Chapter 2

Julian stopped, then set his fork down without hurrying.

"Who told you?"

Caleb read his father's face before he answered.

"I did."

The slap landed across Caleb's cheek.

"You upset your mother. You're done with dinner. Go stand in the corner and think about what you did."

Julian's expression didn't change at all as he went back to moving food onto my plate.

"Audrey, I won't go tomorrow. Would that help? You said there was a movie you wanted to see. Let me take you."

My whole face was wet. I threw my plate on the floor.

"Do you have any idea how sick you are? Maya is four months younger than Caleb."

Julian frowned and corrected me.

"Her last name is Whitlock."

The words went into me like a splinter.

"You're too hard, Audrey. You could stand to learn a little softness from Serena."

I couldn't get any air.

"When did it start? While I was pregnant with Caleb? Or before that?"

Julian leaned back in his chair like he was savoring it.

"Our first anniversary. I was in Harborcrest for work. You kept begging me to come home, and on the way to the airport I saw a few men cornering Serena."

Everything in me went rigid, and I stared at him.

That was the night a car hit my mother.

Outside the hospital, the driver had brought people to threaten us. Inside, my mother had stopped breathing on her own.

I cried and begged Julian to come home. Around midnight he told me a storm in Harborcrest had grounded every flight.

I told him it was fine, that I'd packed an umbrella in his bag.

Julian sighed and reached over to wipe my face. I moved out of the way.

"Audrey, it kills me to watch you cry.

"I want to bring Serena and Maya here to Eastcliff. Maya's getting older and she needs her father around. But I promise you, you'll always be the only Mrs. Whitlock. They can't touch what you have."

He said it like a man swearing an oath.

I bent over and threw up.

The next day, the two brightest bedrooms in the house were made up, with the home fragrance set out in both.

Julian and Caleb left early to collect them from the airport.

Once they were gone, I went to Eastcliff Women's Medical Center by myself.

On the way, I opened Serena's livestream.

Maya was riding on Julian's shoulders.

Caleb had his arms around Serena, easy and affectionate.

"Who says my mom and I don't look alike? She's my real mom."

Serena's smile was radiant.

"That's right. We're settling in Eastcliff for good. All four of us, together from now on."

Thousands of viewers piled into the comments to congratulate them.

I left one comment. "This is disgusting."

Inside a minute they'd swarmed me, and the platform disabled my account for good.

Before the procedure, the doctor asked, uncomfortable about it.

"Nobody came with you? Your history puts you at higher risk of hemorrhage, and you should have an emergency contact."

Fear finally caught up with me, and I called Julian in tears.

He let the first two ring out. He picked up on the third.

"Audrey, from now on it's Monday, Wednesday, Friday with you, and Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday with Serena. Today's Thursday. You need to learn to stand on your own. Handle today yourself."

Down the line, I could hear Caleb cooing over his little sister.

I didn't say anything.

I hung up, dried my face, and looked at the doctor.

"I'll sign for myself."