Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN HE FAILED
Emma was taken to the hospital less than an hour later.
The pediatrician found no broken bones, head trauma, or internal injuries.
Clara had stopped the stroller before Emma struck the stairs.
The only mark on the baby was a faint red line across her shoulder from the safety harness.
Clara was not as fortunate.
Her shoulder was badly bruised.
Her forearm had been cut.
Her cheek was swollen.
The doctor examining her noticed the handprint immediately.
"Did that happen during the fall?"
Clara looked toward Adrian.
He was standing near the doorway holding Emma.
His face tightened.
"No."
Clara answered quietly.
"My husband hit me."
The doctor looked at Adrian.
Adrian did not defend himself.
"I did."
The words tasted poisonous.
"I was wrong."
The doctor documented the injury.
Clara allowed him to photograph it.
Adrian understood why.
That realization made his stomach turn.
At two in the morning, they returned home.
Vanessa was gone.
She had left before the police arrived.
She had also refused to answer Adrian's calls.
Two officers had watched Olivia's video and taken statements.
They told Adrian the investigation would continue.
For once, Adrian did not use his money, family name, or connections to control what happened next.
He gave them Vanessa's phone number.
Her address.
Her license plate.
Everything.
When the officers left, Clara walked upstairs.
Adrian followed.
She entered their bedroom and pulled a suitcase from the closet.
His heart dropped.
"Clara."
She continued folding clothes.
"Please."
She stopped.
"What do you want me to say?"
"That you'll stay."
Clara looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because I love you."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"You loved me thirty seconds before you hit me."
Adrian flinched.
"I know."
"No, you don't."
She placed another sweater into the suitcase.
"You saw your sister crying and decided I must be guilty."
"I wasn't thinking."
"Exactly."
Her voice sharpened.
"You weren't thinking about me."
"You weren't thinking about who I am."
"You weren't thinking about the fact that I have cared for Olivia for six years."
"You weren't thinking about the fact that I carried Emma for nine months."
"You weren't thinking about the fact that I would die before I hurt either of those girls."
Adrian could not answer.
Clara zipped the suitcase.
"I need space."
"Take the guest room."
She shook her head.
"I need space from you."
That landed differently.
Adrian looked toward Emma sleeping in the bassinet beside the bed.
"Are you taking her?"
Clara's face changed.
"You really have to ask?"
"No."
He swallowed.
"I just don't want to lose her."
Clara's eyes filled again.
"You almost lost her tonight because of Vanessa."
Then her gaze moved to his hand.
"And you almost lost me because of you."
A soft knock came from the doorway.
Olivia stood there wearing pajamas.
Her face was red from crying.
"Can I go with Clara?"
Adrian stared at his sixteen-year-old daughter.
Olivia looked frightened that he might say no.
He forced himself to step aside.
"If Clara is okay with it."
Clara looked at Olivia.
"Of course."
Olivia crossed the room and hugged her.
Clara wrapped one arm around her while protecting her injured shoulder.
Adrian watched his family gather around the woman he had attacked.
He finally understood something that should have been obvious years ago.
Clara had never divided his family.
She had held it together.
Forty minutes later, Clara drove away with Emma and Olivia.
Adrian stood in the driveway until the taillights disappeared.
Then he walked back inside.
The house felt enormous.
The overturned stroller still sat near the stairs.
He approached it slowly.
One wheel was bent.
There was blood on the metal frame.
Clara's blood.
Adrian placed his hand on the handle.
That was when he noticed something strange.
The brake lever was hanging loose.
He crouched down.
A small metal pin lay beneath the stroller.
Adrian picked it up.
His stomach tightened.
He knew enough about mechanical parts to understand what he was looking at.
The brake had not simply been released.
Someone had removed part of it.
Adrian immediately called the officer who had taken their statement.
"I found something."
May you like
He stared at the broken stroller.
"I don't think what happened tonight started tonight."
