Chapter 3
Aaron arrived in twenty minutes.
He entered through the back door because I gave him the code.
By then, Vanessa had turned the downstairs into a stage.
Broken glass on the floor.
A chair knocked over.
Her own cheek red.
When Aaron stepped into the kitchen, she cried instantly.
“Thank God. Ethan is losing control.”
I stood on the stairs with Sophie behind me.
Aaron looked from Vanessa to me.
Then to the camera in the corner of the ceiling.
“Ethan,” he said quietly. “Does that record audio?”
“Yes.”
Vanessa stopped crying.
Just stopped.
Aaron noticed.
So did I.
He looked at her.
“Do you want to tell me what happened before I pull the footage?”
Vanessa’s face tightened.
“You are his brother. You’re biased.”
“I am also off duty,” Aaron said. “Which means I can call uniformed officers and let them handle it.”
“Good,” she snapped. “Call them.”
So he did.
Vanessa had expected fear.
Instead, she got procedure.
While we waited, Dr. Patel arrived.
She came because she had known Sophie since birth.
Because she had loved Laura.
Because when I said, “I found bruises,” she did not ask if I was sure.
She said, “I’m on my way.”
Sophie sat on my bed while Dr. Patel examined her.
I stood near the door, fists clenched.
Every mark was photographed.
Wrists.
Upper arms.
A faint bruise on her back.
A healing scrape near her shoulder.
Dr. Patel’s voice stayed gentle.
“Sophie, can you tell me how these happened?”
Sophie looked at me.
I nodded.
“Vanessa grabs me when Daddy works.”
Dr. Patel wrote it down.
“When else?”
“When I cry.”
“What does she say?”
Sophie’s lips trembled.
“She says Mommy died because I was too needy.”
The room went silent.
I felt my knees weaken.
Dr. Patel closed her eyes for half a second.
Then she kept writing.
“What else, sweetheart?”
“She locks the pantry.”
“Why?”
“So I learn not to ask.”
I turned away.
Not because I wanted Sophie to think I was leaving.
Because if she saw my face, my rage might scare her.
Aaron came upstairs after the officers arrived.
He stood in the doorway and heard the last part.
His jaw hardened.
Downstairs, Vanessa shouted, “She is lying!”
Sophie curled into herself.
I went to her immediately.
May you like
“No,” I said. “She is scared because you are telling the truth.”
That was the first time Sophie looked at me like she might believe I could save her.
