the following story is fictional and does
not depict any actual person or event.
March , .
I forgot to pack my flannel pj's
and my rabbit-hair slippers.
Maybe I can bring them to her,Bill?
We talked about this.
No visits.
I gotta use the kybo.
- What did she say?
- She needs the bathroom.
You'll have to hold it.
And speak English,Hilary.
If I could take it back,I would.
It's just... no one told us it could happen,you know?
Let's not talk about it,honey.Please?
I'm sorry,Mom.
Here we are.
Looks even prettier than the brochure.
I'm sure everyone will be very nice.
Please don't leave me here.
I'll make sure no one sees me at home,Daddy,I swear.
Patricia.
Come on,Hilary.
Huck said he'd marry me.
Huck's a child. So are you.
But it's our baby. (sighs)
Do you have any idea what it's like to raise a child?
Now,please,Hilary,I know what's best.
Will you visit me,Mom?
We'll see,sweetheart.
Get in the car,Patricia.
You're not coming in?!
She's never spent a night away from home,Bill.
And if you'd watched her better,
she wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.
Please don't leave me here.
Mommy?
My mom passed away two months ago.
She was a great mother,but...I found this in her belongings.
Your birth certificate?
My original birth certificate.
I never knew,but I was adopted.
You know we deal in homicides,right,Ms. Lakey?
I tracked down my real mother.
She was m*rder*d the day after I was born.
Her name was Hilary West.
She was years old.
Never found the doer.
I was hoping if you did,
you might be able to tell me...
Why she gave you up?
- Yes.
- Your mom was .
Probably couldn't raise you the way she wanted.
I have a nine-year-old son.
I can't even fathom doing something like that.
Yeah.Times were different.
Are you... close with your mother?
People shouldn't have kids till they're ready.
Sounds like your mother wasn't.
Still,I'd like to know.
Well,this is from St. Mary's Home for Unwed Mothers.
Where she gave birth.
There's no mention of St. Mary's in the article.
Maybe they were keeping it out of the press?
Maybe they didn't know.
How's that possible?She was there right before she d*ed.
Could be someone was keeping it secret.
Who?
Someone with a secret of their own.
Hilary West. Blunt force trauma to the head.
w*apon never found.
Autopsy didn't pick up the recent pregnancy?
Back then,only did a cursory check for sexual as*ault.
Field where she was k*lled was a mile from St. Mary's.
No wonder the cops back then didn't put her there.
St. Mary's closed in ' .
Checking on who might still be around.
Parents said they'd been keeping Hilary home
from school to recover from mono.
Claimed she snuck out in the middle of the night.
No idea where she was going.
Pretty elaborate lie to cover up a pregnancy.
Well,daughter getting pregnant out of wedlock--
real stigma for a family back then.
Worse than m*rder?
A few girls in my high school "went away."
We all knew the reason why.
Abortion's illegal,and no single mothers back then.
No sex ed either.
Couldn't buy birth control
unless you were married.
Abstinence was the answer.
That always works.
Everyone was doing it;
no one was talking about it.
Lucky for me,I had an older brother.
Yeah.Who turned out to be a priest.
Could be the boyfriend.
Barbara's father?
If he even knew about the pregnancy.
Well,let's start with him.
Yeah?
Hey.Mr. Oberland around,buddy?
Grandpa!
Detectives Valens,Vera.
Got a few questions about a Hilary West.
Haven't heard that name in a long time.
She was pregnant,gave birth right before she was k*lled.
My family is in there.
This is sensitive.
m*rder tends to be.
So,you knew about the pregnancy?
We were just kids.
Still in high school.
So you were the father.
Hilary told me that she was... that way.
And you didn't think that her being "that way"
could've been helpful to the investigation?
Look,I was .
I didn't know what to do.
You knew about St. Mary's Home for Unwed Mothers?
I knew her parents were planning to send her away,
but I didn't know where.
Then Hilary disappears,
and two months later,I hear she's dead.
And you had no contact with her after she left?
Her folks made sure of that.
So why keep your mouth shut?
Because we were good kids...
and good kids didn't get caught.
My school uniform doesn't fit anymore.
I can't keep anything down.
Maybe you're just eating too much.
Huck...I'm scared.
My parents are going to k*ll me.
But it was just that one time.
You told me it wouldn't happen the first time.
It's not supposed to.
Right?
What are we going to do?
Maybe there's a way to... get rid of it?
No.
Girls die.
Then we'll just...get married.
We've only been going steady two months.
We get along all right.
What about Yale?
Forget Yale.
I'll never get in.
Married...?Are you sure?
It's what everybody does,right?
Get married?
But do you love me?
Yeah,sure I do,Hil.
I tried to do the right thing.
Those wedding bells never rang.
Not after Hilary's father found out.
Ain't so copacetic about the whole thing?
Let's just say that was the end of our pipe dream.
You know,back then,adults gave the orders.
Kids listened.
Thanks for your time.
I don't even know if it was a girl or boy.
Her name's Barbara.
We know sent Hi to the ***.
I thought I was doing what was best.
By not helping solve your daughter's m*rder?
It was Bill's idea to keep quiet about St. Mary's.
And you just went along with it?
He was my husband. I didn't have a choice.
Till the day he d*ed,we never discussed it again.
Instead you pretend that it never happened.
I convinced myself I was protecting Hilary's memory.
Better than people thinking her cheap.
So giving the baby away was the only real option?
Nothing more important than what the neighbors think,right?
Talk about St. Mary's.
I visited once when Bill was away on business.
Brought the rabbit-hair slippers she loved so much.
What happened?
Well,I thought we sent her to the right place,
but I was wrong.
I heard we only get minutes to say good-bye to our babies.
I'll only need one.
Alien's the only reason I'm in this prison.
I think she has the hiccups.
She?
You're crazier than I thought.
It's kind of nice,
a little person growing inside,you know?
Yeah,sucking your blood,scarfing your food.
The sooner it comes out,the better.
Dr. Frankenstein strikes again.
Dr. Frankenstein?
Guy's a hack.Bottom of the barrel.
Heard he k*lled a girl during labor.
- Next patient: Hilary W.
- No.
Dr. Finnegan doesn't have time to waste.
I don't want him to touch me.
You're lucky to have him,a girl like you.
You're a nut job if you think any of us
are going to put our legs in those t*rture devices.
If you'd kept your legs together in the first place
you wouldn't be here.
Bad things happen to bad girls,Hilary.
If you don't behave,I promise,it's only going to get worse.
A day doesn't go by I don't beg for forgiveness.
Leaving my little girl in that place.
Give us a call,
anything else comes to mind.
How is the baby?
She's a grown woman now.
Will you tell her... that she has a grandmother?
Sounds like this Dr. Finnegan was a real butcher.
Girls dying on the table.
Maybe Hilary was one of them.
St'Mary***covered up.
You find this Dr. Finnegan?
Loser bit the dust in ' .
Cirrhosis of the liver.
Serious drinker?
Six women bled to death on his delivery table between ' and ' .
Scumbag finally lost his medical license.
Took six deaths for the medical board to yank his license?
"Doctor knows best."
Glad I was an unwed mother in the ' s,not the ' s.
What about this nun who ran St. Mary's?
Sister Margaret's still alive and kicking
in a convent retirement community.
A community of retired nuns?
Sounds like a par-tay.
If girls were dying at St. Mary's,
it'd be on her head.
Giving her motive to keep it hush-hush.
Keep thinking one of them is going to jump out
and thwack my hand with a ruler.
Back at St. Francis,we got the yard stick.
Sister Margaret?
Yes?
Detectives Valens,Vera.Philly Homicide.
It's about St. Mary's.
That was a long time ago.
And Hilary West's m*rder.
Like I said... a long time ago.
Wondering why you never came forward when she was k*lled?
Well,the detectives never came to us.
And I never lied to anybody.
VALENS: By omission.
You knew the truth.
I couldn't jeopardize our reputation.
We were the last place those girls could go.
Maybe you remember the quack you hired to work there--
Dr. Finnegan?
Well,we didn't have a lot of resources.
His,um... price tag fit our budget.
You get what you pay for,right?
So maybe he kills Hilary and you dump her in a field?
That's a ridiculous accusation.
That hack lost his medical license.
Women were dying while he was three sheets to the wind.
Well,I'm sorry to hear that,
but you must understand that society had rejected those girls.
You saying beggars can't be choosers?
I'm saying a houseful of pregnant teenagers--
there was a reason that they called them "bad girls."
Wedding bands go on the left ring finger,girls.
No need for anyone in town to know your predicament.
Thank you,Sister Margaret.
Thank you,Sister
I'll just put these away.
Always gotta be a kiss-up in the bunch.
Soon I'm going to have a real one.
That why you're being a good girl?
So Huck will marry you?
He needs a little more time to tell his parents.
But once he sees the baby...
You live on a street called "Denial."
You haven't heard a peep outta that cat since you've been here.
He's busy with final exams.
Forget about him.
And forget about your little sunshine,too.
He's going to marry me,Karen.
He promised.
You fat cows get knocked up at the submarine races?!
Moo...!
You sweathogs are so easy,
any ol' dude could score with you!
Think you're tough?Nothin' but a buncha pantywaists!
Hilary,think fast.
Aim for the runt with the duck butt!
Throw it,spaz-o!
Oh,you're worse than I thought. Oh!
Candyass! You better run!
Who's responsible for this?
Those hoods called us sluts! They deserved it!
I said who's responsible?
At least one of you has learned her lesson.
Ow! Get off of me,you ugly bitch!
You're going to the isolation room. No!
Sister Abigail!
You're going to pay,good girl.
Karen Watson was a hellion.
Uncontrollable.
She and Hilary butt heads again?
All I know is that before Karen came to us,
she was expelled from her high school.
Expelled for what?
For hitting another girl in the head... with a rock.
Heard u got a real temper,Karen.
Take it you're not going to order the blue plate special?
Detectives Jeffries,Rush.Homicide.
Hey,blame the cook.
I'm just the messenger.
Hilary West,St. Mary's home.
That jog any memories?
Maybe you knocked her out,too?
Like you did your high school classmate.
Yeah,and that harlot had it coming.
What about Hilary? She have it coming,too?
Hilary was harmless.
Goofball actually grew on me.
Where were you the night she was k*lled?
Sleeping off a -hour delivery.
You try pushing out an eight-pound bowling ball without pain K*llers.
Didn't drag my ass out of bed for a week.
So why didn't you tell the cops she'd been staying at St Mary's?
Same reason I never tried to find my kid--
some secrets are easier to keep.
Easy to find out,too.
Look,lady,
all we girls had was each other in that hellhole.
So who had it out for Hilary?
Who do you think?
Guy who got her in trouble in the first place.
Check it out!
Look what I just bought!
You can record yourself.
What is it,Hilary?
Your water break?
Huck...?
Hilary?
I didn't know... you'd be here.
I'll meet you back at the car,Mary Lou.
Mary Lou.
She's pretty.
You've been gone a long time...
Did you tell your parents about the baby yet?
I got into Yale.
I can't get married.
But you said you were going to do the right thing.
- You promised.
- We're ,Hilary.
We're kids.
Yeah,and I'm going to have one.
- You have to tell them.
- I can't.
If they knew about this,they'd k*ll me.
Feel.Can you believe that?
She's kicking... Hilary,stop.
What am I going to do?
Give the baby up.
But she's our sunshine.
I don't want to be a father.
You already are.
If you won't tell your parents...I will.
What?
You better not.
Hilary!
A week later,Hilary was dead.
Thanks for your time.
Maybe Huck k*lled Hilary before she had a chance to tell.
Shut up for good.
Parents will not be too happy about you knocked up that girl.
Give up be in Yale for a -year-old bride.
You got it all wrong.
They would've k*lled you.
Your words.
So you stopped her before she told.
I didn't k*ll Hilary.
That's original.
We made a baby together.
A child.
Even back then I knew that meant something.
Yeah?So why'd you lie about seeing her again?
Where were you the night she was k*lled?
With Mary Lou MacLaren.
The cheerleader you started boffing the minute Hilary was shipped off?
We were at a movie.
Frankie Avalon,Annette Funicello.
Bikini Beach.
You're a real door prize,Huck.
Look,I know I abandoned Hilary.
If I'd been a better guy,maybe she'd still be alive.
What about her thr*at to tell your parents?
She never did.
Saying she just forgot?
Saying I told her mother.
Mrs. West?
What exactly did you tell her?
That Hilary was planning to keep the baby.
She hit the roof.
That right?
Yeah.
Said she'd go to St. Mary's,
set Hilary straight.
It was bad enough Hilary gets pregnant--
now she's determined to keep the kid.
Didn't sit well with you,according to her boyfriend.
I didn't k*ll my daughter!
The rabbit-hair slippers...
wasn't the last time you saw her,was it?
I loved her more than anything in the world.
That's what they all say.
Well,I just couldn't let her life turn out the way mine did.
Yeah? How's that work?
I dropped out of college to get married.
Six months later,I had Hilary,
and that was the end of me.
Having a kid ended your life?
Being married to one did.
Bill wouldn't let me get a job.
Turned me into his cook,his laundry girl.
I wanted Hilary to be more than that,
the way I was more than that.
And when Hilary wouldn't give up the baby?
She never had a choice.
Mom... what are you doing here?
Today's an important day.
Sister Margaret has some paperwork for you to sign.
To give up the baby?
Yes,Hilary.
I don't want to.
Huck doesn't want to marry you,Hilary.
You can't raise a child on your own.
You are just a child yourself.
Adoption will save both you and the baby from a lifetime of shame.
You don't want people calling the baby a bastard,do you?
No man will ever marry you if he knows what you've done.
I know you want a nice family someday,don't you,Hilary?
On one side,I want you to write
what an adoptive family can offer the baby.
A father.
A house.
A job.
Clothes.
Food.
Excellent.
On the other side,I want you to write
what you can offer the baby.
What did you put on your side?
"love" That's all I have.
There is still so much ahead of you.
College.
Marriage,a family.
Trust me,sweetheart.Please.
I'm going to make a tape for her,
with my new tape recorder.
- Her?
- The baby.Sunshine.
I want her to hear my voice.
Of course you do.
At least now I'll get a chance to tell her.
Tell her what,sweetheart?
Good-bye.
Surrender documents are the only legal contracts in America
that can be signed by a minor.
Doesn't seem fair.
I was her mother.
If anyone should've protected her,it was me.
What happened with the tape Hilary made for her baby?
I tried to listen to it.
Cried for a week.
Still got it?
It's all I have left of her.
Would you give it to Barbara when you're done?
And tell her I'm sorry.
Hilary's good-bye tape to her kid.
Heartbreaking stuff.
Well,it's tough to give up a child.
Especially when you're falling in love with her.
I can't even imagine it.
Hilary recorded everything that went on that last week before she d*ed.
Anything relevant?
The last entry might be.
Night Karen had her kid,
Hilary found out what was really going on at St. Mary's.
Dear Sunshine,
tonight Karen had her baby,her beautiful little boy.
But then she had to say good-bye.
I used all my minutes to say good-bye to him.
You're going to be all right,Karen.
It felt like less than a second.
I unwrapped him.
Counted his fingers and toes.
He was so perfect.
The minute I saw him lying in his bassinet,
I knew he belonged with me.
How could they take him away?
Shh,shh,shh.
We'll get through this,okay?
It's not going to be easy,but we'll help each other.
I want him back. I want my little boy.
Sister Margaret said it's a lawyer and his wife.
That they're rich.
They'll be a good family.
They might be better parents,but he's mine.
I want him back in his bassinet.
Put him back...
Let's go to your room,Karen.
Back in his bassinet.
Sister Margaret was selling the babies?
We talking black market?
And Hilary found out.
Sister we know the real reason why you didn't tell police about St Mary's.
You were sellin' babies to the highest bidder.
And Hilary found out.
You have no proof of that.
Dug up your old records at St. Mary's Parish.
girls came through the home on your watch.
official adoptions,Sister.
,untraceable.
I did it for the greater good.
Is that how you sleep at night?
It took more than church donations to keep St. Mary's running.
And those babies went to couples
who could afford to raise them right.
You mean couples who could afford to cut in line.
I never harmed any of those girls.
Isolation room,selling their kids.
You got a funny way of defining "harm."
The church told us that they were unfit to be mothers,
and they'd just go out and do it again
if we didn't reform them.
I had to believe that... to do what I did.
Until Hilary convinced me that I was wrong.
Your time is up,Hilary.
What?
I said your time is up.
I labored in the dark for hours.
No one held my hand or told me what was happening.
I thought I would die from the pain.
I thought I couldn't go on.
And then I saw her.
And she saw me.
And she knew I was her mother.
No matter what you do,you can never take that away.
I'm her mother.
I suppose a few more minutes wouldn't hurt anyone.
What you're doing here...
you lied to us about everything.
Because how could I be bad and make an angel like her?
Sister?
Isn't love enough?
Your baby's adoptive parents won't be here till the morning.
The nursery door is always open.
Tonight the back door will be,too.
Sometimes,when I can't fall asleep,
I try to picture their faces:
the girls and their babies.
I ask them to forgive me.
That was the last you saw of Hilary?
Yes.
She left that night.
So why didn't she leave the baby behind?
She must have been in a real hurry
because she put her in a boy's bassinet.
That created some confusion the next morning.
The boy's bassinet? You remember whose?
Karen Watson's.
This one time I'm six years old,in the mall.
I stare into the toy store,
and I realize my mom's gone.
So I go in,play with the toys till someone notices me.
Calls her over the loudspeaker,
and,uh...she plays it off like she lost me 'cause of the crowds.
But I could smell the booze on her breath.
There a point to this?
Some mothers,
not really meant to be mothers.
That's why you brought me here?
Take a trip down memory lane?
You don't think about it at all?
Giving up your baby?
Did it,and it's done.
It's not a big deal.
A lot of people say the worst thing that can happen
is losing your kid.
Probably no different for a mother forced to give up her baby.
It was a piece of cake for me.
Then why wasn't minutes enough?
The only way you could handle the pain
was to live like you didn't care,
but I know you do.
Turns out you're not the tough girl you pretended to be.
You've been looking for him your whole life.
A member of every online-adoption-search group.
You couldn't let go of him,could you?
They said it was going to be easy.
They lied.
Not a day goes by that I don't think about him,
pray that he's okay.
Whatever mistakes a mother makes...
nothing is stronger than her love for her child.
No different if she surrendered him or she lost her in the mall.
I found your son.
My son?
He wants to meet you.
You took Hilary's baby,didn't you,Karen?
You put her in your son's bassinet.
I wanted to keep her.
Until I realized...
no one in the world could replace my little boy.
Hilary!
Hilary,wait! It's me!
What are you doing?
They're selling the babies,Karen,
not giving them to families.
That's not true.
Hilary!
Hilary,stop!
They lied to us about everything.
We won't forget them. We're mothers now.
I'll never love anything more.
But you said we'd help each other.
I'm sorry.
I have to go.
Go?! What?!
Me and Sunshine! You can't just take her!
It's the only way I can keep her!
I had to give up my baby,so do you!
No! She's mine.
She needs to go back.
You got to put that baby back!
Put him back!
£ What?
£ Put him back!
You can't take her from me! You can't take my baby!
Karen,what are you talking about?
He's mine,not yours. He's my baby.
I want him back!
I want him back!