Chapter 1: The Splash
“Get away from my daughter right now!””
Mark’s voice tore across the backyard so sharply that everyone near the terrace froze.
Victoria stood beside the pool, one hand still lifted in the air, while Daisy’s small pink sandal lay half submerged at the edge of the deep end.
Then Daisy disappeared beneath the water.
For one horrible second, there was nothing but sunlight flashing across the pool.
Mark was already running.
“No! Daisy!””
He vaulted over the low hedge and hit the stone deck so hard his knee slammed into the ground. He barely felt it.
He saw a tiny hand break the surface.
“Daddy!””
“I’m coming, sweetheart!””
Mark dove in fully dressed.
The water swallowed him.
He reached Daisy in seconds, hooked an arm beneath her chest, and pulled her upward. She was coughing violently, her hair plastered to her face.
“I got you,” Mark gasped.
“I got you, baby. Breathe.””
Daisy clung to his shirt with both hands.
“Daddy…”
“I’m here.””
He carried her to the pool steps and lifted her out. She collapsed onto the warm stone, coughing and crying.
Victoria stood six feet away.
Her white dress was perfectly dry.
Her expression was not concern.
It was annoyance.
“You are making this much more dramatic than it was,” Victoria said.
Mark slowly turned.
“What did you just say?””
Victoria crossed her arms.
“She lost her balance.””
Daisy immediately shook her head.
“No.””
Mark crouched beside her.
“What happened, baby?””
Daisy pointed toward Victoria with a trembling finger.
“She pushed me.””
The backyard went silent.
Victoria laughed once.
“That is ridiculous.””
Mark’s face hardened.
“I saw everything on the security cameras.””
That wiped the smile from Victoria’s face.
“You have no proof against me.””
“The police are already on their way.””
Victoria stared at him.
Then she looked toward the large white house behind them.
The same house she had spent years calling home.
The same estate where she had treated Daisy like an unwanted guest.
“You would call the police on your own wife?””
Mark stood.
“You tried to drown my daughter.””
“I did not.””
“You just admitted she fell.””
“Because she did!””
“Then let the cameras tell the story.””
Victoria’s jaw tightened.
Daisy reached for Mark’s hand.
“Daddy, please don’t leave me.””
Mark squeezed her fingers.
“I won’t.””
He glanced at the house.
Every camera light was blinking.
Every movement had been recorded.
He thought the truth would be simple.
He thought the footage would show Victoria pushing Daisy.
He was wrong.
Because when Mark later watched the recording, he noticed something in the corner of the screen that changed everything.
A man was standing behind the garage.
May you like
And Mark knew that man.
Very well.
