Chapter 2
Amanda stared at the device like it was a snake.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then she lunged toward me.
“Give me that.”
I jumped backward so quickly my chair fell over.
Lily screamed.
“Mom!”
Amanda grabbed my wrist.
Her fingers hurt.
“Where did you get this?”
I remembered exactly what Dad had told me.
If Amanda ever tried to take it, I was supposed to press the button on the side.
So I did.
The little device made a soft beep.
Amanda heard it.
Her eyes widened.
“What did you just do?”
I didn’t answer.
She twisted my wrist.
“Ethan.”
Lily ran at her.
“Stop hurting him!”
Amanda pushed Lily away with one hand.
Lily fell against the cabinet.
That was when Amanda finally understood something was very wrong.
The device wasn’t just blinking anymore.
A tiny blue light had appeared beside the red one.
Then Amanda’s phone rang.
She stared at the screen.
I could see the name.
Daniel.
My dad.
Amanda didn’t answer.
The phone stopped ringing.
Three seconds later, it rang again.
She threw it onto the counter.
“Both of you go upstairs.”
Neither of us moved.
“NOW!”
I grabbed Lily’s hand.
But before we reached the stairs, someone began pounding on the front door.
Amanda went completely still.
“Who is that?”
The pounding came again.
Then a man shouted.
“Amanda? It’s Mark from next door. Daniel called me. Open the door.”
Amanda looked at me.
I had never seen hatred in an adult’s eyes before.
Not irritation.
Not anger.
Hatred.
“You little liar,” she whispered.
My stomach dropped.
“I didn’t—”
“You’ve been spying on me.”
Lily stepped in front of me.
“He didn’t do anything!”
Amanda pointed toward the stairs.
“Go.”
Another voice came from outside.
A woman this time.
“Amanda, this is Officer Collins with the Brookdale Police Department. Open the door.”
Police.
I started shaking.
Amanda’s face changed instantly.
The anger disappeared.
Her shoulders dropped.
And when she opened the door, she was crying.
Actually crying.
“Thank God,” she said. “Something is wrong with my stepson.”
I couldn’t believe it.
Officer Collins entered with another officer.
Mark, our neighbor, stood on the porch behind them.
Amanda pointed at me.
“He’s been secretly recording me. His father apparently told him to do it. He’s confused and upset because Daniel spoils him.”
Officer Collins looked at me.
Then she looked at my wrist.
Amanda’s fingers had left red marks.
“What happened there?”
Amanda answered before I could.
“He fell.”
“No, he didn’t!” Lily shouted.
Amanda turned toward her.
“Lily.”
“You grabbed him!”
Everything became silent.
Lily was crying again, but she didn’t stop.
“You grabbed Ethan because he showed you Daddy’s thing. And you pushed me.”
Officer Collins crouched in front of Lily.
“Sweetheart, where did your mom push you?”
Lily pointed toward the cabinet.
Amanda stepped forward.
“She’s six. She doesn’t understand what happened.”
Officer Collins raised one hand.
“Ma’am, please stay where you are.”
That frightened Amanda more than anything else.
The second officer asked me for the black device.
I held it tighter.
“Dad said I’m only supposed to give it to him.”
Officer Collins spoke gently.
“Your dad is on his way home.”
Amanda spun toward her.
“What?”
“Daniel’s flight landed forty minutes ago.”
My heart jumped.
Dad was coming.
He had told Amanda his business trip lasted until Friday.
It was only Wednesday.
Amanda understood at the same moment I did.
Dad had never planned to stay away.
He had been testing her.
Her face went pale again.
“That psychopath set me up.”
Officer Collins didn’t respond.
Amanda started pacing.
“You don’t understand. Ethan has behavioral problems. His mother died when he was little. He’s attached to Daniel in an unhealthy way. I’ve been trying to teach him discipline.”
I stared at her.
She had never spoken about my mom gently before.
Usually she said Mom had made Dad weak.
Now she was using Mom to make me sound broken.
Lily squeezed my hand.
The front door opened again.
Dad walked in.
He still wore the dark blue suit he used for business meetings.
His tie was loose.
His face looked exhausted.
Then he saw me.
He saw my wrist.
Everything in him changed.
“Ethan.”
I ran.
I don’t remember deciding to.
One second I was standing beside Lily.
The next second my face was buried against Dad’s chest.
He dropped to his knees and wrapped both arms around me.
“I’ve got you.”
That was all he said.
I started crying so hard I could barely breathe.
Dad held me tighter.
“I’ve got you, buddy.”
Lily stood a few feet away.
Dad opened one arm.
“Come here, Lil.”
She ran into him too.
Amanda made a broken sound.
“Daniel, seriously?”
Dad looked over our heads at her.
I had never seen my father look at anyone that way.
“You told me I was imagining it.”
Amanda crossed her arms.
“Imagining what?”
“Food disappearing from Ethan’s lunchbox. Him losing weight. Him begging me not to travel. His bedroom door being locked from the outside.”
Officer Collins looked sharply at Amanda.
Amanda laughed.
“You’re making this dramatic.”
Dad reached into his pocket and took out his phone.
“No.”
His voice shook.
“I spent six months convincing myself there had to be another explanation.”
He looked down at me.
“And I will regret that for the rest of my life.”
Amanda’s confidence finally cracked.
“You put a recording device on a child.”
“I put a child-safety camera on my son after he told his school counselor he was scared to be home without me.”
My head snapped toward him.
I hadn’t known the counselor told him.
Dad continued.
“It only activates when Ethan presses the emergency button. Today was the first time.”
Amanda looked at me.
So did I.
I suddenly understood.
Dad hadn’t been listening all day.
He hadn’t heard the noodles.
He hadn’t heard what Amanda said about Lily not being my real sister.
Not yet.
But the device had been recording locally.
Dad held out his hand.
“Ethan.”
I gave it to him.
Amanda rushed forward.
“That’s private!”
The second officer stepped between them.
Dad connected the device to his phone.
His hands were trembling.
The first sound that played was Lily’s little voice.
“Mom, why doesn’t Ethan get chicken?”
Nobody spoke.
Then Amanda’s voice filled the kitchen.
“He has food.”
The recording continued.
My face burned.
I didn’t want Dad hearing it.
I didn’t want anybody hearing it.
Then came the sentence that changed everything.
“He is not your real brother.”
Dad stopped the recording.
Lily buried her face against his shoulder.
Dad closed his eyes.
For a moment, he looked like someone had punched him.
When he opened them again, he looked at Amanda.
“You’re right about one thing.”
Amanda swallowed.
“What?”
Dad held Lily tighter.
“She isn’t Ethan’s real sister.”
Amanda’s mouth opened.
Dad looked at both of us.
“She’s his sister because she chose to be.”
Then he stood.
“And because I adopted her two years ago, she is legally my daughter too.”
Amanda’s face collapsed.
Dad turned toward Officer Collins.
“My attorney is waiting outside.”
Amanda whispered, “For what?”
Dad looked directly at her.
May you like
“An emergency protection order.”
For the first time since she married my father, Amanda had nothing to say.
