Chapter 3
I wiped my eyes quickly.
I kissed Leo’s head.
“Stay here, baby,” I whispered. “I’m going to go talk to Daddy. I’ll be right back, okay?”
He nodded, clutching his T-Rex to his chest.
I stood up and walked to the door. I paused in the hallway, taking a deep breath, smoothing my blazer. I had to be calm. I had to be in control.
David was standing in the middle of the living room when I got downstairs.
He was still in his work suit—tie loosened, jacket slung over one arm. His dark hair was messy, like he’d run his hands through it a hundred times on the drive over. He’d gotten my text the second the lockdown was triggered.
His eyes scanned the room.
The overturned furniture. The cake table, still askew. The dark purple stain of grape juice soaking into the carpet.
And then he saw me.
“What happened?” he said, his voice tight. “The security alert… I left the office as soon as I saw it. Is everyone okay? Where’s Leo? Where’s my mother?”
I didn’t answer right away.
I walked to the couch and sat down. I folded my hands in my lap.
“Leo is upstairs,” I said. “He’s in his room. He’s safe now.”
David frowned.
“Safe? What do you mean, safe? Where’s Mom?”
“Your mother is gone,” I said. “I had security remove her. She’s not coming back.”
David stared at me.
For a second, he didn’t seem to understand.
Then his face hardened.
“You what?” he said. He dropped his jacket on the floor. “You threw my mother out of my house? Are you insane? Do you have any idea what she’s been through lately? She’s been under so much stress—”
“Your mother slapped our son across the face,” I cut in.
My voice was flat.
Dead.
David stopped.
His mouth hung open.
“…What?”
“Your mother,” I repeated, slower this time, “hit Leo. Hard. In front of twenty guests. Because he spilled a glass of juice on the carpet.”
I stood up.
I walked to him.
I looked him dead in the eye.
“When I walked in the door, David, our son was on his knees on the floor. Crying. Too scared to even make a sound. And your mother was standing over him, bragging about how she was ‘teaching him manners’ because his mother is ‘never around.’”
David’s face went pale.
“No,” he said. He shook his head. “No. That’s not… Mom would never… She loves Leo. She’d never hurt him. You must have misunderstood. Maybe she was just—”
“Misunderstood?” I laughed. It was a harsh, bitter sound. “I saw the handprint on his face, David. I watched him flinch when I touched his cheek. I held him while he sobbed because he thought he was bad for spilling juice. There is no misunderstanding here.”
I turned and walked toward the stairs.
“Come with me,” I said. “See for yourself.”
He followed me.
His footsteps were heavy. Uncertain.
I pushed open Leo’s bedroom door.
Leo was sitting up in bed, his T-Rex in his lap. He looked up when we came in. His face crumpled a little when he saw his father.
“Daddy,” he whispered.
David walked to the bed.
He knelt down.
And then he saw it.
The bruise.
Darkening.
Spreading across the left side of Leo’s small, perfect face.
David’s hand came up to his mouth.
“Oh my God,” he breathed. “Oh my God, Leo. Who did this to you?”
Leo looked at me.
I nodded slightly.
“Grandma,” he said, so quiet I almost didn’t hear it. “I spilled juice. She said I was bad. She said Mommy didn’t love me enough to stay home and teach me right.”
David froze.
He looked at the mark again.
Then he looked at me.
His eyes were wet.
“I didn’t know,” he said. His voice was breaking. “I swear to you, I didn’t know. She told me… she told me Leo was just being moody. That he missed you. She said he was acting out and she was just being firm with him. I never… I never thought she’d…”
He couldn’t finish.
He reached out, then stopped, his hand hovering over Leo’s cheek. Afraid to touch him. Afraid to hurt him more.
“Daddy’s so sorry, baby,” he whispered. “Daddy is so, so sorry. I should have been here. I should have protected you.”
Leo leaned forward and wrapped his arms around David’s neck.
“It’s okay, Daddy,” he said. “Mommy came home. She fixed it.”
David held him.
His shoulders were shaking.
I stood in the doorway, watching.
I’d been so angry when I first saw David. So ready to fight. So ready to blame him for leaving our son alone with that woman.
But looking at him now…
Looking at the raw, devastated pain on his face…
I knew.
He hadn’t known.
He’d been played.
Just like I had.
Helen had manipulated both of us. She’d played the doting grandmother to my face, the concerned mother to David’s… and the monster behind closed doors.
And we’d both let her.
Because we were busy.
Because we trusted her.
Because we never, ever wanted to believe that family could hurt you like that.
David finally pulled back.
He wiped his face roughly with the back of his hand.
He stood up and turned to me.
His eyes were red.
But there was no more doubt in them.
May you like
Only cold, hard fury.
“Where is she?” he said.
