Reaching for the Light

~VALERIE~

The bathwater is perfect—warm enough to reduce the ache in my lower back, scented with lavender to calm my racing thoughts.

I sink deeper into the porcelain tub, letting the heat seep into my bones as my hand instinctively finds the small curve of my belly.

Seventeen weeks.

I close my eyes and try to push away the memory of Miriam Vance's cold smile, the way she slid that check across th