There was a pause on the other end.
— Michael, medically, it’s possible. There are certain medications that can affect speech development or cause selective mutism. Why do you ask?
— Ellie spoke for the first time yesterday and is speaking perfectly now, but she’s terrified her mother will find out.
— That is very concerning. I suggest you bring Ellie in immediately for a blood test. If someone has been medicating her without medical reason, we need to know.
Michael hung up, feeling like he was about to uncover something horrific. He went back to Ellie’s room and found them happily playing with dolls.
— Daddy, — Ellie said when she saw him. — I was telling Hope about Mommy, how she’s always traveling and how she’s so busy when she’s here.
— What else were you saying, Ellie? — Michael asked, sitting on the floor with them.
— That Mommy always gives me special medicine at night. She says it’s so I sleep well and so I don’t say things that might hurt people.
Michael felt his breath hitch.
— What medicine, sweetheart?
— Little white pills.
— She says they’re special vitamins for girls like me.
Hope, who was listening, frowned.
— For girls like you? What does that mean?
Ellie lowered her voice to a whisper.
— Mommy says I’m different, that there’s something bad inside me that might hurt Daddy if I let it out.
Michael had to make a superhuman effort to stay calm.
— Ellie, honey, when was the last time you took that medicine?
— Three days ago, before Mommy left for her trip.
— Exactly one day before meeting Hope.
The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together in a terrifying way.
— Ellie, — Hope said with the wisdom of a girl who had seen more than she should. — There is nothing bad in you. You’re the prettiest and nicest girl I’ve ever met.
— You really think so?
— I know so.
— And you know what? Your voice is beautiful. Don’t let anyone tell you not to use it.
That day, after dropping Hope back home to the modest apartment where he met her mother, Mary, a hardworking woman who cleaned offices at night, Michael returned to his estate with iron resolve.
He went straight to Ellie’s room and searched her nightstand drawer. There, he found a small bottle of white pills with no label. He tucked them into his pocket and immediately called Dr. Miller.
— Doctor, I found the pills. Can you analyze them?
— Of course. Bring them in tomorrow morning along with Ellie for the blood work.
That night at dinner, Ellie spoke more than she had in her entire life. She told Mrs. Gable about Hope, about the diner, about everything she’d experienced in those three magical days. Mrs. Gable was in tears.
— Praise the Lord, after all these years! It’s a miracle!
— Yes, — Michael said. But his thoughts were on Victoria, who was returning the next day. — It’s a miracle.
That night, Ellie refused to sleep in her own room.
— Can I sleep with you, Daddy? I don’t want to be alone.
Michael tucked her into his bed and didn’t sleep all night, watching her breathe peacefully. Tomorrow, he would have answers. Tomorrow, he would find out the truth about what Victoria had been doing to his daughter. But for now, he just wanted to enjoy the miracle—hearing Ellie’s quiet breathing, knowing that when she woke up, he would hear her sweet voice calling him Daddy again.
A storm was coming, but for the first time in years, Michael felt he had the strength to face it because he had something he didn’t have before: the truth and his daughter’s voice to tell it. Dr. Miller’s lab worked through the night, analyzing the mysterious white pills and Ellie’s blood. Michael didn’t sleep, pacing the halls of the private clinic, waiting for answers he was afraid to hear.
At 8:00 AM, Dr. Miller called him into his office with a grave expression.
— Michael, please sit down, — the doctor said, closing the door. — What I’m about to tell you will change your life forever.
Michael felt his heart stop.
— What did you find?
Comments are closed.