“I have to ask you both something, and I need honest answers.
Is there anything in either of your histories that Daniel could use to discredit you?
Anything he might bring up to make this look like a personal attack?”
I thought about it.
“He’ll say Ava is unstable.
That she’s been resentful.Self-Help & Motivational
That she fabricated this to punish him for something.”
“And you?”
“He’ll say I’m grieving and not thinking clearly.
That I’ve been manipulated by a troubled girl.” I met Patricia’s eyes.
“He’s going to fight this.”
“He will,” she agreed.People & Society
“Which is why we move before he knows we’re moving.” She closed her notepad.
“I’m going to make a call this afternoon.
I want you both to go home, act normally, and do not confront him.
Do not give him any indication that anything has changed.”
“He’s already suspicious,” Ava said.Writers Resources
“He cornered me last night.”
Patricia looked up sharply.
“What did he say?”
“He said I could talk to him about anything.
He was checking whether I’d told her.” Ava nodded toward me.
“He does that.
He asks soft questions and watches your face.”
“Then we move tonight.” Patricia stood.
“Go home.
Make dinner.
I’ll call you by eight.”Food & Drink
We drove home in near silence.
Ava stared out the passenger window.
I kept both hands on the wheel and thought about the first year after Chloe’s passing — how Daniel had held me while I cried, how he had spoken at her memorial, how he had said her name like it cost him something.
All of it performance.Self-Help & Motivational
Every tear a calculation.
Daniel was home when we arrived, earlier than usual.
He was in the kitchen, and he had already started dinner.
Pasta.pasta
He was stirring the sauce when we walked in.Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
“Thought I’d cook tonight,” he said.
He smiled at me.
Then he looked at Ava.
“How was your day?”
“Fine,” she said.
“I went for a drive.Dry Pasta & Noodles
Cleared my head.”
“Good.” He turned back to the stove.
“That’s good.”
I set my bag down and went upstairs to change.
In the bedroom, I checked my phone.Communications Equipment
No message from Patricia yet.
I changed my clothes and went back down.
