Chapter 1
I came home after midnight and found our housekeeper holding my sobbing two-year-old daughter in the dark. Twenty minutes later, my wife stumbled through the door smelling like alcohol.
I had spent the evening entertaining clients for my company in Chicago.
All I wanted was a shower and a few hours of sleep.
But the second I opened the front door, I heard my daughter crying.
“Daddy!”
I dropped my briefcase.
Our housekeeper, Maria, was standing near the stairs with Emma shaking in her arms.
“What happened?”
Maria looked uncomfortable.
“Sir… I didn’t know when you were coming home.”
I took Emma from her.
“Where’s Sarah?”
Maria lowered her eyes.
“I thought she was with you.”
My stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?”
Before she could answer, headlights swept across the living room window.
A car stopped outside.
Sarah stumbled through the front door a minute later.
Her hair was messy, her makeup was smeared, and I could smell alcohol from several feet away.
She froze when she saw me.
“Daniel? You’re home?”
I stared at her.
“Where have you been?”
She laughed nervously.
“I went out with some friends.”
“You left our two-year-old here?”
“Maria was here.”
Maria immediately shook her head.
“Mrs. Carter told me I could leave at nine.”
Sarah’s expression changed.
“Stay out of this.”
I looked at the clock.
It was 12:43 a.m.
Emma buried her face against my shoulder.
Then Maria quietly said, “Sir, your daughter was alone when I came back.”
Sarah snapped, “That’s enough!”
I felt my hands start shaking.
“You left Emma alone?”
Sarah opened her mouth, but her phone suddenly buzzed on the table.
The screen lit up with a message from a man named Jason.
May you like
I only saw one sentence before Sarah grabbed for the phone.
“Next time, tell your husband you’re spending the night with me.”
