Chapter 3 - THE WARNING
Ethan closed his laptop.
“What?”
Vanessa tried the handle.
“Open the door.”
“No.”
There was a pause.
Then she laughed softly.
“You’re acting strange.”
“You’re standing outside my bedroom after midnight.”
“I wanted to make sure we were okay.”
“We’re fine.”
“No.”
Her voice changed.
“We’re not.”
Ethan stared at the door.
Vanessa continued.
“I saw what you were looking at downstairs.”
“What was I looking at?”
“Don’t play games with me.”
Ethan remained silent.
For several seconds, he heard nothing.
Then Vanessa spoke again.
“Your father is under enormous pressure.”
“So is my mother.”
“I know.”
“You don’t care.”
“That isn’t fair.”
Ethan almost laughed.
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“Whatever you think you saw, stay out of it.”
“Why?”
“Because adults make complicated decisions.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“No.”
She paused.
“It doesn’t.”
Ethan heard her footsteps disappear down the hall.
He waited five minutes before reopening his laptop.
Then he started backing up the photographs.
One copy went to cloud storage.
One went onto an old flash drive.
He hid the flash drive inside the battery compartment of a broken camera in his closet.
The next morning, his computer would not turn on.
Ethan pressed the power button repeatedly.
Nothing.
He checked the charger.
Nothing.
He removed the battery.
Still nothing.
His bedroom door opened.
Nathan entered.
“You having computer trouble?”
“It worked last night.”
“I can take it to the office IT guy.”
Ethan looked toward the hallway.
“Did anybody come in here this morning?”
Nathan frowned.
“Why?”
“Just asking.”
“No.”
Then he hesitated.
“Vanessa used the upstairs bathroom earlier.”
Ethan’s stomach dropped.
Nathan noticed his expression.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Ethan.”
Nathan sat on the edge of the desk.
“You’ve barely spoken to me for weeks.”
Ethan looked at his father.
There were dark circles beneath Nathan’s eyes.
He looked exhausted.
Older.
Guilty.
For one moment Ethan almost told him everything.
Then Vanessa appeared in the doorway carrying coffee.
“There you are.”
Nathan turned.
Vanessa handed him a cup.
Then she looked at Ethan’s dead computer.
“Oh no.”
Ethan watched her face carefully.
“What happened?”
Vanessa asked.
“No idea.”
“That’s terrible.”
She sounded genuinely concerned.
Too concerned.
Nathan stood.
“I’ll get it checked.”
Vanessa smiled at Ethan.
“I hope you didn’t lose anything important.”
Ethan understood immediately.
That was not sympathy.
It was confirmation.
She knew.
After they left, Ethan closed the door.
His hands were shaking.
He retrieved the hidden flash drive.
The files were safe.
But photographs were not proof.
Not enough.
He needed something Nathan could not explain away.
He needed evidence.
Real evidence.
That afternoon, Ethan went to Claire.
She was packing clothes into a suitcase.
“Mom?”
Claire looked up.
“I’m not leaving today.”
Ethan’s face changed.
She quickly added, “I’m staying with Aunt Rachel for a few nights.”
“Because of Dad?”
“Because I need space.”
Ethan sat beside her.
“Do you believe Vanessa?”
Claire stopped folding.
“What do you mean?”
“The pregnancy.”
Claire’s eyes narrowed.
“Why are you asking?”
“Just answer.”
Claire slowly sat down.
“Nathan saw an ultrasound.”
“Have you?”
“No.”
“Have you seen her doctor?”
“No.”
“Has Dad?”
“He says he attended an appointment.”
Ethan looked surprised.
“When?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“Did he go inside?”
Claire hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
That answer mattered.
Ethan stood.
“Where are you going?”
“To ask Dad something.”
Claire caught his wrist.
“Ethan.”
He looked at her.
“Whatever is happening between your father and me, it is not your responsibility to fix.”
“I know.”
But he did not know.
Not really.
Because if Vanessa was lying, then she had used that lie to split his parents apart.
And if Ethan could prove it, everything might change.
He found Nathan in the garage.
“Did you actually go inside Vanessa’s doctor appointment?”
Nathan stiffened.
“Why?”
“Did you?”
“I drove her.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Nathan stared at him.
“No.”
Ethan’s pulse quickened.
“She said the clinic wouldn’t allow guests because of a system problem.”
Ethan almost smiled.
May you like
Not because it was funny.
Because suddenly Vanessa’s story was beginning to crack.
