As I drove to the hospital, my heart was full. I couldn’t stop smiling. Today was the day I finally got to bring my baby girls home.

I greeted the nurses at the front desk with a cheerful wave and hurried down the hallway toward Suzie’s room. But the second I stepped inside, my world shifted.

My daughters were there, peacefully asleep in their bassinets—but Suzie wasn’t.

At first, I assumed she’d stepped out for a walk or to get some air. Then I saw the envelope on the bedside table. My fingers trembled as I tore it open.

“Goodbye. Take care of them. Ask your mother WHY she did this to me.”

A nurse walked in just then, holding a clipboard. “Good morning, sir. I’ve got the discharge pap—”

“Where’s my wife?” I cut her off, holding up the note.

She blinked in confusion. “She… checked herself out early this morning. She said you were aware.”

“She what?” I asked, stunned. “Did she say where she was going? Was she upset?”

The nurse shook her head slowly. “She didn’t seem upset. Just quiet. Calm, even. You really didn’t know?”

I left the hospital in a fog, carrying my daughters in their car seats, the note crushed in my hand like a wound I couldn’t bandage.

Suzie had vanished. No explanation, no goodbye—just a haunting message and the overwhelming weight of two newborns and a broken future.

When I arrived home, my mother, Mandy, was waiting on the front porch holding a casserole. She smiled at first, but her face dropped when she saw me.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, concerned.

I shoved the note at her. “This. This is what’s wrong. What did you say to her?”

She looked stunned. “Ben, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Suzie’s always been a little dramatic. Maybe she—”

“Don’t!” I snapped. “You never liked her. You always had something to say, some little jab to throw.”

“I only ever meant to protect you,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I didn’t think—”

Later that night, I searched through some of Suzie’s things, desperate for answers. That’s when I found it—a letter in my mother’s handwriting.

“Suzie, you’re not good enough for Ben. You’ve tricked him with this pregnancy, but I see through you. If you care about them, you’ll leave now, before it’s too late.”

It was nearly midnight, but I didn’t hesitate. I stormed down the hall and banged on my mother’s door until she opened it.

“How could you?” I demanded.

“All this time, I thought you were just overprotective. But you’ve been cruel. You’ve been tearing her down for years, haven’t you?”

She paled as she read the letter. “Ben, please… let me explain—”

“No. I don’t want excuses.”