Chapter 1 - The Little Bottle
Claire waited until the police officer stepped away from Ethan before she spoke.
“Where is Lily?”
The officer looked at her with concern. “She’s safe. Your daughter is in the waiting room with a nurse.”
Claire tried to sit up, but the room tilted.
“What happened to me?”
“We’re still trying to determine that.”
Her eyes went straight to Ethan.
He was standing near the window, his back toward her.
“Ethan.”
He turned.
For one brief second, Claire saw something she had never seen in her husband’s eyes.
Fear.
Not fear for her.
Fear of being discovered.
“Where’s the bottle?” she whispered.
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“What bottle?”
“The one Lily saw.”
The officer looked between them.
Ethan said nothing.
Then Lily appeared in the doorway, clutching her stuffed rabbit.
“Mommy.”
Claire reached for her.
Lily ran into her arms.
“I’m here, baby.”
The little girl buried her face against Claire’s shoulder.
Then she whispered, “Daddy said not to tell.”
Claire froze.
The police officer immediately stepped closer.
“Tell Mommy what, Lily?”
Lily looked at Ethan.
He shook his head.
That tiny movement told Claire everything.
There was a secret.
And her husband was terrified that their daughter knew it.
That night, Ethan finally admitted the bottle existed.
But he claimed it had been given to him by Vanessa.
“She said it was medicine,” he said.
Claire stared at him.
“Then why did you lie?”
Ethan lowered his voice.
“Because if the police find out Vanessa was there, they’ll blame me.”
“Why?”
He didn't answer.
Claire's heart began pounding.
“Why would they blame you, Ethan?”
He looked at her.
“Because Vanessa wasn't there to hurt you.”
A cold silence filled the room.
“Then why was she there?”
Ethan swallowed.
“She came to warn me.”
“About what?”
He hesitated.
“About Lily.”
Claire felt the world shift beneath her again.
“What about our daughter?”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Vanessa said someone had been watching our house.”
Claire remembered the afternoon.
The warm milk.
Vanessa's trembling hands.
The strange look she had given Lily.
And suddenly, one detail returned with terrifying clarity.
Before Claire lost control of her body, Vanessa had whispered something.
Not to Ethan.
To Claire.
“Don't trust the person who says he loves you.”
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Claire had thought Vanessa was jealous.
Now she wasn't so sure.
