She resisted for half a second.
Then collapsed against me.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed.
I held her tighter.
“You don’t ever have to apologize to me for being scared.”
“I lied.”
“You were scared.”
“I should’ve told you.”
“Yes.”
She nodded against my shoulder.
“But I’m glad you’re telling me now.”
Behind us, Colin was silent.
Then he said:
“There’s something else.”
I looked up.
He took out his phone.
“There were messages between Mallory and someone else.”
My arms tightened around Brynn.
“What kind of messages?”
“I don’t know who the other person is.”
“Then how do you know they were about Brynn?”
“Because one message said, ‘She took the bait.’”
The room became completely still.
“What bait?”
Colin showed me the screen.
The conversation had been deleted except for a screenshot he had managed to save.
Mallory:
She thinks it’s about her face.
Unknown:
Good. Keep her focused on that.
Mallory:
How long?
Unknown:
Until Valerie finds out.
I stared at the screen.
My name was right there.
I looked at Colin.
“They wanted me to find out.”
He nodded.
“That’s what I think.”
“But why?”
“I don’t know.”
Then Brynn whispered:
“I do.”
Both of us turned toward her.
She wiped her cheeks.
“Mallory asked me questions about you.”
“What kind of questions?”
“About your house.”
My heart began pounding.
“What about my house?”
“Who comes over. When you leave. Whether you lock the back door. Whether you keep important papers in your bedroom.”
Colin’s face went pale.
“Brynn…”
“I thought she was just curious.”
“What important papers?”
Brynn shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
I suddenly remembered something.
Three months earlier, I had noticed that a folder in my bedroom had been moved.
I had blamed myself.
I had assumed I’d forgotten where I’d put it.
But now—
I knew exactly what had been inside.
Documents from my divorce.
Bank statements.
Custody agreements.
And one old court document concerning Colin’s business.
I looked at him.
“Colin.”
He understood immediately.
“What?”
“Do you remember the folder?”
His expression changed.
“The one with the business records?”
“Yes.”
“When did you last see it?”
“Three months ago.”
“I thought you had it.”
“No.”
We stared at each other.
Brynn looked between us.
“What?”
I slowly sat down.
Someone hadn’t simply been encouraging my daughter to get lip fillers.
The fillers had been a distraction.
A way to create chaos.
A way to make me angry at Mallory.
A way to make Colin and me fight.
And while we were fighting…
Someone had been looking for something.
Colin suddenly stood.
“I need to go home.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s something I never told you.”
He reached for his keys.
“About Mallory?”
“No.”
He looked at Brynn.
“About my business.”
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
The color drained from his face.
“Who is it?” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
The phone stopped ringing.
Then a text appeared.
Colin opened it.
His hands began shaking.
I stepped closer.
