CHAPTER 3 – What Daniel Knew
Vanessa placed both palms on the table.
“Before you do anything that cannot be undone, you need to know what your son promised.”
Daniel lifted his head.
“Vanessa.”
“No. You don’t get to look innocent.”
She took out her phone, found a conversation, and pushed it toward Margaret.
Daniel’s name appeared above the messages.
She’ll never choose to leave. We have to make the decision easier.
Below it, another message.
Once she gets used to the den, she’ll see she doesn’t need the whole place.
Margaret read them without touching the phone.
The kitchen clock made a small clicking sound before the minute hand moved.
“You knew about the chair.”
Daniel nodded.
“The rules?”
“Yes.”
“And the dinner?”
“I knew someone was coming to look. Vanessa said you didn’t want to deal with people.”
Margaret looked at him until he stopped speaking.
“I wanted to believe her,” he said.
There it was. Not a misunderstanding that could be explained away. A choice he had made repeatedly, one comfortable silence at a time.
Vanessa drew the phone back.
“We were trying to solve a problem.”
Margaret’s fingers curled against her skirt.
“Was I the problem, or was it that my house wasn’t yours?”
“The debts were swallowing us.”
“So you decided to swallow me.”
Daniel flinched.
Vanessa opened her mouth, but Margaret stood.
