My 74-year-old father invited me to dinner and offered me a drink. I accepted, but the next morning I woke up feeling terribly ill and went to the hospital. When the doctor saw my blood test results, his expression suddenly changed. He asked, “Have you suspected lately that you might be pregnant?”

-No. But my father was behaving in a very strange way.

Dr. Wilson leaned forward.

—Sarah, we have no evidence that anyone gave you anything harmful. An elevated hCG level can have several causes, and we cannot determine the explanation based solely on this test.

Then he asked me another question.

—Has your father recently been diagnosed with a serious illness?

I froze.

—Why are you asking me that?

—Because he mentioned that he seemed worried. I'm trying to understand if something else is going on in your family.

I remembered my father's trembling hands. His sad eyes. And that last warning.

Suddenly I felt a terrible fear.

I left the doctor's office with instructions to repeat the blood test and schedule additional tests.

But I couldn't stop thinking about my father.

I called him.

He didn't answer.

I called him again.

Nothing.

Finally, drive directly home.

His car was parked in the driveway.

The front door was unlocked.

-Dad?