Chapter 2 - THE BRUISES SHE COULDN’T EXPLAIN
Ethan called his sister before Vanessa could recover.
“Rachel.”
“Ethan? Everything okay?”
“No.”
He kept his eyes on Vanessa.
“I need you at my house.”
“What happened?”
“Come now.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“You’re bringing Rachel into this?”
“I’m getting Sophie out.”
“Out?”
Vanessa laughed nervously.
“This is Sophie’s home.”
“Not while you’re here.”
Her expression hardened.
“You can’t throw me out of my own house.”
“The house is mine.”
“We’re married.”
“Not for much longer.”
That hit her.
For two seconds Vanessa looked genuinely wounded.
Then anger replaced it.
“So that’s it?”
Ethan didn’t answer.
“You hear one tantrum and suddenly I’m some monster?”
“I saw the bruises.”
“She fell!”
“Sophie says you hurt her.”
“She’s four!”
“And she’s terrified of you.”
Vanessa pointed toward the child.
“She hates sharing you!”
Sophie stared at the floor.
Ethan’s voice sharpened.
“Stop blaming her.”
“I gave up everything for this family.”
“You gave up nothing.”
“I raised her while you traveled!”
Ethan flinched because that part was true.
He had spent more than a hundred nights away the previous year.
Hotels.
Flights.
Construction sites.
Investor meetings.
And every evening Vanessa sent smiling photographs.
Sophie eating pancakes.
Sophie swimming.
Sophie asleep under a pink blanket.
Perfect.
Every picture perfect.
Too perfect.
Ethan crouched beside Sophie.
“Did Vanessa tell you what to say when I called?”
Sophie nodded.
“What?”
“That I had a good day.”
His throat tightened.
“And if you didn’t?”
“She got mad.”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“This is insanity.”
The doorbell rang.
Vanessa turned sharply.
Rachel entered minutes later.
She had barely crossed the doorway before Sophie ran to her.
“Aunt Rachel!”
Rachel hugged her.
Then she noticed Sophie’s arm.
“What happened?”
Vanessa immediately answered.
“She fell.”
Rachel looked at Ethan.
He shook his head.
Rachel understood.
“I’m taking her.”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“No.”
Rachel stared at her.
“Excuse me?”
“You’re not taking my daughter anywhere.”
Ethan’s voice became ice.
“She is not your daughter.”
Vanessa’s face twitched.
Rachel picked Sophie up.
“Come on, bug.”
Sophie grabbed Ethan’s shirt.
“Daddy too.”
“I’m coming soon.”
“No!”
Her panic was instant.
Ethan hugged her.
“I promise.”
Vanessa watched.
And something ugly flickered behind her eyes.
Rachel saw it.
“I’ll wait outside.”
Ethan whispered to Sophie.
“Ten minutes.”
“You promise?”
“With everything I have.”
Sophie finally nodded.
Rachel carried her toward the door.
Then Sophie twisted around.
“Daddy!”
“What?”
“Don’t drink the coffee.”
Vanessa went completely still.
Ethan frowned.
“What coffee?”
Sophie pointed toward the kitchen.
“The special one Vanessa makes when you’re mad.”
Nobody moved.
Rachel slowly looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa laughed.
“She means my espresso.”
Sophie shook her head.
“No.”
Her voice became tiny.
“The drops.”
Ethan felt cold spread through his body.
“What drops?”
Vanessa lunged toward Sophie.
“She doesn’t know what she’s saying.”
Rachel stepped back.
Ethan blocked Vanessa.
“Don’t touch her.”
Sophie began crying.
“The bottle in her bathroom.”
Vanessa’s face lost every trace of color.
Rachel hurried outside with Sophie.
Ethan watched the door close.
Then he turned.
“What bottle?”
Vanessa stared at him.
“I have medication.”
“What medication?”
“That is none of your business.”
“I’m your husband.”
“Not according to you.”
Ethan walked toward the stairs.
Vanessa moved quickly.
“Where are you going?”
“To your bathroom.”
She grabbed his arm.
“Ethan, stop.”
He looked down at her hand.
Vanessa released him.
He climbed the stairs.
Behind him, he heard something.
Not footsteps.
A drawer opening.
Ethan turned.
Vanessa was pulling something from the entry table.
Car keys.
She ran.
“Vanessa!”
She ripped open the front door.
Ethan chased her outside.
But instead of running toward her car, Vanessa sprinted toward the trash bins beside the garage.
She threw a small amber bottle inside.
Ethan reached her seconds later.
He grabbed her wrist.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
He released her and reached into the bin.
Vanessa kicked it over.
Trash spilled across the driveway.
Ethan found the bottle beneath a newspaper.
The label had been peeled off.
His phone rang.
Detective Marcus Hale.
Ethan answered.
“Hale?”
“Mr. Bennett.”
The detective sounded grim.
“We just got the old toxicology files from your wife’s first husband.”
Ethan looked at Vanessa.
“What did you find?”
A pause.
Then Hale said, “Something that means Daniel Cross may not have drowned accidentally.”
May you like
Vanessa closed her eyes.
And Ethan finally understood why she had tried to throw away the bottle.
