Chapter 2

He was looking at his feet, but the corner of his mouth curled into a smug little smile. There was nothing vacant about his expression. He looked pleased with himself.

Lara saw it too.

She did not call him out. Instead, she played along and chatted with Mom for a few minutes. She said she would come by for a visit in the following week.

She casually mentioned that she knew one of the top psychiatrists in the state who might be able to help Bobby.

I immediately jumped in.

“That’s right, Mom! It’s almost impossible to get an appointment with someone like that. This would be a perfect chance to have Bobby properly evaluated.”

Mom lit up at once. She praised Lara for being so thoughtful and gracious.

Then, she turned and shot me a sharp look. She was clearly telling me to take a lesson from Lara and stop being so petty all the time.

When we left the mall, I was still seething. The frustration was sitting heavy in my chest.

Lara, meanwhile, pulled out her phone and quickly sent a message to her assistant.

She told them to have someone come to my house the next day and install a few hidden cameras in the living room and the hallway.

I did not hesitate before jumping in.

“Next to the air vent in the living room, and behind the breaker box at the corner of the hallway. Those are the blind spots. He’ll never notice them.”

She turned to me with amusement flickering in her eyes.

“You’ve thought about doing this before?”

I gave her a humorless smile.

“For three years… I just never had the nerve.”

She put her phone away and gave my shoulder a light pat with a knowing smile.

“You do now. Next week, when I formally visit your family, the first act begins.”

That weekend, Lara officially came over to meet my parents.

She got my mother a luxury wellness hamper and my father an elegant wristwatch. Every detail was thoughtful and appropriate.

At first, my parents were all smiles. Mom held her hand and asked her questions. They could not have been more pleased with her.

We had barely sat down to dinner when Bobby started causing trouble.

He deliberately tipped his bowl of hot tomato bisque toward Lara and spilled nearly half of it across her dress.

Then, he put on that vacant look and laughed a little. He then mumbled, “My hand slipped. I’m sorry, pretty lady.”

I immediately grabbed some napkins and stepped in front of Lara to blot the soup from her dress.

Then, I turned to glare at Bobby.

“If you can’t hold the bowl properly, stop messing around and just eat.”

Mom immediately jumped in to smooth things over.

“Why are you talking to him like that? You know he isn’t well. Why are you picking a fight with him? Lara, please don’t take it personally. He didn’t mean it.”

Lara took the napkins from me and dabbed at her dress. There was not even a trace of irritation on her face. She brushed lightly at the stain on her skirt without so much as frowning.

“It’s fine, Mrs. Pride. It’s only a dress. The stain will come out.”

Her tone remained calm, without a word of blame.

Mom looked even more pleased and kept praising her for being so gracious.

I tightened my grip on my fork and knew this was only the beginning.

Sure enough, less than two minutes later, Bobby reached across the table with his fork. He tried to put a piece of barbecue rib onto Lara’s plate while deliberately brushing his hand against hers.

“Pretty lady, try this. It’s good.”

My face darkened. I immediately caught his wrist before he could touch her.

“Put it back. Eat your dinner.”

The moment I touched him, Bobby jerked his hand away and looked toward Mom with a wounded expression.

Lara calmly picked up her plate and shifted it a little farther away.

“Thank you, Bobby, but I prefer to serve myself.”

Then, she reached over, took my plate as well, and moved it beside hers.

“So does Kyle. He’s a bit of a germaphobe.”

Everyone at the table went silent for a moment.

Dad’s expression soured slightly. He felt that Lara had embarrassed Bobby.

“Lara, you know Bobby isn’t well. Don’t take what he does personally.”

Lara smiled but did not respond. Instead, she turned and looked directly at Bobby.

“Bobby, I heard you haven’t gotten any better over the past few years?”

Bobby lowered his head and put on a timid, nervous expression.

Mom sighed.

“Yeah. We’ve taken him to so many doctors, but nothing has helped. We’re worried sick about him.”

Lara nodded and said casually, “I know a specialist from one of the top psychiatric centers in the state, and he’ll be in town next week. I could arrange for him to come by and evaluate Bobby.

“If there’s a chance he can get better, that’d be wonderful.”

I immediately jumped in.

“That would be perfect. Mom, we never could get an appointment with anyone that good, could we?”

My parents’ eyes lit up at once.

“Really? Lara, thank you so much!”

Bobby kept his head down, but I saw his hand tighten sharply around his fork. His knuckles turned white. The grease between his fingers was squeezing out.