He believed his mother.
Ethan cried every time Michael left for work.
Not normal crying.
Desperate screaming.
Whenever Michael asked Olivia what was wrong, she would lower her eyes and whisper:
“I’m trying.”
Exactly one week earlier, something inside Michael had started bothering him enough that he secretly installed a hidden camera inside the nursery.
The tiny lens was concealed inside a decorative ceramic moon sitting on the bookshelf beside Ethan’s crib.
At 2:07 a.m., while Evelyn continued poisoning his mind through the phone, a motion notification flashed across Michael’s screen.
Movement detected.
He opened the app absentmindedly.
Then everything inside him stopped.
The nursery appeared under the dim amber glow of a night lamp.
Olivia sat on the floor beside the crib with Ethan pressed against her chest. Her hair was tangled. Her face looked hollow with exhaustion. She was rocking the baby weakly while whispering something Michael couldn’t hear.
Then the nursery door burst open.
Evelyn stormed inside.
“Why is this child crying again?” she snapped.
Olivia flinched immediately.
“Ethan has a fever,” Olivia whispered hoarsely. “I think we should call his pediatrician.”
