Susan sat at the kitchen table in the early morning hours, her laptop open in front of her, the glow of the screen casting harsh shadows across her exhausted face; Chui was asleep in the bedroom, passed out after another late night at the office, and the apartment was silent except for the hum of the refrigerator and the occasional sound of traffic from the street below.

She had been planning this for two weeks, ever since the morning sickness had become impossible to hide, ever since she ...