Chapter 2 - The Spotless Lie
For three days, Harper moved through the Chicago condo like a guest who had now read the lease. She washed dishes, folded blankets and cleared the granite island before Claire came home. Claire took the quiet as surrender. Wyatt treated it like evidence. He watched Claire whenever she corrected Harper, his expression careful and blank, then offered agreement too quickly. On Monday night, Claire found the island spotless and a takeout container waiting beside her laptop. Harper said, “Uncle Wyatt told me you calm down when everything’s reset.” The phrase belonged to Claire. Her mother had used it after chaotic days: Reset the island, reset your head. Claire had said it only to Wyatt. He shrugged when she asked why he had repeated it. “I was helping her adjust.” Claire wanted that answer to be enough. Instead, she noticed Harper had cleaned every surface except Wyatt’s coffee ring. When Claire pointed to it, Harper glanced toward the bedroom and said, “He told me that one doesn’t count.”
