Chapter 4
Amanda carried Ethan to the nearest sofa, but he refused to let her put him down.
So she sat with him in her lap, one arm around his back, the other supporting his legs.
He was too big to be carried like a baby.
Too small to have been left alone on a marble floor.
Richard watched with irritation.
“You are rewarding bad behavior.”
Amanda looked at him.
“If you say one more word about my child like that, you will regret speaking today.”
Vivian gasped.
“Your child?”
Amanda turned toward her.
“Yes.”
Vivian’s mouth tightened.
“He is Richard’s son too.”
“Then Richard should have acted like it.”
Richard stepped forward.
Officer? No.
Attorney? No.
No one else had entered.
There were no sirens, no outsiders, no rescue scene Richard could mock as hysteria.
Only Amanda.
That made him bolder.
“This is exactly why he behaves this way,” Richard said. “You make him weak.”
Ethan whimpered.
Amanda kissed his hair.
Then she spoke without looking away from Richard.
“Ethan, listen to me. You are not bad.”
His breathing hitched.
“You are not bad because you cried.”
Another breath.
“You are not bad because you wanted your mother.”
His small fingers dug into her jacket.
“And you are not bad because someone cruel told you to stay on the floor.”
Vivian said, “How dare you.”
Amanda finally looked at her.
“No, Vivian. How dare you.”
Brooke moved toward the baby bag.
Richard noticed and gave her a quick warning glance.
Amanda saw that too.
Every movement in the room had become confession.
She reached for her phone again, but did not call anyone yet.
Instead, she opened the home security app.
Richard’s eyes narrowed.
“You don’t have access to that.”
Amanda looked up.
The smart-lock panel near the entrance blinked once.
“Yes,” she said.
“I do.”
May you like
Richard laughed, but there was less certainty in it now.
Read the full story 👉 Amanda comforted Ethan in front of them all, and Richard’s first crack appeared when she accessed the mansion’s security system.
