Chapter 1 - The Lie Daniel Practiced Before Calling 911
The boiling oil hit Ava Whitaker across the upper back before she understood Vivian had lifted the pot.
Pain exploded beneath her cream satin dress.
Ava screamed and dropped against the hardwood floor of the Oak Brook kitchen, one arm folding beneath her as hot liquid spread across the fabric.
Vivian stood over her with the empty metal pot.
“Maybe next time dinner will be ready before my son gets home.”
Ava tried to crawl away.
Vivian caught her by the hair and forced her down.
Daniel stepped around his wife as though she were a grocery bag blocking the aisle. He looked at the oil on his expensive leather shoe, took a dish towel from the counter, and wiped it carefully.
That hurt almost more than the burning.
“Daniel,” Ava gasped.
He crouched, caught her arm, and pulled her partly upright.
“When the police ask, you slipped and ruined your own life.”
Then he released her.
Vivian slapped Ava once across the face.
“You were always too weak to survive in this family.”
Daniel straightened his jacket.
Ava watched him do something strange.
He looked toward the dark reflection in the kitchen window and practiced an expression.
Brows lifted.
Mouth slightly open.
Concerned husband.
He was rehearsing.
The mudroom door swung open.
Dr. Lena Morris stepped inside carrying the bottle of wine Ava had asked her to bring for dessert.
She stopped.
The bottle nearly slipped from her hand.
Vivian backed away first.
Daniel recovered faster.
“Lena, thank God. Ava had an accident.”
Lena looked at the oil across the floor, Vivian holding the pot, Daniel’s spotless jacket, and Ava curled beside the island.
Then she looked directly at Ava.
Ava moved two fingers against the floor.
Their signal.
Lena knelt beside her, squeezed her wrist once, then stood.
Daniel began explaining again.
Lena pulled out her phone.
“Good lie, Daniel.”
She turned the screen toward him.
A live recording showed the kitchen from above the pantry door.
“The camera recorded every second.”
Daniel’s face changed.
A hard knock struck the front door.
Faint red and blue light moved across the hallway ceiling.
Vivian dropped the pot.
But Ava was not looking toward the police lights.
She was looking at Daniel.
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Because the camera was not there to catch an assault.
Ava had installed it six days earlier to discover who had been searching her locked work bag.
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