Chapter 1 - The Bowl on the Marble Floor
The first thing Nathan Cole saw when he stepped into his kitchen was his six-year-old daughter on her knees.
Not sitting.
Not playing.
Kneeling.
Lily was on the polished marble floor beside the kitchen island, her pale pink sweater bunched at one shoulder, her blonde hair falling into her wet face. In front of her sat a large silver dog bowl.
Food was smeared around her mouth and chin.
For half a second, Nathan’s mind refused to understand the scene.
The sun was pouring through the tall kitchen windows. The dark cabinets shone. The stainless steel appliances reflected the morning light. Everything looked expensive, clean, perfect.
Except his child.
Lily lifted her face from near the bowl, trembling.
Her blue eyes found him.
“Daddy,” she whispered.
Standing over her was Camille.
Nathan’s new wife.
Thirty-five, blonde, beautiful in a tight red dress, one hand resting on her hip like she had been posing for a photograph. Her beige heels clicked softly when she turned toward him.
For one terrible second, Camille looked surprised.
Then she tried to smile.
“Nathan,” she said. “You’re home early.”
Nathan’s briefcase slipped from his hand and hit the marble.
Lily flinched at the sound.
That small movement broke something inside him.
He moved toward his daughter, slowly at first, then faster, his breath turning sharp in his chest.
“What did you do to her?” he asked.
Camille’s smile hardened.
Lily wiped at her mouth with the sleeve of her sweater, but the food marks only smeared worse.
Camille glanced down at her with disgust.
“She needed to learn gratitude,” Camille said.
Nathan stopped between them.
His face had gone still in a way Camille had never seen before.
May you like
He bent down, gently touched Lily’s shoulder, and moved his body between his daughter and the woman in red.
“No,” he said coldly. “You need to leave my house.”
