Chapter 6
Vivian tried to regain control by using the baby.
It was cruel and clever.
She lifted Chloe slightly in the pink blanket and said, “Lower your voice. You are upsetting the baby.”
Amanda looked at the sleeping infant.
Chloe was innocent.
That mattered.
Amanda would not punish a baby for the ugliness of adults.
She softened her voice immediately, but not her words.
“The baby is safe. Ethan was not.”
Vivian’s face flushed.
Brooke stepped closer.
“No one hurt him.”
Amanda turned sharply.
“Do not speak unless you are ready to tell me why you are in my house with your baby while my son is crying on the floor.”
Brooke recoiled.
Richard stepped in.
“Leave her out of this.”
Amanda almost smiled.
There it was.
Protection.
He did know how to offer it.
Just not to his wife.
Not to his son.
Brooke’s eyes filled, but Amanda could not tell if the tears were fear or performance.
“Richard told me you two were separated,” Brooke said.
Amanda’s heart went cold.
Vivian looked away.
Richard snapped, “Brooke.”
Amanda kept her eyes on Brooke.
“Did he tell you my son lived here?”
Brooke hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Did he tell you Ethan was crawling on the floor because Vivian told him to stay down?”
“No.”
Ethan lifted his face.
“She saw me.”
The room froze.
Brooke’s eyes darted to the marble floor.
Then to Richard.
Amanda did not move.
“Brooke.”
Brooke’s voice came out small.
“I thought he was having a tantrum.”
Amanda’s voice dropped.
“He is four.”
No one answered.
Because there was no answer that did not make them monstrous or cowardly.
Richard’s phone buzzed.
He pulled it from his pocket.
Looked down.
Stilled.
Amanda did not need to see the message.
The security alert had reached him too.
May you like
His thumb hovered over the screen as if he could undo the notification by refusing to touch it.
Read the full story 👉 Brooke tried to claim ignorance, but Ethan’s quiet words showed she had seen enough to know something was wrong.
