Sophie missed her sister. She missed Rihanna too—two of her
greatest supports had left. She went down to the lobby and
returned to the fish tank. She watched the slow, graceful move
ments of the fish through the water. They say fish tanks help lower
blood pressure. As she began to relax, she believed it.
After she called and talked to Kate for a bit, she called
Rihanna and asked if she was up for a visit.
“Oh, absolutely, love! I’ve missed you.”
Sophie stepped outside, looking forward to some fresh air and
a brisk walk to Rihanna’s Uptown apartment. The wind whipped
around the city corners, forcing Sophie to walk with her head
down and her hands in her jacket pockets. The frozen sidewalks
made for slow walking, and her fifteen-minute walk turned into
twenty-five minutes. She thought about Danny coming home.
She realized she hadn’t even thought about work since he had
been born. When would she go back to work, or more impor
tantly, would she go back to work? Work used to be such a big part
of her life and her identity. Now her life was all Danny.
Looking up at the numbers on the buildings, Sophie found
Rihanna’s place. She pressed the buzzer to 705.
“Who is it?” Rihanna’s voice crackled over the intercom.
“Hey, Ri, it’s me,” Sophie spoke into the speaker.
The door buzzed, and Sophie stepped inside. Riding the ele
vator up, she checked her phone. A missed call from Adam. She’d
get back to him later. The elevator door opened on the seventh
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floor, and Sophie found her way to apartment 705. Rihanna
opened the door and threw her arms around Sophie, holding her
tight. Sophie hugged her back, and the two women laughed with
delight at seeing each other again. They made their way into the
living room, where Rihanna had coffee already laid out. Sophie
admired the decor of Rihanna’s apartment, all done in Bahamian
colors—pinks, coral, aqua blues, and greens. The bouquet on the
kitchen table gave off a fresh floral scent. Isabelle lay in her bas
sinet in the middle of the room, sound asleep. Sophie marveled
at her long eyelashes and full pink lips.
“She’s a beauty, Ri, just like you. The two of you look like life
at home is a recipe for happiness.”
“Thanks, Sophie. Yes, it’s wonderful to be home. And it’s so
good to see you! Fill me in on what’s happening in the NICU.
How’s Danny?”
Sophie told her of the latest goings-on in the NICU—the
mother who had a seizure, how crowded it had gotten with too
many preemies, and how Kate had gone back to Boston.
“Basically, it’s pretty stressful these days. And I miss you,”
Sophie said. “But I’m trying to make the best of it. Adam and I
are still looking for answers to my preterm delivery.” Sophie low
ered her voice. “Between you and me, we think that Dr. Wagner
is somehow causing babies to be born prematurely.”
Rihanna’s eyes went wide.
“I know. It sounds far-fetched. But we’re looking for answers.
Plus, we’re not the only ones. There are other mothers whose stories
are similar to mine, all with the same common denominator—
Dr. Wagner.”
The doorbell went off. Rihanna went over to buzz the down
stairs visitor in. A few minutes later, Sheldon appeared. He gave
Rihanna a peck on the cheek and turned to look for Isabelle.
When he saw Sophie, she watched the looks first of surprise, then
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suspicion, then finally friendliness flash across his face in a frac
tion of a second.
“Hey, Sophie, fancy meeting you here.”
“I know. Who would have guessed?” she joked.
Sheldon walked over to the bassinet. “I won’t stay long. I just
wanted to see my little beauty.”
Sophie glanced over at Rihanna, who had returned to the
couch, where she remained seated, hands clasped in her lap.
“Okay if I pick her up?”
Rihanna nodded. Isabelle gave a little snort when she was
disturbed, then quickly settled into Sheldon’s arms.
Rihanna explained to Sheldon that Sophie had just told her
how crowded the NICU had gotten.
“Why is he doing this, Sheldon?” asked Rihanna.
“Who, doing what?” Sheldon gently put Isabelle back in her
bassinet.
“Mitch, delivering premature babies to fill the NICU.”
Sophie looked at Rihanna, silently begging her to stop.
Sheldon hesitated. “Rihanna, are you implying that Mitch is
intentionally causing babies to be born early?”
Rihanna held her eyes on him.
“Don’t you think that’s a bit of a stretch?” Sheldon, still wear
ing his coat, leaned up against the doorframe between the living
room and the kitchen. “I mean, it’s true, the NICU makes a lot
of money for the hospital. It’s the one department that almost
always operates in the black. But the census, the number of babies
in the NICU on any given day, is complete happenstance. When
the NICU is busy, the hospital makes money. The bottom line for
any business—which Metro is, by the way—is always profit. Even
hospitals need to make a profit. It’s just the nature of the beast.”
“How much do you guess Danny’s total hospital bill will be?”
Sophie asked him.
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Without hesitation, Sheldon replied, “Easily a million. Prob
ably more.”
Sophie struggled to wrap her head around that number. But,
at the same time, she knew there was nothing too much or too
expensive for Danny. She would go to the ends of the earth to
keep him alive.
Sheldon shifted his weight. “The board of trustees loves the
numbers of a high census month. But what you’re suggesting,
Rihanna? That’s out of line. The truth is that modern medicine
is advancing in ways that make it possible to save more babies
at younger and younger gestational ages. And that’s why neo
natal medicine is growing so fast. It’s becoming a billion-dollar
industry.”
Sophie shook her head. “It almost sounds like a joke: What
do babies’ lives and spreadsheets have in common? Except I don’t
know the punchline. It’s all too disturbing to be a joke.”
The three of them made small talk for a few minutes, then Shel
don stood up straight. “I’m sorry, I gotta go. Sophie, good to
see you.”
“Wait,” Sophie said. “Before you go, what is WMI exactly?
I know they’re the parent company for Metro. But what else do
they do?”
Sheldon leaned back against the doorframe again. “Why do
you ask?”
“When I was upstairs in administration, I saw the WMI logo
on the door of one of the offices. And I saw it on a letterhead in
the doctors’ lounge.”
“What were you doing in the doctors’ lounge? You can’t go
in there.”
“Snooping. But back to my question, what is WMI?”
Sheldon hesitated. “Like you said, they own Metro Hospital.
It stands for Westchester Medical Industries.”
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“Do they own anything else other than Metro?”
“They own other hospitals in the city. That’s about all I
know.”
Sophie studied his face. “I don’t believe you.”
Dr. Sheldon looked surprised. Rihanna looked amused.
Sophie pulled out the WMI postcard flyer. “It says here they
do a lot more than just own hospitals.”
“Well, yeah. They provide a lot of services to health-care
businesses. I thought you were referring only to them being a
parent company to hospitals. Look, I really do have to get going.”
He leaned over to give sleeping Isabelle a kiss. “And, Sophie? If
you’re still snooping and think you have something on Dr. Wag
ner, leave it alone. Focus on getting Danny home.” He reached
out as if to shake Sophie’s hand, then pulled her in for a gen
tle hug. “I promise, I’ll do everything I can to help make that
happen.”
“Thanks, Dr. Sheldon. I appreciate it.” She stepped back. “I
know you and Dr. Wagner have a special bond, but I’m not going
to stop digging until I find out why we ended up in the NICU.
And if Dr. Wagner had anything to do with it . . .” She paused.
“He should know not to screw with a mother and her child.”
Rihanna smiled in agreement.
“You’re right, Sophie. He should know that. Ri, I’ll see you
later.”
Rihanna walked him to the door, where he gave her another
peck on the cheek and left the apartment.
“I guess the honeymoon’s over, huh?” asked Sophie.
“Just like I told you. He’s distancing himself. But he loves
Isabelle, and I have to believe he’ll always take care of us, or at
least her.” Rihanna got up and tucked Isabelle’s blankets around
her, then turned to Sophie. “Do you think he could be having an
affair?”
“Oh, Rihanna, I have no idea. I sure hope not.”
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“Why do you think Amanda had my necklace?”
“I think she stole it,” Sophie answered.
Rihanna stared off into the distance.
“Ri, don’t even go there. Sheldon’s a good guy, and he’s going
to be a great dad. Did you see how she snuggled right into his
arms?”
Rihanna smiled. “Yeah, she did, didn’t she?” She got up and
took their coffee cups to the sink.
Sophie thought back on what Dr. Sheldon had said. She
spoke loud enough for Rihanna to hear her in the kitchen. “Dr.
Wagner is making the hospital money by putting preemie babies
in the NICU.”
“I’m not sure that’s what Sheldon was saying,” Rihanna said,
walking back into the living room. “In fact, I’m pretty sure he
said that is not what’s happening.”
“Think about it, Ri. With a full NICU, administration is
happy. Mitch gets paid kickback bonuses, the hospital makes
money, everybody’s happy . . . everybody except for the babies
and parents.”
Rihanna furrowed her brow. “But how would he do that?”
“I’m almost certain it has something to do with the vials in
his pocket. There’s something about that sound of them clinking
together that . . .” Sophie’s voice faded off.
“Earth to Sophie,” Rihanna said. “Come in, Sophie.”
Sophie smiled. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”
“Yeah, I see that. But back to what you were saying, why
would he do that? Why would he do such an evil thing? It can’t
be just for the money. There’s too much risk involved.”
Sophie shrugged. “Yeah, I think you’re right. There’s got to
be something else motivating him to gamble with these pregnant
mothers. There’s that botched breech delivery. And the mother
left half paralyzed. That’s serious collateral damage.” Sophie’s
mind was going a mile a minute.
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Rihanna interrupted her thoughts. “Sophie, be careful mess
ing with Dr. Wagner. He’s powerful, and he’s vengeful. Don’t
poke the bear.”
Sophie laughed. “Hey, how’d you learn that saying? You’re
becoming more and more Americanized.”
“Is that a good thing?” Rihanna half smiled, then grew seri
ous again. “Sheldon has told me some stories.”
“I know. Like the nurse who was fired for two narcotic doses
missing on her shift. I heard Dr. Wagner’s signature was all over
that one. What an asshole.”
Sophie got ready to leave. She and Rihanna hugged again.
Rihanna playfully tugged on Sophie’s long ponytail. “Hey,
let’s do this again soon.”
“Definitely,” answered Sophie.
