“I don’t take any.”
The kitchen suddenly felt smaller.
Sophie opened a drawer and showed me a second phone.
“I’ve been documenting everything.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“Because I was embarrassed.”
“Of what?”
“That I married him.”
My heart broke.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed because someone fooled you.”
Footsteps sounded outside.
Sophie shoved the phone away.
Daniel entered.
He looked from her to me.
“Everything okay?”
I smiled.
“Your wife was telling me about dessert.”
He watched us for a moment.
Then smiled too.
“Great.”
But he didn’t leave.
Sophie picked up a pie.
“I’ll bring it out.”
Daniel stepped aside.
As she passed him, he caught her wrist.
Not hard.
He didn’t need to.
“After Corinne leaves,” he said quietly, “you and I need to talk about the basement.”
Sophie stared at his hand.
So did I.
Daniel released her.
“Something fell down there.”
Margaret appeared behind him.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“Not now.”
His eyes stayed on Sophie.
I stopped wondering whether Anna had exaggerated.
Daniel smiled at me.
“Family stuff.”
I smiled back.
“Of course.”
We returned to the dining room.
I ate two bites of pie while deciding how to get my niece out of that house.
