Chapter 2: The Woman Who Knew How To Lie
The Viremont mansion had never felt so cold.
The next morning, the dining room looked exactly the same.
The crystal glasses.
The polished table.
The fresh flowers imported every week.
Everything was perfect.
Except the family sitting around it.
Eirlys pushed strawberries around her plate without eating.
Theron watched her carefully.
"Little star?""
She looked up.
"Are you mad at me?""
The question hurt more than any accusation Corisande could make.
He put his fork down.
"No.""
"But I made Mommy fall.""
Theron went still.
He had spent the entire night trying to understand what he should say.
A child needed comfort.
But a child also needed truth.
"You were hurt," he said gently.
"I was scared.""
"I know.""
"And then Daddy pushed her.""
His chest tightened.
"I shouldn't have done that.""
Eirlys looked confused.
"But Mommy hurt me first.""
Theron nodded slowly.
"Yes. She did.""
The door opened.
Corisande walked in.
She looked nothing like the woman from the pool.
Her hair was styled.
Her makeup was perfect.
A bruise on her arm was covered with concealer.
She had transformed herself back into someone the world would believe.
"Good morning.""
Theron stood.
"What are you doing here?""
She smiled sadly.
"Our home?""
"No. After yesterday, you don't get to pretend nothing happened.""
Corisande looked at Eirlys.
"Sweetheart, Mommy loves you.""
Eirlys immediately lowered her eyes.
Theron noticed.
A child who felt safe ran toward a parent.
A child who felt afraid became quiet.
"Don't speak to her alone," he said.
Corisande's expression changed.
"Excuse me?""
"You heard me.""
She laughed.
"You think you are protecting her?""
Theron stared.
"I know I am.""
Corisande stepped closer.
"You lost control yesterday.""
The words landed differently.
Because they were true.
He hated that.
"I was protecting my daughter.""
"No," she whispered.
"You were proving you are just like every other angry man.""
Theron said nothing.
Because he knew she wanted him to react.
And he refused.
She picked up her purse.
"Fine.""
At the doorway, she stopped.
"You should check your security cameras.""
Theron frowned.
"What?""
She smiled.
"The footage will show everything.""
After she left, Theron immediately called his security manager.
Ten minutes later, the man arrived pale.
"Mr. Viremont.""
"Show me the footage.""
The security manager hesitated.
"Sir...""
"Show me.""
The recording played.
There was the courtyard.
There was Corisande.
There was Eirlys.
There was the slap.
Theron's hands curled into fists.
Then came the fall.
The security manager stopped.
"There's a problem.""
"What problem?""
"The camera angle.""
Theron stared at the screen.
The moment Eirlys's sandal moved was unclear.
The footage could be interpreted differently.
Corisande had planned carefully.
The slap was visible.
But the fall looked like an accident.
Then the second fall.
The moment Theron pushed her.
Clear.
Impossible to deny.
The security manager looked away.
"Sir...""
Theron understood.
Someone watching only that footage would see a violent husband.
Not a father reacting to a terrified child.
His phone rang.
Again.
The lawyer.
This time, his voice sounded more serious.
"Theron, I need you to listen carefully.""
"What happened?""
"Corisande has already spoken to the police.""
Theron's eyes narrowed.
"What did she say?""
Another pause.
"She said you attacked her in front of your daughter.""
The room felt smaller.
"And the slap?""
"She denied it.""
Theron looked at the frozen image on the screen.
His wife standing over their crying daughter.
"You have got to be kidding me.""
"I wish I was.""
Theron ended the call.
For the first time, he wondered if protecting Eirlys meant more than protecting her from Corisande.
Maybe it meant protecting her from the entire world.
That afternoon, he went to pick up Eirlys from preschool.
But when he arrived, the teacher looked nervous.
"Mr. Viremont...""
"What happened?""
The teacher glanced toward the hallway.
"Someone came earlier.""
"Who?""
She lowered her voice.
"Your wife.""
Theron's stomach tightened.
"What did she want?""
The teacher hesitated.
Then she handed him a small piece of paper.
"We found this in Eirlys's backpack.""
Theron unfolded it.
Three words were written in childish handwriting.
I AM SORRY DADDY.
His heart broke.
"Why would she write this?""
The teacher looked uncomfortable.
"Because before Corisande left, she told Eirlys something.""
"What?""
The teacher swallowed.
"She told your daughter that if she told anyone about the slap, Daddy would go to jail.""
Theron's blood ran cold.
He looked toward the classroom.
His little girl sat alone at a table.
And for the first time, he realized the battle ahead wasn't about custody.
It wasn't about reputation.
It was about what fear had already done to his daughter.
That evening, another envelope arrived at the mansion.
Inside was a court document.
Theron opened it.
Then he saw the name of the person requesting emergency custody.
Not Corisande.
Someone else.
May you like
Someone he never expected.
His own father.
