Chapter 3 - DON'T LET HER LEAVE
Adrian caught the front door before Vanessa could slam it behind her.
“Get back inside.”
She spun around on the porch. “Take your hands off the door.”
“You pushed a baby toward a staircase.”
“I didn't mean for her to fall.”
The words came too quickly.
Adrian stared at her.
Vanessa realized what she'd admitted and pressed her lips together.
Behind him, Olivia said, “I recorded that too.”
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
“You little brat.”
Adrian's voice dropped. “Don't talk to my daughter like that.”
“Oh, now you're Father of the Year?” Vanessa snapped. “You just hit your wife without asking one question.”
The sentence landed exactly where she intended.
Adrian flinched.
Clara came to the doorway holding an ice pack against her cheek. “Call the police.”
Vanessa looked at her. “You wouldn't.”
Clara's eyes were dry now. “You pushed my baby toward a staircase.”
“Our baby,” Adrian said automatically.
Clara looked at him.
He wished he could take the words back. Not because they were wrong, but because he had no right to reach for unity after what he'd done.
Clara turned to Olivia. “Call 911.”
Vanessa lunged for Olivia's phone.
Adrian stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Vanessa stopped.
For a moment the brother and sister faced each other on the porch under the yellow light.
“You don't know what Clara has done to this family,” Vanessa hissed.
“I know what you did five minutes ago.”
“You think that camera tells the whole story?”
“It tells enough.”
Sirens sounded in the distance.
Vanessa's expression changed. Fear finally appeared.
Then she did something Adrian didn't expect.
She smiled.
“Fine,” she said. “Let the police come.”
Clara narrowed her eyes.
Vanessa stepped back into the house and set her purse on the table.
“You want the whole truth?” she asked. “Let's do the whole truth.”
Two officers arrived six minutes later. They separated everyone, viewed the footage, photographed the stroller and staircase, and asked Clara if she needed medical attention.
Then one officer pulled Adrian aside.
“Sir, your daughter Olivia says she witnessed you strike your wife.”
Adrian's throat tightened.
“I did.”
The officer's expression hardened.
From across the room, Clara heard him.
Adrian looked at her.
She looked away.
Then Vanessa spoke from the dining room.
“Officer, before you arrest anybody, you should ask Clara why she has been stealing from Adrian's company.”
May you like
Clara froze.
And Adrian slowly turned around.
