Chapter 9

Grace ran for the other entrance. She had only gone a few steps when a hand clamped her wrist hard. Fury churned in Ethan’s dark eyes. “Grace, you’re the one who filed for divorce. Now you’re jealous of Vivian and bullying her—what do you want?”

Grace looked at his hand on her and then at his face. She didn’t even hear the words. All she could see in her head was Sophie thrashing in the water, silently begging.

Tears poured down her cheeks. “Ethan Foster, let go!”

“Didn’t you see? Your daughter is drowning.”

“Didn’t you hear? She’s crying for help. She’s going under.”

She yanked at her arm; his grip held. She ducked and sank her teeth into his wrist. He hissed and released her. Vivian cupped his hand, wailing, “Oh no, Ethan, you’re hurt. How can a woman be so vicious? Come on—let’s get you to the nurse.”

Ethan stared blankly after Grace as she bolted into the natatorium. “What did she say? That Sophie fell in?”

Vivian lied without blinking. “She’s making it up. Daisy took Sophie to the play area.”

“Those are swim‑class kids in there—there are lifeguards and coaches. Nothing will happen. Come on.”

On the pool’s surface there was no sign of Sophie. The last string in Grace’s heart snapped. Terror hunted her like a shadow. She slammed the door open like a fired shell and, at the sight of the small body at the bottom, nearly died from fright. She dove in and drove for the depths.

Ethan heard a splash. Peering through the locked door’s seam, he saw only ripples—no Sophie, no Grace. Irritation swelled in him. What was Grace doing now? She’d insisted on the divorce, then made a scene after leaving. The thought of her left him both unwilling and exhausted.

“Grace! Grace!” he called, getting no answer.

Vivian tugged his arm, dragging him toward the exit. “Ethan, take me to the hospital. Everything hurts. She broke my nose, she kicked my stomach, she bit my leg—look, it’s still bleeding… it hurts so much.”

He glanced at her crooked nose and sighed long. “All right.” He left, looking back every other step. Even with that last glance, he never saw Grace surface.

“Oh, stop worrying about her,” Vivian coaxed. “She’s just stirring up trouble to get your attention. You’re not going soft and planning to remarry her, are you?”

Ethan’s brows drew tight; he said nothing. He had never truly meant to divorce Grace. After all these years, she was a perfectly competent wife. Life with her had been plain—but easy. She raised their daughter well. He didn’t want Vivian spoiling Daisy rotten.

All this fuss lately—Grace must regret divorcing. She must envy the love he showed Vivian. That had to be it. Humph. She wanted the divorce—now she could stew. He would wait until she came begging; only then would he consider taking her back.

With that in mind, he took Vivian’s hand and headed for the garage. “Where’s Daisy?” he asked, a flicker of worry in his voice.

“Uh… Daisy’s playing with friends. It’s fine, I asked another parent to watch her.”

Ethan started the engine and left the preschool, yet unease pricked him all the way.

In the pool, Grace searched and finally found her daughter’s floating little hand. She hauled Sophie up, one arm around her child, the other cutting through the water. It was exhausting, but she didn’t feel it—there was a fire in her chest, burning her forward.

Minutes later, Grace broke the surface with Sophie in her arms. Sophie was cold, limp, lifeless. She lay like a rag doll on the tile at the pool’s edge. Her breathing had stopped.

Grace fell to her knees and let out a howl that tore her own heart. “Sophie! Baby, wake up!”

Sophie’s eyes stayed shut. Panic shook Grace until she could barely work her hands. She forced herself to push terror down and began CPR—again and again—while tears dripped onto Sophie’s chilled skin.

“Sophie, don’t scare Mommy. You’re all I have. You can’t leave me.”

At last, the security office noticed someone had gone under. Startled, the guard called an ambulance. The hospital was close; the ambulance arrived swiftly. The EMTs worked on Sophie all the way, but she didn’t wake. At the hospital she was rushed straight into emergency.

A long time later, a doctor came out. “She was in the water too long. There’s severe brain injury from hypoxia. We’ll do all we can, but… please be mentally prepared. This is a critical condition notice. Please sign.”

Grace took the paper and scrawled her name with a shaking hand.