I Went to the Hospital to Care for My Son After He Broke His Leg – Then the Nurse Slipped Me a Note, ‘He’s Lying. Check the Camera at 3 a.m.’

Howard slept under thin hospital blankets. The chair beside him—where Jasper was supposed to be—sat empty.

The clock ticked to 3:00 a.m.

The door opened.

Jasper walked in.

He wasn’t alone.

A woman followed him. She closed the door softly.

Jasper still wore his coat.

He hadn’t been sitting with our son.

He’d been somewhere else.

Howard stirred. “Dad?”

Jasper pulled the chair closer. “Hey, buddy. You okay?”

The woman—Kelly, I would later learn—stood near the wall.

“We need to make sure we’re telling the story right,” Jasper said.

My stomach dropped.

“I told everyone I fell,” Howard said.