Chapter 8 - THE MAN I TRUSTED

I couldn’t speak.

Detective Harris noticed.

“You know him?”

I stared at the screen.

The face staring back at me belonged to someone I had invited into my home.

Someone I had trusted.

Someone who had held my daughter.

“Daniel?”

I finally answered.

“My neighbor.”

Detective Harris frowned.

“Name?”

“Jason Miller.”

The room became silent.

Jason lived three houses away.

He brought us food after Sophie was born.

He helped fix our fence.

He called himself family.

And all this time…

He was part of this.

I drove home with one thought repeating in my head.

Why?

Why would Jason do this?

When I arrived, I saw his truck parked outside.

My heart stopped.

I ran inside.

“Sophie!”

She was sitting on the couch.

Safe.

But Jason was standing near the front door.

Holding a box of toys.

“I heard what happened,” he said.

I stared at him.

“You need to leave.”

His smile faded.

“Daniel…”

“Leave.”

Jason slowly placed the box down.

“You don’t understand what’s happening.”

I stepped closer.

“I understand enough.”

He looked at Sophie.

And that made my anger explode.

“Don’t look at her.”

Jason sighed.

“You think I’m the enemy.”

“You are.”

He shook his head.

“No. Rachel is.”

That caught me off guard.

“What?”

Jason looked nervous.

“Rachel was losing control. I was trying to help.”

I almost laughed.

“Help?”

“You were never home, Daniel.”

There it was.

The same excuse.

The same words.

“You think because I worked, you had the right to hurt my daughter?”

Jason looked away.

“I didn’t hurt her.”

“Then why were you planning to take her?”

His face changed.

Just slightly.

But enough.

He knew.

I saw it.

“You saw the files.”

I stepped back.

“You knew.”

Jason rubbed his forehead.

“Everything got out of control.”

“No.”

My voice became cold.

“You planned this.”

Jason looked at Sophie.

Then at me.

“You have no idea what Rachel was capable of.”

“Tell me.”

He stayed silent.

“Tell me!”

Finally, he whispered:

“Rachel was afraid you would leave.”

I frowned.

“What?”

“She thought you would abandon her the same way her father abandoned her.”

I stared at him.

“That doesn’t explain hurting Sophie.”

“No.”

Jason looked down.

“It doesn’t.”

For a moment, I saw something.

Regret.

But regret doesn’t erase damage.

Then Jason said something that changed everything.

“Daniel… Rachel wasn’t trying to take Sophie away from you.”

I froze.

“Then what was she trying to do?”

Jason looked at me.

“She was trying to make you disappear.”

The room went silent.

Before I could ask another question…

The front window shattered.

Everyone dropped.

A loud crash echoed through the house.

Sophie screamed.

I grabbed her and pulled her down.

Jason looked toward the broken window.

His face turned pale.

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