Chapter 3 - The House Across Town
Daniel's sister Claire lived fifteen minutes away.
She opened the door wearing pajama pants and holding a coffee mug.
One look at Daniel's face made her stop joking.
"What happened?"
Daniel glanced toward the girls.
"Can we come in?"
Claire immediately stepped aside.
Emma and Lily knew their aunt well.
Normally, Claire's house meant movies, popcorn, and sleeping bags in the living room.
That night felt different.
Claire seemed to understand without being told.
She gave the girls hot chocolate.
She turned on an animated movie.
Then she led Daniel into the kitchen.
"Tell me."
Daniel explained everything.
He expected Claire to look shocked.
Instead, she looked worried.
That bothered him more.
"What?"
Claire hesitated.
"Rachel called me three weeks ago."
Daniel stared.
"About what?"
"Nothing specific."
"Claire."
"She was upset."
"About the girls?"
"About everything."
Daniel leaned against the counter.
"What did she say?"
Claire looked toward the living room.
"She said she felt like nobody listened to her anymore."
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because she asked me not to."
"That's becoming a pattern."
Claire nodded.
"She also said you being gone so much made everything harder."
Daniel looked down.
That part hit him differently.
His job required travel.
He knew Rachel carried more of the daily responsibilities when he was gone.
He had told himself they were managing.
Maybe he had been wrong.
But exhaustion didn't explain frightening children into silence.
"What exactly did she say about the girls?"
Claire sighed.
"She said Emma challenges her."
"Emma is seven."
"I know."
"Lily is five."
"I know."
Daniel looked toward them again.
"I should've seen this."
Claire shook her head.
"You weren't here."
"That's the problem."
In the living room, Emma wasn't watching the movie.
She was listening.
Lily had fallen asleep against her shoulder.
Emma carefully slipped free.
She walked toward the kitchen.
"Aunt Claire?"
Claire turned.
"Hey, sweetie."
Emma hesitated.
"Mom gets mad more when Dad's gone."
Daniel went still.
"How much more?"
Emma looked at him.
"Sometimes a lot."
Daniel crouched again.
"What happens?"
Emma frowned as though sorting through memories.
"She yells."
"Okay."
"She throws stuff."
"What stuff?"
"Not at us."
Emma immediately added the qualification.
Daniel noticed.
"What does she throw?"
"Kitchen towels."
Claire remained quiet.
"Sometimes cups."
Daniel's chest tightened.
"Plastic?"
Emma shook her head.
"One broke."
"When?"
"Tuesday."
Daniel remembered Tuesday.
He had called from Chicago.
Rachel had said everything was great.
"Did anyone get hurt?"
"No."
Emma looked guilty.
"Mom cleaned it up."
Daniel took her hands.
"You aren't in trouble."
Emma nodded.
"Neither is Lily."
"I know."
"No."
Daniel spoke more firmly.
"I need you to really hear me."
Emma looked into his eyes.
"You never get in trouble for telling me the truth."
Her face crumpled.
Daniel pulled her into his arms.
That night, after the girls fell asleep, Daniel's phone rang.
Rachel.
He let it ring twice before answering.
"Hello."
"Put the girls on."
"They're asleep."
"Wake them."
"No."
A pause.
Rachel's voice became sharp.
"Daniel, don't do this."
"Do what?"
"Turn them against me."
"I'm not."
"You took them."
"For one night."
"Without asking."
Daniel walked onto Claire's back porch.
"You told Emma she'd be sent away if she talked about things happening at home."
Rachel was silent.
"Did you?"
"I don't remember saying that."
"That's not an answer."
"I might've said something when I was frustrated."
"Why?"
"Because she tells everyone everything."
"She's seven."
Rachel sighed.
"You keep saying that."
"Because you keep talking about her like she's an adult adversary."
Rachel's breathing changed.
Daniel continued.
"Tomorrow, we're going to talk."
"We're talking now."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you're angry."
"So are you."
"Yes."
Daniel looked through the window at his daughters sleeping on the couch.
"But I'm not going to have this conversation while you're yelling."
Rachel's voice dropped.
"I wasn't yelling."
Daniel said nothing.
That silence forced her to hear herself.
When she spoke again, her tone was softer.
"Come home tomorrow."
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
"Please."
"We'll talk."
"Bring the girls."
Daniel looked at the house.
"We'll see."
Rachel's voice cracked.
"They need their mother."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"I know."
After the call, Claire stepped outside.
"How'd that go?"
"Badly."
Claire leaned against the railing.
"What are you going to do?"
Daniel stared into the dark backyard.
"I don't know."
His phone buzzed again.
This time it wasn't Rachel.
It was a notification from the family's shared tablet account.
A video had been automatically uploaded to cloud storage.
The timestamp was Friday at 8:13 a.m.
Daniel opened it.
At first, the screen showed only the kitchen table.
Emma had apparently left the tablet propped against a stack of books while recording a school project.
Daniel heard Rachel's voice off camera.
Then Lily.
Then the shouting.
Claire moved closer.
The camera angle didn't show everything.
But the audio was unmistakable.
Rachel's angry voice filled the small speaker.
Then came Lily's frightened plea.
Then the sound of the pan.
Then silence.
Daniel stopped the video.
Claire stared at him.
"Daniel."
He looked at the frozen image on the screen.
The timestamp remained in the corner.
8:13 a.m.
He had spent the last twenty-four hours wondering whether memory, fear, and confusion had distorted what happened.
Now he had something else.
A recording.
May you like
And suddenly tomorrow's conversation wasn't going to be about whether something happened.
It was going to be about what Daniel was prepared to do now that he knew it had.
