2003 % Chapter9 After Logan walked Sloane back to Southbridge Residences , he turned to leave . She clung to his sleeve , pleading . " You're leaving me alone again ? Logan , you know I hate being by myself . " " You can have your agent stay over , " he said , glancing at his watch . Night had fallen . " I have to go . It's Serena's birthday . I promised I'd spend it with her . " He kept checking the time , unease prickling the back of his neck . He couldn't shake the image of Serena's face earlier , how pale she had looked . Pregnant women were always more sensitive . When the alarm had gone off at the restaurant , he hadn't thought of her or the baby at all . That guilt gnawed . Sloane pouted , lips turned cherry red . " Fine . But promise you'll come keep me company tomorrow . " " We'll talk tomorrow . " Logan hurried home . When he opened the door to the living room , Serena wasn't there . In the past , if he came home late , he would find her curled on the sofa , knitting a tiny sweater for the baby and waiting for him . Tonight , the room was silent , empty . " Serena ? " he called , tentative . No answer . Only then did he notice the wall , every poster and photo of babies was gone . " Mrs. Walters ! " Anger surged hot behind his eyes as he called for the housekeeper . " Sir , you're back ? " Mrs. Walters emerged , wiping her hands on her apron . " What happened to the pictures on the wall ? Where did they go ? " " Mrs. Fairchild tore them down , " she said carefully . " It was a few days ago . " A few days , and he hadn't even noticed . " Is that so ? " His brow tightened . He really hadn't noticed . " Where is she ? " " Mrs. Fairchild left . " " What ? " He blinked , as if he hadn't heard correctly . " Left ? Left where ? " " I don't know , sir . She said she'd be gone a few days . " Logan's expression darkened . " Her prenatal check is tomorrow , and she's off wandering around ? She's overreacting again . I thought she wasn't mad at me anymore . " He didn't wait for a reply . He showered and went to bed . Sleep didn't come . All night , Serena's pale face haunted him . At dawn , the first words out of his mouth were , " Mrs. Walters , did Serena come back ? " " She didn't , sir . " Mrs. Walters set a small tin box on the table . " I almost forgot . Before she left yesterday , Mrs. Fairchild asked me to give you this . " " What is it ? " Logan snapped the lid open , still imuttering , " I told her I'd go with her to the check today . She doesn't take it seriously at all . Before , she was upset when I missed them , and now that I finally have time , she's ... " The words dried up . Chapter9 ReelShort Inside was a tiny ultrasound photo . The baby was just beginning to take shape , small , delicate , heartbreakingly real . Their child . Beautiful , even in grayscale . Underneath lay Serena's prenatal records . Everything had been marked healthy , progressing well . He turned to the last layer : receipts . A hospital booklet . He opened it , and froze . One word leapt out in stark print : Miscarriage . Color drained from his face . The booklet trembled in his hands . " Miscarriage ? No. That's impossible . " He shuffled through the receipts again, more carefully this time . The date stamped across them stopped his breath . Their third wedding anniversary . On that night , while he'd been on one knee before Sloane , Serena had undergone a procedure at Harborview General ER . A memory stabbed through him : the phone call Sloane had answered that night . The EMT's voice , urgent in the background . Panic cracked him open . It was true . The baby was gone . " Why ? " He stared at the pages as if they might change . " Why did we lose the baby ? " He grabbed Mrs. Walters by the arms , desperate . " Did you know ? Did you know Serena lost the baby ? " Mrs. Walters startled , eyes filling with shock . " That ... explains it . She was gone for three days , and when she came back , she made us take down all the pictures . I thought , oh God . Mrs. Fairchild lost the baby . " " She was gone three days ? Why didn't you tell me ? " His voice broke , turning raw . " You weren't home either , sir . You were at the hospital those days . We couldn't reach you . " Her words hesitated , then pressed on . " Mrs. Fairchild was at the hospital too ... you didn't see her there ? " Logan's pupils shrank . " I , I saw her . " He had seen her , pale as paper , walking down the corridor . He had assumed she was there to cause trouble for Sloane . But now he understood : she had been there because she had lost their child . She had stayed alone in that hospital for three days . No family at her bedside . No one to sit with her through the night . How had she survived it ? Mrs. Walters drew a breath , then spoke , voice firm despite the deference . " Sir , I am only the help , and I know there are things I shouldn't say . But you have been far too cold to your wife . She pregnant . She should have been cherished . Instead , you left her again and again for Ms. Hart . It was ... unforgivable . "