Earlier that evening, a badly injured woman had secretly entered the hospital room.
Bruised and exhausted, she had nowhere else to go.
Fear forced her to hide beneath Lily's bed when she heard footsteps approaching.
That woman was Emma.
The missing mother everyone had been searching for.
For days she had been running from people she no longer trusted.
While hiding under the bed, Emma listened to every word Margaret spoke.
Each question confirmed her worst fears.
Someone wanted to find her before she could tell the police what she knew.
Then another detail caught Emma's attention.
Margaret slowly crushed Lily's favorite toy car beneath her high heel.
The act seemed deliberate.
A silent threat.
A message.
Emma suddenly understood that her disappearance was connected to much larger family secrets.
If Margaret was willing to intimidate her own granddaughter, there was no telling what else she might do.
Emma knew she could not remain hidden forever.
Sooner or later, the truth would have to come out.