Chapter 2 - WHAT DAD KNEWI turned slowly.
"What about Lauren and Emma?"
Dad looked at Mom.
Mom's face changed.
Just for a second.
But I saw it.
Fear.
"Robert," she warned.
Dad ignored her.
"Two months ago, Lauren babysat Emma here for an hour while your mother went to the pharmacy."
My stomach tightened.
"You told me Mom was with her the entire time."
Mom pushed her chair backward.
"Nothing happened."
Dad rubbed both hands over his face.
"When I got home, Emma was crying in the guest room."
He swallowed.
"The door was closed."
I stared at Lauren.
She folded her arms.
"She was fed. She was safe. Babies cry."
"How long?"
Nobody answered.
"How long was my six-week-old baby alone upstairs?"
Dad finally whispered:
"I don't know."
I looked at Mom.
"You knew?"
"Claire, your sister was overwhelmed."
"She left my newborn alone behind a closed door."
"For a little while."
James moved closer.
His voice remained calm.
"Why wasn't my wife told?"
Mom snapped.
"Because you were deployed and Claire was already stressed. We were helping."
"Helping?"
My voice broke.
"You lied to me."
Lauren grabbed her purse.
"This family is insane."
She headed toward the foyer.
James stepped aside.
"Leave."
Lauren pointed at me.
"When Mom ends up in the hospital because of this, remember you caused it."
The front door slammed.
Emma whimpered against my shoulder.
That tiny sound ended the argument.
"We're going."
Ten minutes later, we were driving through falling snow.
I sat in the back seat with Emma.
James drove.
Both hands were locked around the steering wheel.
"I should have seen it," I whispered.
"No."
"I trusted them."
"So did I."
At urgent care, the doctor examined Emma carefully.
Physically, she appeared okay.
But the doctor's expression became serious when I explained what had happened.
"Because an adult intentionally struck an infant, I need to document this carefully."
My heart pounded.
"Document it for what?"
Before she could answer, James's phone buzzed.
He looked at the screen.
His face hardened.
"Claire."
He turned the phone toward me.
"Your sister just posted something about us online."
Lauren's post had already been shared forty-three times.
The first line read:
MY BROTHER-IN-LAW THREATENED ME AT CHRISTMAS BECAUSE I TRIED TO PROTECT HIS BABY.
May you like
I felt the blood drain from my face.
The war had begun.
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