Chapter 2: The Woman He Thought He Knew
Marcus carried Ava to the cream-colored sofa and sat beside her, keeping one arm around her shoulders.
He could feel her heartbeat racing through her thin cotton shirt.
Vanessa followed them, picked up a decorative pillow from the floor, and placed it precisely in the corner of the sofa.
“Marcus, we need to discuss this without her listening,” she said.
“No.””
Her hand stopped on the pillow.
“What do you mean, no?””
“I mean we're discussing it right here.””
Vanessa glanced at Ava with obvious irritation.
“This is an adult conversation.””
“She's the child you were punishing. She gets to hear what you have to say about it.””
Ava looked at her father in surprise.
For the first time since he had entered the house, she raised her head without immediately checking Vanessa's reaction.
Vanessa noticed.
“Wonderful,” she said.
“Now you're teaching her that she can run to Daddy whenever she doesn't like the rules.””
Marcus's voice dropped.
“She came to me because she was afraid.””
“She should be afraid of consequences.””
“Consequences for what? Being nine?””
“For refusing to obey me!””
Vanessa's voice cracked through the room.
Ava flinched.
Marcus immediately placed a hand over his daughter's ear and looked at his wife.
“Lower your voice.””
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“Unbelievable. You know what? This is why she's like this. You spend all your time feeling guilty because her mother died, so you let her manipulate you.””
The words landed like a slap.
Ava went completely still.
Marcus stared at Vanessa.
“Don't you ever use her mother against her.””
“I'm stating a fact.””
“No. You're using a little girl's grief to excuse what you did.””
Vanessa shook her head and walked toward the dining room, her heels clicking against the hardwood.
“You want the truth? Fine. I am tired, Marcus. I'm tired of being expected to raise a child who treats me like a stranger while you get to come home and play hero.””
Marcus watched her.
“Have you ever asked yourself why she treats you like a stranger?””
Vanessa turned sharply.
“Because you encourage it!””
Ava's small hand tightened around his wrist.
Marcus felt it and softened his voice.
“Sweetheart, did she make you wear that sign before?””
Ava didn't answer immediately.
Vanessa stepped toward them.
“Don't interrogate her.””
Marcus didn't look away from his daughter.
“You can tell me anything.””
Ava took a shaky breath.
“Yesterday, she said I was selfish because I asked if we could make cookies.””
Marcus frowned.
“What happened?””
“She said the kitchen wasn't a playground. Then she told me to stand in the pantry until I could remember how to be grateful.””
His stomach turned.
“How long were you in there?””
Ava's eyes dropped.
“I don't know.””
Vanessa threw up her hands.
“Oh, come on! She was in there for a few minutes.””
Ava recoiled against Marcus.
He turned toward Vanessa.
“You said she fell. Now you're admitting you locked her in a pantry?””
“I didn't lock anything! The door was closed.””
“Then why didn't she open it?””
Vanessa opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Marcus waited.
Finally, she said, “Because she was being difficult.””
He looked at her as if he had never seen her before.
He remembered meeting Vanessa at a charity dinner three years earlier. She had listened when he spoke about losing his first wife, Danielle, to an aggressive illness. She had remembered Ava's favorite books, brought her art supplies, and promised him that she understood he was a father before he was a husband.
When they married, Ava had walked down the aisle holding Vanessa's hand.
Marcus had thought he was giving his daughter a second person to love her.
Now he wondered how many moments he had mistaken for kindness because he wanted his new marriage to work.
“Why didn't you tell me?”” he asked Ava softly.
She stared at the floor.
“Vanessa said you were already tired from work.””
Marcus's eyes burned.
“She said if I told you, you'd get angry because I was making your life harder.””
“Baby, no.””
“She said you might send me to Aunt Renee's house.””
Marcus pulled her close.
“I would never send you away because you told me the truth.””
Ava began to cry again, but these tears sounded different. They came with little gasps, as if she had been holding them back for a very long time.
Vanessa paced beside the windows.
“This is outrageous. I have sacrificed everything for this family.””
Marcus looked up.
“What have you sacrificed?””
“My time. My career opportunities. My freedom.””
“You chose to marry me.””
“And you chose to bring a child into this marriage who needs constant attention!””
Ava pressed both hands over her mouth.
Marcus stood.
“Enough.””
Vanessa pointed toward the staircase.
“Do you know what she did last week? She went into your office and touched documents she had no business touching.””
Marcus's expression changed.
“What documents?””
Vanessa hesitated.
Then she recovered quickly.
“Your business papers. She was snooping around.””
Ava shook her head.
“I wasn't snooping.””
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
“Don't interrupt me!””
Marcus stepped between them.
“Tell me what happened, Ava.””
Ava wiped her cheeks with her sleeve.
“I was looking for the blue folder Daddy said I could use for my school project. I saw some papers on the desk, but I didn't touch them.””
Vanessa's face turned rigid.
Marcus caught the change.
“What papers are you talking about, Vanessa?””
“Nothing important.””
“Then why did you bring them up?””
“Because she has to learn boundaries!””
Marcus slowly lowered his eyes to the phone on the side table.
Its screen was still illuminated.
He had noticed it when he first entered the room, but he had been too focused on Ava to think about it.
Now he saw a video thumbnail.
The image showed Vanessa standing beside the sofa.
Ava was kneeling in front of her.
The cardboard sign hung around the little girl's neck.
Marcus picked up the phone.
Vanessa moved so quickly that her bracelet struck the edge of the table.
“Give me that.””
He pulled it away.
“Why?””
“Because it's my phone!””
Marcus stared at the screen.
The video had a timestamp from earlier that afternoon.
Below it was another file.
An audio recording.
Vanessa reached for the device again.
“Marcus, don't you dare.””
He looked at her.
“What are you afraid I'll hear?””
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For the first time, his wife looked genuinely frightened.
And then the phone began playing the video.
