Chapter 3
Denise arrived forty minutes later.
She came in wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and the expression she used when she was trying not to explode.
Vanessa hated Denise.
That had always bothered me a little.
Now I understood why.
Denise hugged the kids first.
Then she asked them if they wanted to stay upstairs while the adults talked.
Nia grabbed my sleeve.
“Can I stay near you?”
“Always.”
So we moved into the living room.
Nia sat close to my side.
Ava and Caleb sat together on the stairs where they could still see me.
Vanessa stood near the fireplace, arms crossed, chin high.
Denise opened her tablet.
“I saw the photos.”
Vanessa scoffed.
“Of course Marcus ran to you.”
Denise ignored her.
“Nia, sweetheart, I’m going to ask you a few questions. You don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to.”
Nia nodded.
Her hand slipped into mine.
Denise’s voice softened.
“How often did this happen?”
“When Dad traveled,” Nia said. “Sometimes when he worked late too.”
“What happened if you asked to eat with everyone?”
Nia swallowed.
“She said I was ungrateful.”
Vanessa laughed once.
A cruel sound.
“That is not abuse.”
Denise looked at her.
“Don’t speak while I’m asking the child questions.”
Vanessa’s face reddened.
Nia continued.
“She said I already had a mother and I should stop trying to steal Ava and Caleb’s.”
The room went quiet.
I felt Ava gasp from the stairs.
I turned to Nia.
“She said that to you?”
Nia nodded.
“She said I made the house sad.”
I closed my eyes for one second.
Because if I looked at Vanessa, I did not trust myself to stay calm.
Denise asked, “Was it only food?”
Nia froze.
That was answer enough.
My blood went cold.
“What else?” I asked.
Nia shook her head.
“It’s okay,” I said. “Tell me.”
“She made me do chores when everyone slept,” Nia whispered. “Laundry. Dishes. Cleaning the bathrooms. If I didn’t finish, she said I couldn’t call you before bed.”
I looked at Vanessa.
“You told me Nia didn’t want to talk.”
“She was being moody,” Vanessa said.
Nia flinched.
Denise saw it.
I saw it.
Ava came down two steps.
“Mom locked Nia’s tablet in the pantry once,” she said. “Because Nia asked for more pasta.”
Caleb wiped his nose with his sleeve.
“She made her sleep without the heater in her room.”
Vanessa snapped, “Enough!”
Everyone jumped.
I stood, placing myself between Vanessa and the children.
“You will not raise your voice at them.”
Vanessa pointed at me.
“You are letting them gang up on me.”
“No,” I said. “They are finally telling the truth.”
Denise stood too.
“Marcus, I recommend the children stay somewhere else tonight.”
Vanessa’s eyes widened.
“You are not taking my children.”
I looked at Ava and Caleb.
They were scared of their own mother.
That truth hurt almost as much as what she had done to Nia.
“They’re coming with me,” I said.
Vanessa laughed.
“You think you can just leave?”
“Yes.”
“This is my house too.”
“And tomorrow we can talk through lawyers.”
Her face twisted.
“Lawyers?”
Denise lifted her tablet.
“The photos are already backed up. So are the children’s statements.”
Vanessa went pale.
For a moment, all her confidence drained out of her.
Then her eyes moved to Ava.
“You little spy.”
Ava shrank back.
I stepped forward.
“Say one more word to her.”
Vanessa’s mouth closed.
I told the kids to pack bags.
Nia moved quickly, like she was afraid I might change my mind.
I followed her to her room.
The bed was neat.
Too neat.
No books on the nightstand.
No clothes on the chair.
No mess.
No childhood.
She opened her closet and pulled down a backpack.
At the bottom of the closet, behind a storage bin, I saw a paper grocery bag.
“What’s that?”
Nia froze.
“Nothing.”
I reached for it gently.
Inside were granola bars, crackers, and small cereal boxes.
Hidden food.
My daughter had been hiding food in her own bedroom.
I sat down on the floor.
For a second, I could not breathe.
Nia knelt beside me.
“Dad?”
I pulled her into my arms.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry I didn’t see.”
She held my shirt.
May you like
“You came home.”
Those three words destroyed me.
