Chapter 2
Megan had tried to leave quietly.
That was the part Brian would later pretend never happened.
She did not scream. She did not threaten. She did not call anyone names. She did not accuse Donna in front of Lily.
She simply touched Lily’s forehead, felt the terrifying heat beneath her palm, and said, “I’m taking her to urgent care.”
Donna blocked the hallway first.
Not dramatically.
Not with a weapon.
With the calm confidence of a woman who believed the whole house belonged to her because her son lived inside it.
“Children run fevers,” Donna said. “You panic over everything.”
Megan held Lily against her hip. The child’s head had fallen weakly against her shoulder.
“Donna, she’s burning.”
“She’s spoiled. You rush her to doctors every time she sneezes.”
Brian came from the kitchen then, phone in hand, irritation already on his face because Donna had texted him before Megan could explain.
“What now?” he asked.
Megan remembered those two words.
What now.
Not is Lily okay.
Not what happened.
What now.
She told him the number.
One hundred and four.
His jaw tightened, but not with fear.
With annoyance.
“You always do this when my mother is here.”
Megan stared at him, stunned.
Lily whimpered.
That sound should have ended the argument.
Instead, Donna said, “If you take her in like this, they’ll think we neglected her.”
Megan said, “Then move.”
Brian stepped between her and the door.
For one second, Megan thought he was only trying to stop her.
Then his hand struck her cheek.
The sound cracked through the foyer.
Chloe gasped from the stairs.
Megan turned with the force of it, Lily crying weakly against her shoulder.
Brian’s face changed immediately, not to guilt, but to fear of being seen.
Chloe’s phone was already recording.
That was when Megan stopped arguing and started moving.
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She grabbed her keys from the entry table, carried Lily to the car, and locked the doors before anyone understood she was done asking permission.
Read Chapter 3 👉 Because the slap was not the only thing Chloe recorded before Megan reached the car.
