Chapter 2 - The Photograph Margaret ForgotClaire woke at 2:17 in the morning.
She was sitting upright before she even knew why.
Her heart was racing.
Daniel was asleep beside her.
She looked toward the nursery across the hallway.
The door was open.
A faint night-light illuminated Ivy’s empty bed.
Claire froze.
“Ivy?”
She slipped out of bed.
The hallway was dark.
Then she heard a soft sound downstairs.
A drawer closing.
Claire slowly moved toward the staircase.
At the bottom, a shadow crossed the study doorway.
She stopped.
“Daniel?”
The figure disappeared.
Claire hurried downstairs.
The study door was slightly open.
Inside, the desk lamp was on.
No one was there.
A folder sat on Daniel’s desk.
Claire recognized it immediately.
Documents regarding the family trust.
She touched the folder.
Then stopped.
A page had been removed.
She heard footsteps behind her.
Claire turned.
Margaret stood in the doorway.
“You shouldn’t be in here.”
Claire’s pulse jumped.
“What are you doing downstairs?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I heard someone.”
Margaret smiled.
“This is my son’s house.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
Margaret stepped into the study.
Her eyes moved to the folder.
“You need rest.”
“Ivy could have been seriously hurt today.”
“Yes.”
“And you blamed me.”
Margaret’s expression hardened.
“She could have been killed.”
“But she wasn’t.”
“Because you jumped into the fountain.”
Claire stared at her.
“Exactly.”
Margaret folded her arms.
“You expect me to thank you?”
“I expect you to admit what you did.”
Margaret laughed quietly.
“You think Daniel will choose you over his mother?”
Claire said nothing.
Margaret leaned closer.
“Pregnancy changes people.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll learn.”
She walked out.
Claire remained in the study.
Something about the conversation bothered her.
She looked again at the folder.
The missing page was important.
But she didn’t know why.
The next morning, Daniel drove Claire to the hospital.
The doctor examined her ankle and then checked the baby.
After several tense minutes, he finally smiled.
“The baby is fine.”
Claire nearly cried with relief.
Daniel squeezed her hand.
“You hear that?”
She nodded.
“The baby’s okay.”
The doctor looked serious.
“But you should avoid unnecessary stress.”
Claire gave Daniel a tired look.
“I’ll try.”
On the way home, Daniel was silent.
Finally he said, “I owe you an apology.”
Claire looked out the window.
“Yes.”
He winced.
“I should have defended you sooner.”
“You did eventually.”
“I still listened to her.”
“Because she’s your mother.”
“That doesn’t excuse it.”
Claire looked at him.
“I don’t want you to choose between us.”
“I already know who was telling the truth.”
She smiled weakly.
They arrived home just before lunch.
Ivy was sitting at the kitchen table with Nora, the family housekeeper.
The little girl jumped up when she saw Claire.
She ran straight into her arms.
“Are you okay?”
Claire hugged her.
“I’m okay.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
Ivy whispered, “Grandma told me not to tell.”
Claire pulled back.
“What else did she tell you?”
Ivy looked toward the hallway.
“That you wanted Daddy to love your baby more than me.”
Claire’s heart sank.
“Did she say anything else?”
Ivy hesitated.
“She said there was a picture.”
“What picture?”
“The one she took before I fell.”
Daniel heard that.
“What picture?”
Ivy pointed toward the dining room.
“Grandma had a phone.”
Daniel immediately walked away.
He found Margaret in the sitting room.
“Where is the photograph?”
Margaret looked up.
“What photograph?”
“Ivy says you took one before she fell.”
“I took dozens of pictures that afternoon.”
“Show me the one.”
Margaret’s face tightened.
“I deleted it.”
“Why?”
“Because it was blurry.”
Daniel stared at her.
“Give me your phone.”
She laughed.
“You cannot be serious.”
“Mom.”
“No.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Why did you delete a photograph taken seconds before my daughter fell?”
Margaret stood.
“Because it reminded me of a horrible accident.”
“It wasn’t an accident.”
Margaret’s face went still.
“You believe that woman over me?”
“I believe my daughter.”
He turned away.
Then stopped.
“Mom.”
“What?”
“Were you wearing a beige coat yesterday?”
Margaret glanced down.
“No.”
Daniel looked at the chair beside her.
A beige coat was draped over it.
One silver button was missing.
He said nothing.
Margaret followed his eyes.
For the first time, panic flashed across her face.
That evening, Daniel asked the event staff for the terrace photographs.
Dozens were delivered.
He sorted through them one by one.
Then Claire noticed something.
A photograph taken at 4:11 p.m.
Ivy was standing beside the fountain.
Margaret was behind her.
And reflected in the fountain water was Margaret’s phone.
Pointed directly at Ivy.
Claire zoomed in.
Her blood went cold.
In the background of the reflection was someone else.
A man.
Standing behind the hedge.
Watching Margaret.
Daniel stared at the image.
“Who is that?”
Claire shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Daniel enlarged the photograph.
The man was partially hidden.
But one detail was visible.
A gold signet ring.
Daniel had seen that ring before.
Not on a stranger.
May you like
On his mother’s lawyer.
And suddenly the fountain had become something far larger than a family argument.
Related Stories
