Sophie’s entire body relaxed. Then she studied the image on the monitor.
“So that thing tricked the test?”
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“That is one way to describe it.”
Eric lowered himself into a chair.
He stared at Daniel for several seconds.
“I thought—”
“I know what you thought,” Daniel said.
“I was trying to protect her.”
“You accused me before you even asked her.”
“I heard the word pregnant. She’s ten. What was I supposed to think?”
“You were supposed to believe your daughter when she told you the truth.”
Eric looked toward Sophie, but she turned her face into my shoulder.
Dr. Shah explained that Sophie would be admitted that night. More blood tests and scans would help identify the tumor. A neurosurgeon and an oncology team were already reviewing her case.
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“Can you remove it?” I asked.
“Treatment depends on the exact diagnosis. Many germ cell tumors respond well to therapy, but we need to move quickly.”
The phrase respond well was meant to comfort me.
The words move quickly erased that comfort.
A nurse entered to place an identification band on Sophie’s wrist. Only hours earlier, hospital staff had treated her room like the scene of a hidden crime.
Now we understood that something truly had been hurting her.
It was not Daniel.
It was not an unborn baby.
It was growing inside her head.
Sophie looked at the adults gathered around her bed.
“Does this mean Daniel can come home?”
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Eric closed his eyes.
Dr. Shah answered gently.
“It means the pregnancy test did not prove that anyone hurt you.”
Daniel took Sophie’s hand.
She held on tightly.
I stared at the glowing image of the tumor and understood the terrible bargain we had been given.
The test that nearly destroyed our family might also have saved my daughter’s life.
CHAPTER FIVE
The Damage Done Before the Diagnosis
Sophie was admitted to the pediatric oncology floor shortly after midnight.
By morning, the story had escaped the hospital.
Daniel’s phone began ringing before sunrise. He ignored the first two calls, then stepped into the hallway to answer the third. When he returned, his face was empty.
“What happened?” I asked.
He looked at Sophie before lowering his voice.
“Brookfield placed me on administrative leave.”
Daniel taught fifth-grade science. He had worked at the same elementary school for eleven years without a single complaint.
“Why would the school even know?”
Daniel looked toward Eric, who was sleeping in a chair near the window.
Someone had contacted the superintendent while we were waiting for the ultrasound. The caller reported that Daniel was being questioned after a ten-year-old girl in his home tested positive for pregnancy.
I woke Eric.
“Did you call Daniel’s school?”
He sat up slowly.
“I believed a child might be in danger.”
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“You knew the ultrasound found no pregnancy.”
“I made the call before the ultrasound.”
“Then call them again.”
Eric rubbed both hands over his face.
“The doctors still haven’t explained the hormone.”
“They found a tumor in her brain!”
“That doesn’t automatically erase every concern.”
Daniel stepped between us.
“Stop.”
His voice was quiet, but Sophie opened her eyes.
“Why are you fighting?”
“No reason, bug,” Daniel said.
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Sophie looked at him.
“Why aren’t you at school?”
None of us answered quickly enough.
Her gaze moved from Daniel to Eric.
“You told people he hurt me.”
Eric stood.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“I told you he didn’t.”
“Sophie, sometimes children—”
“I am not lying!”
The heart monitor beside her bed began beeping faster. A nurse entered and asked everyone except me to leave.
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Sophie turned her face toward the wall.
“They keep saying they believe me, but they don’t.”
I sat beside her.
“The doctors believe you.”
“What about you?”
The question cut deeper than anything Eric had said.
“I believe you.”
“Did you believe me yesterday?”
I remembered looking away from Daniel through the glass.
“I was frightened,” I admitted. “And for one moment, I let that fear become doubt. I am so sorry.”
Dr. Shah arrived with a neurosurgeon later that morning. Additional blood tests showed that Sophie’s hCG remained elevated. Another tumor marker was also abnormal.
They needed a small tissue sample to identify the exact tumor and choose the safest treatment.
