Chapter 2
Ethan did not confront Victor immediately.
That surprised everyone.
Especially Victor.
Instead, Ethan lifted Harper first.
Then Willa.
His bodyguards carried Maisie and June.
He moved all four girls into the small family sitting room and closed the doors.
Warm blankets arrived.
So did water.
Then soup.
Harper stared at the bowl.
She did not touch it.
Neither did her sisters.
Ethan crouched.
“It’s yours.”
Harper looked toward the door.
“Vanessa said wait.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“She isn’t deciding dinner anymore.”
Willa whispered:
“What if we don’t finish?”
“Nothing.”
Maisie looked suspicious.
“No closet?”
Ethan stopped breathing.
“What closet?”
Nobody answered.
June began crying.
Harper reached across the table and touched her sister’s hand.
“Don’t.”
She whispered:
“Crying makes breakfast go away.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
Only for a second.
Then opened them again.
“How long?”
Harper did not understand.
He changed the question.
“When did Vanessa start taking meals?”
“After Daddy left.”
All four girls looked at him.
That hurt more than anger.
Ethan sat on the floor.
“I didn’t know.”
Harper stared.
“Vanessa said you did.”
Silence.
“She said Daddy said hungry girls listen better.”
Ethan became completely still.
He had never said anything remotely like it.
Willa added:
“She says Mommy left because we cried.”
Maisie whispered:
“She says Mommy got tired.”
June looked toward the tablet Ethan had carried in.
“Mommy said no.”
“Yes.”
Ethan’s voice tightened.
“Mommy said no.”
The girls began eating slowly.
Tiny bites.
Watching the door between each one.
Ethan noticed Harper hiding a piece of bread inside her cardigan.
He did not stop her.
He understood why.
A knock came.
His security chief, Thomas Reed, entered.
“Boss.”
Ethan stood.
“What?”
Thomas lowered his voice.
“The breakfast room pantry is full.”
Ethan stared.
“Full?”
“Food.”
“Fresh bread.”
“Fruit.”
“Milk.”
Everything the girls had been denied while a stocked pantry sat ten feet away.
Ethan looked toward them.
Harper heard.
She lowered her eyes.
“Vanessa says pantry food is for good girls.”
Ethan’s face hardened.
Thomas continued.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“We checked the heaters upstairs.”
Ethan waited.
“The girls’ rooms were disconnected.”
Christmas Eve.
Winter.
Thin nightgowns.
Bare feet.
Ethan looked toward the blankets wrapped around his daughters.
“Who disconnected them?”
Thomas hesitated.
“Estate maintenance says the order came through Victor.”
Silence.
Then Harper tugged Ethan’s coat.
He crouched.
She whispered:
“Uncle Victor said not yet.”
Ethan stared.
“Not yet what?”
Harper pointed toward the ballroom.
“Not yet let Daddy see.”
May you like
Victor had not merely known.
He had been waiting for Ethan to discover them at a specific moment.
