Chapter 1 - The Dinner Claire Walked Into
Claire heard Ellie crying before she reached the dining room.
Not fussing.
Not the tired little complaint her eleven-month-old daughter made when she wanted to be picked up.
This was different.
Sharp.
Hungry.
Frightened.
Claire pushed open the dining-room door.
Brenda was sitting at the light-wood table finishing the last few bites from her own plate.
Ellie sat strapped into her high chair nearby.
Her cheeks were wet with tears.
An empty baby bowl sat untouched on the tray.
Then Brenda grabbed a bowl of cold spaghetti from the table and dumped it directly over the baby’s head.
Cold noodles slid through Ellie’s soft blonde hair and down the front of her pale pink onesie.
Ellie screamed.
“SHUT UP. THAT’S ALL YOU’RE GETTING TO EAT.”
Claire stopped in the doorway.
Before she could move, Mason ran in from the opposite side of the room.
The nine-year-old froze when he saw his little sister.
Then his eyes dropped to the baseball bat leaning against the sideboard.
He grabbed it.
“Mason—”
Too late.
He swung once against Brenda’s legs.
WHACK.
Brenda staggered backward and crashed into the dining table.
“STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER!”
Mason immediately dropped the bat.
He rushed to Ellie, unfastened the high-chair strap, and lifted her against his chest.
Ellie sobbed into his dark blue shirt.
Brenda pushed herself upright.
Her face was twisted with rage.
“PUT THE KID DOWN.”
Mason backed away.
“No.”
Brenda looked at the bat.
Then at the children.
She snatched it from the floor and raised it.
“You shouldn’t have gotten involved in this.”
That sentence hit Claire harder than the sight of the raised bat.
Not:
You shouldn’t have hit me.
Not:
You little brat.
You shouldn’t have gotten involved in this.
As though something larger had already been happening.
Claire stepped fully into the room.
“PUT IT DOWN. RIGHT NOW.”
Brenda turned.
For the first time, fear entered her face.
But she did not lower the bat.
Claire moved instantly.
One direct kick struck Brenda in the torso.
THUD.
Brenda flew backward into the china cabinet.
CRASH.
The cabinet shattered behind her, lightweight ornaments and decorative plates spilling around her as she landed stunned on the polished floor.
Claire did not strike again.
She immediately positioned herself between Brenda and the children.
Mason still held Ellie tightly.
Cold spaghetti clung to the baby’s hair and onesie.
Claire looked directly at Brenda.
“WHO SENT YOU HERE TO HARM MY CHILDREN?”
Brenda’s face lost its color.
Then her eyes flicked toward the large lakeside windows.
Not toward the driveway.
Toward the narrow garden path running beside the house.
Mason saw it too.
His grip around Ellie tightened.
May you like
And in that moment, Claire realized her son already knew who had been using that path.
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