Chapter 1 - BENEATH THE WATER
Vanessa’s palm struck Ethan’s cheek before I reached him.
The sound cut through the music and champagne laughter surrounding my father’s pool.
My nine-year-old son stood frozen at the edge, hands pressed over his ears. The sudden pop of a bottle had overwhelmed him. His navy shirt was already damp with sweat beneath the afternoon sun.
“How dare you cause trouble at my wedding!”
Vanessa shoved him.
Ethan fell backward into the deep end.
His body vanished beneath the blue surface.
I ran.
A thick forearm closed across my throat from behind.
Thomas dragged me away from the pool while my son’s hands struck the water.
“Let me go!” I clawed at his sleeve. “My son can’t swim!”
My father tightened his hold.
“Every dog knows how to swim.”
Mia screamed behind us.
No one moved.
Vanessa stood at the pool’s edge, watching Ethan sink as if she had dropped an object she no longer wanted.
Something inside me became cold and exact.
I stamped on Thomas’s foot, twisted through the gap beneath his elbow, and tore free.
Then I jumped.
My formal gown filled with water and dragged against my legs. I forced myself downward until my fingers caught Ethan’s shirt.
I pulled him to the surface.
His face was gray.
Guests finally rushed forward as I dragged him onto the wet tiles.
“Come back to me, sweetheart. Mommy’s here.”
I pressed my mouth near his while someone called emergency services.
Ethan coughed.
Water spilled from his lips, and one hand closed around my gown.
The sound he made was small and broken, but he was breathing.
I held him against me.
Vanessa backed away.
Thomas stood several feet behind her, one hand pressed to his injured foot.
I reached into the soaked pocket hidden in my gown and raised my phone.
The screen remained lit.
The recording was still active.
“You’ll regret what you’ve done.”
Thomas’s face changed.
Not because I had captured the assault.
Because the phone had been recording before Vanessa touched Ethan.
Paramedics entered through the gate.
While they placed an oxygen mask over my son’s face, I saw Vanessa crawl beneath a patio table and reach toward Ethan’s abandoned tablet case.
Thomas leaned close to her.
May you like
My phone caught his whisper.
“Find what he brought out of the study before the police get here.”
