The Flower That Grew from Ashes novel Chapter 14

Harriet's lips quivered, her face now paler than the hospital bedsheets. Staring into Annelise's all-knowing eyes, she realized she couldn't hide the truth any longer.

She struggled internally for a long time—so long that the air in the room felt practically solid.

Finally, deflating like a pierced balloon, Harriet slumped into the chair beside the bed. In a strained, breathless whisper, she confessed the secret she had kept buried for two whole years.

"It was... about two summers ago."

Her voice was raspy from crying, and forcing out each word seemed like pure agony.

"One day, I remembered you loved the fresh artichokes from The Zucker's in the east end, so I took the bus across town to get some. That market is buried deep in a maze of old alleys."

"After I bought everything, I decided to take a shortcut through a really narrow side street. Right at the entrance to the alley, I saw... I saw Clarissa."

Annelise's heart skipped a beat. Holding her breath, she listened in dead silence.

"She was pushing a stroller out of a very nice, modern apartment building." Harriet's gaze drifted, straining to perfectly recall the image. "There was a baby inside. He couldn't have been more than a few months old, chubby and fair. She was pushing the stroller and leaning down to coo at him. I wasn't far away, and I clearly heard what she called him... She called him Manuel."

The name leaving Harriet's lips confirmed Annelise's darkest, most devastating nightmare.

Harriet swallowed hard. "I was completely stunned. No one in the entire Lehman household had ever breathed a word about Clarissa having a baby. I thought maybe I was seeing things, or maybe it was a relative's kid. I was just about to walk over and say hello..."

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