CHAPTER 2 — One Hour
CHAPTER 2 — One Hour
By the time I carried Lily home, forty-three minutes remained.
She sat silently in the back seat, clutching the stuffed rabbit she had slept with since she was two years old. Every few minutes, she reached up to touch her bare scalp, only to pull her hand away as if she still couldn't believe her hair was gone.
My heart broke each time.
When we reached the house, I helped her into the living room and wrapped her in her favorite pink blanket.
"Sweetheart," I whispered, "none of this is your fault."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Did Daddy stop loving me because my hair was messy?"
The question cut deeper than any knife.
I knelt in front of her.
"Listen to me carefully."
I held her tiny face in my hands.
"Nothing you could ever do would make you deserve what happened today."
She nodded, though I wasn't sure she believed me.
I kissed her forehead.
"I'll fix this."
For her.
For myself.
For every child who had ever been taught that an adult could hurt them without consequences.
Exactly fifty-eight minutes after my phone call, a black Mercedes stopped outside.
Ethan stepped out first.
He looked exhausted.
Vanessa followed behind him, wearing oversized sunglasses despite the cloudy afternoon.
She wasn't here because she felt guilty.
She was here because she was afraid.
I opened the front door before they reached it.
"You made it."
"Rachel," Ethan began, "let's discuss this like adults."
"I gave you one instruction."
His jaw tightened.
Vanessa crossed her arms.
"I'm not kneeling."
I smiled.
"Then you can explain that decision to the police."
She laughed.
"You don't have proof."
I lifted my phone.
"I have the school's security footage."
Her smile disappeared.
"I have witness statements."
She swallowed.
"And I have my daughter."
I stepped aside.
"Come in."
Neither of them moved.
Finally Ethan spoke.
"Vanessa... just apologize."
She stared at him in disbelief.
"You want me to humiliate myself?"
"I want this over."
"No," she snapped.
"You promised you'd protect me."
The words echoed through the front yard.
Protect me.
Not "protect us."
Not "protect the company."
Protect me.
The silence between Ethan and me said everything.
He had chosen her long before today.
I simply hadn't wanted to see it.
Lily slowly walked into the hallway.
She wore a little knit cap over her shaved head.
When Vanessa looked at her, there was still no remorse.
Only annoyance.
That was all I needed to know.
"You may leave," I said quietly.
Ethan blinked.
"What?"
"You've made your choice."
I closed the front door.
May you like
Not on Vanessa.
On my marriage.
