“Yes.”
The room fell silent again.
This time, the silence did not feel supernatural.
It felt human.
Someone had kept old stationery.
Someone had known the history.
Someone had been watching Esperanza closely enough to predict the pregnancy.
That narrowed the mystery, but it did not make it easier.
After the examination, Mother Caridad asked Sister Lucía to take Esperanza and the children into the garden.
“Stay with them,” she said.
Lucía nodded.
“Of course.”
As Esperanza passed, Mother Caridad touched her arm.
“We will speak again soon.”
Esperanza gave a tired smile.
“Please do not decide everything without me.”
“I will not.”
It was a promise, and Mother Caridad intended to keep it.
Once they were alone, she led Doctor Paloma to her office.
The strip of medical tape still lay on the handkerchief.
Paloma examined it more closely.
“There is something beneath the adhesive.”
She angled it toward the light.
