Chapter 3
I did not go home that night.
Neither did Elena.
The hospital kept Noah for observation because his heart rate spiked every time a stranger reached toward him.
I stayed in the chair beside his crib.
Elena sat near the door.
She kept saying she should leave.
I kept telling her no.
At two in the morning, Noah woke crying.
Not hungry.
Not wet.
Terrified.
His tiny hands clawed at the air until I picked him up.
The moment Elena spoke, he calmed.
“It’s okay, little prince,” she whispered.
Little prince.
The words were so gentle I almost broke.
“How often did you comfort him when I wasn’t home?” I asked.
Elena looked down.
“Most days.”
“Most days?”
“She didn’t like holding him when he cried.”
“She wanted a baby.”
Elena’s face changed.
“No, sir.”
I stared at her.
“What do you mean?”
She hesitated too long.
“Elena.”
“She wanted your name. Your house. Your life.”
My chest tightened.
“She married me before Noah was born.”
“Yes.”
“And she pushed for a baby.”
Elena swallowed.
“She pushed for control.”
The words landed hard because some part of me already knew.
Victoria had entered my life after my first marriage collapsed.
My ex-wife, Caroline, left when our daughter Sophie was eleven.
Sophie chose boarding school at fourteen because home had become too cold.
Then Victoria arrived.
Beautiful.
Confident.
Helpful.
She took charge of the house.
Then my calendar.
Then my staff.
Then my friendships.
Then Noah.
I let it happen because I was tired of fighting everyone.
I thought peace was the same thing as happiness.
I was wrong.
At dawn, Julia returned with coffee and worse news.
“We reviewed the digital signature on the camera-disabling request.”
“And?”
“It came from your office computer.”
“I didn’t send it.”
“Someone with access did.”
“Victoria.”
“Maybe. But she didn’t have your password.”
I looked at Marcus.
He looked away.
My stomach tightened.
“Who did?”
Marcus said, “Only family.”
My mind went immediately to my older daughter.
“No.”
Julia held my gaze.
“Arthur, did Sophie have access?”
“Sophie hasn’t set foot in my house for four months.”
“Why?”
I hated the answer.
“Victoria said Sophie was disrespectful.”
“And you believed her?”
I looked at Noah.
“I wanted to.”
Julia’s silence was merciless.
At nine, I called Sophie.
She answered on the fifth ring.
“What do you want?”
Her voice was guarded.
Seventeen years old and already tired of me.
“Sophie, it’s Dad.”
“I know.”
“Noah is in the hospital.”
Silence.
“What happened?”
“Victoria hurt him.”
Another silence.
Longer.
Then Sophie whispered, “Finally.”
The word cut me open.
“What do you mean, finally?”
“I told you she was cruel.”
“You said she was controlling.”
“I said she was dangerous.”
I closed my eyes.
I remembered that fight.
Sophie standing in the foyer with a backpack.
Victoria crying behind me, saying Sophie had shoved her.
Sophie screaming that Victoria was lying.
Me telling Sophie to calm down.
Me choosing the wrong person.
“Sophie,” I said, voice breaking. “I’m sorry.”
She laughed once.
It sounded like pain.
“You always are after it matters.”
I deserved that.
“Did you sign any request about cameras?”
“What?”
“The nursery cameras were disabled with my signature.”
“I didn’t do that.”
“Did Victoria ever ask for your passwords?”
“No. But she asked me about Mom’s old laptop.”
Caroline’s laptop.
My ex-wife had left it in my office years ago.
I had forgotten it existed.
“Why?”
“She said there were family photos on it. I told her it still auto-logged into the house server because Mom used to manage the security system before she left.”
My blood ran cold.
Julia, standing beside me, heard every word.
“Sophie,” she said, “this is Julia Grant. Did Victoria take that laptop?”
“I don’t know. I left the house after Dad called me ungrateful.”
My throat closed.
Sophie’s voice trembled.
“Is Noah okay?”
“He will be.”
A pause.
“Is Elena with him?”
I looked at Elena.
“Yes.”
“Good,” Sophie said. “She was the only one who ever treated him like a person.”
I gripped the phone.
“Sophie, will you come to the hospital?”
“No.”
“Sophie—”
“I can’t walk in and pretend we’re a family because your wife finally got caught.”
“I’m not asking you to pretend.”
“Then what are you asking?”
I looked at Noah.
Then at Elena’s burned arm.
Then at the wreckage of my choices.
“I’m asking for a chance to listen.”
Sophie didn’t speak.
Then she said, “I’ll think about it.”
The call ended.
Julia’s expression softened slightly.
“That was a start.”
“It was pathetic.”
“It was honest.”
Before I could answer, Marcus entered with a tablet.
“We found archived footage from a backup server.”
My heart pounded.
“Show me.”
He hesitated.
“Sir, some of it involves Sophie.”
I felt the room go cold.
The first clip showed the upstairs hallway from four months ago.
Sophie stood outside the nursery, holding Noah and rocking him.
Victoria appeared.
Her face was calm.
Her voice was ice.
“Put him down. You are not his mother.”
Sophie said, “Neither are you when you act like this.”
Victoria slapped her.
Hard.
I stopped breathing.
On the screen, Sophie lifted one hand to her cheek.
Victoria leaned close.
“If you tell your father, I’ll cry first.”
The clip ended.
I sat down before my knees gave out.
May you like
My daughter had told the truth.
And I had sent her away.
