Rebecca snapped toward her violently.
“SOPHIE.”
My daughter flinched so hard she nearly fell backward.
That did it.
Completely.
Every instinct inside me roared awake at once.
I picked up my daughter immediately.
Rebecca stepped forward.
“Daniel, stop being insane.”
“Move.”
“You are NOT taking her anywhere.”
The rage in her voice finally cracked through the mask.
And suddenly I saw it.
Not the woman I married.
Someone else.
Someone angry.
Controlling.
Cornered.
I walked toward the front door carrying Sophie while Rebecca followed close behind.
“You have no idea what she’s like when you’re gone!” she snapped. “She lies! She manipulates! She turns everything into drama!”
I opened the door.
Rain hammered the driveway outside.
“Then why is she terrified of you?”
Rebecca stopped cold.
Real silence filled the house for the first time.
Not marital tension.
Not annoyance.
Fear.
Then Rebecca whispered something that made my blood freeze completely:
“Because she’s starting to sound exactly like him.”
I turned slowly.
“What?”
Rebecca looked horrified she’d said it aloud.
Sophie buried her face against my neck.
“Mommy says I remind her of my brother.”
Everything inside me stopped.
Brother?
