All Chapters of I HEARD HIM SAY " DADDY": Chapter 121 - Chapter 123

ANNALISE / LISA The room did not empty all at once. Sophia lingered longer than necessary, her movements slower and more deliberate, as though she were searching for something to fix, something to justify staying a little longer. She adjusted the same fold of fabric twice and smoothed my shoulder again, even though everything was already perfect. I could feel her hesitation. It settled quietly between us, unspoken but present. “Get some rest, okay?” she said finally, her voice softer now, the earlier brightness dimmed just enough to reveal the concern beneath it. “Tomorrow is a big day.” That word again. Big. I nodded because it was the expected response. Anything else would have required honesty, and honesty felt far too dangerous right now. “I will,” I replied, my voice steady in a way that felt practiced rather than natural. She studied me for a moment longer. It was not long enough to confront me, but it was long enough to notice that something was not quite

ELENA I rushed toward the sound of my son’s cries, my heart tightening with every step I took. His voice echoed through the house in a way that made everything else fall away, as though the world outside of that moment no longer existed. There was something fragile in the way he called for me, something that pulled at a part of me I could never ignore. Whatever Sam was doing, whatever had felt wrong earlier, whatever unease had settled quietly in the back of my mind—it could wait. It all had to wait. My son came first. He would always come first. When I finally reached him, the sight of him made something inside me twist painfully. His small face was wet with tears, his cheeks flushed, his lips trembling as though he had been trying—and failing—to be strong. The moment he saw me, he reached out without hesitation, his tiny hands grabbing onto me as if I was the only thing keeping him steady. “Mummy… I want water,” he said, his voice unsteady and soft, as though even speaking to