part 3
PART 3
Eleanor tried to take the memory card from him in front of everyone.
That was her first mistake.
She reached out with a trembling hand.
“Ethan, give that to me.”
“It may be private.”
Ethan stared at her.
“My wife died holding it.”
Eleanor’s mouth tightened.
“She was confused.”
“She had been emotional after the birth.”
Julian stepped in quickly.
“Mom is right.”
“Madeline wasn’t herself.”
Ethan looked at his brother.
Julian had always been good at sounding reasonable.
Too reasonable.
As a child, he could break a window and convince the housekeeper the wind did it.
As a man, he had turned that talent into business.
Ethan used to think it was charm.
Now it looked like practice.
The baby cried again upstairs.
Ethan turned toward the sound.
“Where is my son?”
Eleanor said, “He is resting.”
“He is crying.”
“Newborns cry.”
“I asked where he is.”
The mourners shifted uncomfortably.
Someone near the fireplace lowered their eyes.
Eleanor’s face hardened.
“In the nursery.”
“I will take you after the service.”
Ethan laughed once.
It sounded nothing like laughter.
“The service is over.”
He walked toward the staircase.
Julian moved to block him.
Ethan stopped inches from him.
“Move.”
Julian swallowed.
“Ethan, you are grieving.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“No.”
“I am observing.”
“That is worse for you.”
Julian moved.
Upstairs, the nursery door was half closed.
Inside, a young nanny stood beside a crib, pale and frightened.
The baby was red-faced from crying.
Ethan crossed the room and lifted his son for the first time.
The boy quieted almost immediately against his uniform.
Ethan closed his eyes.
His grief broke open.
This was his child.
His and Madeline’s.
The tiny body breathed against his chest while his wife lay downstairs in a coffin.
The nanny whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Ethan opened his eyes.
The nanny looked terrified of the hallway.
“What is your name?”
“Clara.”
“Clara, what happened to my wife?”
Her eyes filled.
Before she could answer, Eleanor appeared in the doorway.
“Enough.”
Clara’s mouth snapped shut.
Ethan held his son tighter.
Then he knew.
The fear in the house had not begun with his return.
May you like
It had been living here for weeks.
Read the full story 👉 The nanny almost told Ethan the truth, but Eleanor silenced her before she could speak.
