Chapter 5 - Why Greer stayed silent
Camilla controlled Greer’s employment.
Schedules.
Bonuses.
Extra shifts.
References.
Three months earlier, Greer had separated from her fiancé and moved into a smaller apartment.
She needed the income.
That did not excuse silence.
It explained pressure.
When Greer first questioned the kennel, Camilla told her:
“Beckett thinks Pippa is too dependent on adults because he compensates for losing her mother.”
That sentence sounded plausible enough to Greer because everyone knew Pippa’s mother was dead.
Her name was Laurel.
My first wife.
Pippa’s biological mother.
She died from an aggressive infection after emergency surgery when Pippa was two.
I became a widower at thirty-seven.
Camilla entered our lives eighteen months later.
We married when Pippa was four.
Greer said:
“Mrs. Norwood kept saying you two had different parenting styles and you didn’t want staff interfering.”
I closed my eyes.
That also sounded plausible.
Because I had said something adjacent once.
Not about punishment.
About bedtime.
After Greer mentioned Pippa asking for extra stories, I said:
“Camilla and I need to stay consistent. Don’t let Pippa turn staff into a second vote.”
May you like
A reasonable sentence in context.
Camilla had converted it into permission.
