"I think you have the wrong person."
"Then show me your visitor badge."
The man's right hand moved toward the inside of his jacket.
Matthew saw the motion and stopped.
The elevator doors remained open behind him.
A security officer turned the corner.
The stranger lowered his hand.
"Wrong person," he repeated.
Then he stepped past Matthew and walked quickly toward the stairwell instead.
Matthew called hospital security.
By the time they reached the stairs, the man was gone.
A guard reviewed the camera feed.
The stranger had entered through a loading corridor using a temporary badge registered to a company contractor.
The company name made Matthew's mouth go dry.
Sullivan Protective Services.
His family's corporate security division.
Maya returned with Sarah ten minutes later.
The little girl looked exhausted, but calmer.
"Mommy squeezed my finger."
Matthew forced his face to soften.
"That is good."
Sarah placed the box on the chair.
As she did, the loose cardboard flap shifted again.
The white object underneath slid halfway out.
This time Sarah saw it.
"What is that?"
She pulled it free.
It was another photograph.
Unlike the fair photograph, this one had been taken in a hospital room.
Anne was sitting in a bed holding a newborn baby.
Her face was pale and exhausted.
In her other hand was a folded newspaper dated five years earlier.
On the back of the photograph, Anne had written a single sentence.
Sarah handed it to Matthew.
His vision blurred as he read the words.
May you like
If Matthew ever finds us, tell him I tried.
