Chapter 2: The Little Girl Who Knew Too Much
Ava had never kept a secret this big.
She had kept little secrets before.
She had hidden cookies beneath her bed, pretended not to know who had drawn purple crayon on the kitchen wall, and once spent an entire afternoon protecting the identity of a teddy bear thief who turned out to be herself.
Those secrets had been funny.
This one made her stomach hurt.
From the hallway, she watched Daniel and Brooke settle onto the living room sofa. Brooke kicked off her heels and tucked her legs beneath her. Daniel poured two glasses of red wine from the bottle Naomi had bought for their anniversary.
Ava recognized the bottle.
Mommy had said they would open it on Saturday, when Daddy promised to take them to the little Italian restaurant near the park.
Apparently, Saturday had arrived early for somebody.
“Did you tell her you had a meeting today?”” Brooke asked.
Daniel handed her a glass.
“I told her I was working from home.””
Brooke rolled her eyes.
“That's not what I asked.””
He sat beside her.
“Yes. I told her about the meeting.””
“And she believed you?””
Daniel laughed.
“Naomi believes whatever she wants to believe.””
The words landed harder than Ava could understand.
She knew Mommy believed Daddy loved her. She knew Mommy believed Daddy was a good man. She had heard Mommy tell Grandma that their family was strong enough to survive anything as long as they kept talking to each other.
Was Daddy making Mommy believe something that wasn't true?
Brooke took a sip of wine.
“You know what I hate most about this arrangement?””
Daniel brushed his thumb across the rim of his glass.
“What's that?””
“Having to wait until your wife leaves before I can come here.””
“Our house,” Daniel corrected automatically.
Brooke stared at him.
“Excuse me?””
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“I mean, the house. I pay the mortgage.””
“And Naomi lives here. Your daughter lives here. Your family pictures are everywhere. Do you know how humiliating it is to walk past a framed wedding photograph before I can kiss my own boyfriend?””
“Keep your voice down.””
“Why? Is your wife hiding in the pantry?””
Daniel set his glass down.
“Brooke, don't start.””
She rose abruptly, carrying her wine toward the mantelpiece.
Ava shrank farther behind the wall.
Brooke examined a framed photograph of Naomi and Daniel standing on a beach. Naomi was laughing, her hair blowing across her face, while Daniel held her around the waist.
Brooke lifted the frame.
“Was she this happy when you proposed?””
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Put that down.””
“I'm asking you a question.””
“And I'm telling you to put it down.””
Brooke turned the photograph facedown on the mantel.
“There. Better?””
Daniel stood.
“You're acting crazy.””
“No, Daniel. I'm acting like a woman who's tired of being hidden.””
She walked toward him and tapped his chest with one finger.
“You told me you were going to leave her.””
“I said I was figuring things out.””
“You said the marriage was over.””
“It is over.””
“Then why did you kiss her goodbye this morning?””
Daniel opened his mouth, then closed it.
Brooke laughed bitterly.
“Exactly.””
“I have a daughter to think about.””
“Your daughter doesn't stop you from sleeping with me.””
Daniel glanced toward the hallway.
“Lower your voice.””
Brooke folded her arms.
“I'm not going to spend another year being your dirty little secret.””
Ava didn't understand every word, but she understood the anger in Brooke's voice.
She had heard Mommy cry on the telephone before, when Grandma told her about a friend whose husband had left. Mommy had said that some people made promises they never intended to keep.
Ava had asked why anybody would do that.
Mommy had answered, “Sometimes people are afraid to tell the truth, sweetheart. But lies always hurt somebody eventually.””
Ava wanted to run to her mother.
Instead, she stayed where she was.
If she interrupted now, Daddy might turn the camera off again.
And then Mommy might never know.
Daniel reached for Brooke's hand.
“Listen to me. I will handle it.””
“When?””
“Soon.””
“You said that last month.””
“I know.””
“And the month before that.””
“I said I know!””
His sudden shout made Ava flinch.
Brooke stepped back, her eyes narrowing.
“Don't yell at me because you're too much of a coward to leave your wife.””
Daniel dragged a hand through his hair.
“I'm trying to protect my daughter.””
“Then stop using her as an excuse.””
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Daniel's expression softened.
He moved toward Brooke and wrapped his arms around her.
“I'm sorry,” he murmured.
“I don't want to fight with you.””
Brooke resisted for two seconds before leaning into him.
“Then give me a reason to believe you.””
“I will.””
“When?””
Daniel kissed her forehead.
“After I sort out the finances.””
Ava heard the word finances and thought of the little jar on her bedroom shelf where she kept coins for a bicycle.
She didn't know why money mattered to whether Daddy could stop kissing Brooke.
But the way Brooke looked at him made it seem important.
“Naomi doesn't know anything about my business accounts,” Daniel continued.
“Once I move a few things around, leaving will be much easier.””
Brooke lifted her head.
“How much longer?””
“A few weeks.””
“And if she finds out before then?””
“She won't.””
Daniel said it with such certainty that Ava looked up at the camera.
The little black lens stared down at them.
Daddy thought nobody could see.
But somebody could.
Ava hurried upstairs before either adult turned toward the hallway. She slipped into her bedroom, closed the door without letting the latch click, and climbed onto her bed.
Her tablet lay beneath a pile of picture books.
Mommy had installed the home security app on it months earlier, mostly so Ava could see the family dog at Grandma's house when they traveled. The app required a password, but the last time Naomi had used it, she had left the camera page open.
Ava tapped the screen.
The app loaded slowly.
She saw the front porch, the driveway, and the empty kitchen.
Then she found the living room.
Daniel and Brooke were still there.
Ava stared at the tiny image.
She could hear their voices faintly through the tablet's speaker.
Brooke was saying, “I don't want another promise. I want a date.””
Daniel leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
“Fine. Give me until the end of the month.””
“And then?””
“Then I'll tell Naomi.””
Brooke studied him.
“You swear?””
Daniel reached for her hand.
“I swear.””
Ava's fingers tightened around the tablet.
Mommy's birthday was at the end of the month.
Daddy had promised to make her breakfast in bed.
He had bought her a necklace and hidden it in the top drawer of his desk. Ava had found the little blue box while looking for crayons, and Daddy had made her promise not to tell.
She had been so excited.
Now she wondered whether the necklace was another lie.
On the screen, Brooke moved closer to Daniel.
“Say it again.””
Daniel sighed.
“I love you, Brooke.””
“And Naomi?””
He looked away.
“It's complicated.””
“No. It's a simple question.””
Daniel's voice hardened.
“Naomi is my wife. She's Ava's mother. That doesn't mean I love her the way I love you.””
Ava's eyes filled with tears.
She didn't know what it meant to love someone in different ways.
She only knew Daddy used to tell Mommy he loved her every night before bed.
Sometimes, when he thought Ava was asleep, he would kiss Mommy's shoulder and whisper something that made her laugh.
Ava had always believed that was what grown-up love looked like.
Now she watched Brooke pull Daniel into another kiss.
The tablet trembled in her hands.
A soft knock sounded at her bedroom door.
Ava nearly dropped it.
“Princess?”” Daniel called from the hallway.
“What are you doing?””
She quickly turned the tablet facedown.
“Playing!””
The doorknob moved.
“Can I come in?””
Ava wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her pajamas.
“I'm changing my clothes!””
There was a pause.
Then Daniel laughed.
“It's eleven in the morning, sweetheart. You don't need to get dressed for anything.””
“I'm making a fashion show!””
Another pause.
“Okay. Just don't make a mess.””
His footsteps moved away.
Ava waited until she heard him descend the stairs before picking up the tablet again.
The living room was empty.
For one brief moment, she felt relieved.
Maybe Brooke had left.
Maybe Daddy had changed his mind.
Maybe everything could go back to normal if Ava didn't tell anybody.
Then the camera feed changed.
The image showed Daniel standing alone beside the mantelpiece, holding the wedding photograph that Brooke had turned facedown.
He stared at it for several seconds.
Then he pulled a small envelope from his pocket and slipped it behind the frame.
Ava leaned closer to the screen.
Daniel looked toward the hallway, then spoke into his phone.
“It's done,” he whispered.
“The paperwork is ready.””
A voice answered through the speaker, too faint for Ava to understand.
Daniel continued.
“No, Naomi hasn't seen it. She won't see it until I decide she's ready.””
He ended the call and tucked the photograph back into place.
Ava watched him walk out of the room.
Something about the envelope frightened her more than the kissing.
Because kissing was something she understood.
Paperwork was what grown-ups used when they wanted to make things official.
And if Daddy had hidden papers behind Mommy's favorite photograph, he must have been hiding something important.
Ava slipped out of bed and crept to the staircase.
Downstairs, Daniel was talking on the telephone again.
“Yes,” he said quietly.
“The transfer should be complete by Friday.””
Ava stopped on the top step.
“Once the money's moved, she won't have much choice.””
A cold feeling spread through her chest.
She didn't know what money he was moving.
She didn't know what choice Mommy would lose.
But she knew Daddy wasn't just hiding another woman.
He was hiding something that could hurt their family.
And when the front door suddenly opened downstairs, Ava heard her mother's voice.
“Daniel? I forgot my shopping list.””
Daniel went silent.
Then Brooke whispered something Ava couldn't make out.
May you like
Her mother stepped inside.
And for the first time that morning, Ava saw her father look genuinely afraid.
