Chapter 2 - The Man in My Apartment
2:14 a.m.
Four nights earlier.
A man entered my apartment using his own key.
His name was Ethan Cross.
My business partner.
My best friend of seventeen years.
And according to his messages, he was still in Stuttgart supervising our equipment inspection.
I watched him hug my mother.
Not greet her.
Hug her.
Then Eleanor kissed his cheek.
Chloe entered from the kitchen carrying champagne.
Mark followed.
They looked like people beginning a party.
Maya appeared last.
Slowly.
One hand protecting her incision.
Liam against her chest.
Ethan’s smile vanished when he saw her.
My mother said something.
I increased the volume.
“She doesn’t know.”
Ethan looked directly at the camera.
“Turn these off.”
My stomach tightened.
For the next forty-seven minutes, every interior camera went black.
All except one.
The old nursery camera was running on a separate system.
Its microphone caught voices through the wall.
“David can never find out.”
Chloe.
Then Mark:
“Once the transfer clears, who cares?”
Transfer?
Maya began shaking beside me.
“You heard them?”
“Some of it.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“I tried.”
She showed me her phone.
My contact was blocked.
Not by her.
Someone had changed the settings.
Mom had been “helping” Maya with Liam while she recovered.
I suddenly remembered all those texts.
Maya’s exhausted.
Let her sleep.
Baby’s fine.
Don’t stress her.
For eleven days, my mother had controlled what I knew.
The footage resumed at 3:01.
Ethan emerged carrying documents.
Mom followed.
Then I saw her remove formula, groceries and a sealed pharmacy bag from our kitchen.
Maya stepped into her path.
“You can take anything else,” she said weakly. “Please leave Liam’s formula.”
My mother stared at her.
Then handed the formula to Chloe.
“Maybe hunger will finally teach you gratitude.”
I stopped the video.
My hands were shaking.
Maya whispered:
“There’s more.”
“What?”
She looked toward Liam.
“Your mother kept asking me to sign something.”
“What something?”
“I don’t know. She said it was insurance paperwork.”
“Did you sign it?”
“No.”
Relief lasted half a second.
Then Maya said:
“But one morning I woke up and there was ink on my thumb.”
My phone buzzed.
Miami.
Chloe.
I answered.
She screamed immediately.
“David! Why are our cards declining?”
Behind her, I heard music.
Champagne glasses.
My mother laughing.
I said nothing.
Then another voice came through the phone.
Ethan.
“David?”
The music stopped.
He knew.
Not that the cards were canceled.
He knew I was home.
“Where are you?” I asked.
Silence.
Then Ethan said something that made Maya look up.
“Whatever you found, don’t take her to the police.”
Her.
Not them.
May you like
Maya stared at me.
And Ethan hung up.
