Chapter 2 - The Cold Excuse
Brenda didn't look guilty. She didn't flinch.
The elegant stepmother slowly stood up, brushing an invisible piece of lint off her designer pants. She looked at her hardworking husband, her facial micro-expressions shifting into pure, toxic annoyance.
She rolled her eyes, completely dismissive of the fact that her ten-year-old stepdaughter was nearly blind and in physical pain.
"She broke them, Frank," Brenda scoffed, waving her manicured hand nonchalantly. "I'm not spending another three hundred dollars just because she's clumsy. She can wait until her next eye exam next year."
Frank’s blood turned to absolute ice. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Just two days ago, Frank had specifically handed Brenda five hundred dollars in cash. He had worked overtime all weekend in the freezing auto garage just to make sure Rosie could get her high-prescription glasses replaced immediately. Brenda had promised to take her to the optometrist right after school.
Instead, she had taken his hard-earned money and bought her own son luxury sneakers.
Frank looked down at Rosie. The ten-year-old girl was staring nervously at the floor. She reached up with trembling fingers, gently touching the thick white tape digging into her nose.
"I did tell you, Dad," Rosie whispered, her voice cracking with heartbreaking innocence. "I told you she wouldn't buy them."
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Frank’s heart shattered. He realized his daughter had been telling him the truth about her stepmother's cruelty for months, and he had been too exhausted to see it.
👉 How will the devastated father react to this ultimate betrayal?
