Chapter 1 - Don't Touch the Water
"DON'T MARRY HER! THERE'S SOMEBODY IN THE POOL!"
Six-year-old Lily Bennett screamed so hard that her voice cracked.
Daniel Mercer was on one knee, holding a diamond ring inside a dark-red velvet box. A second earlier, he had been staring at Vanessa Hale like she was the answer to every lonely year of his life.
Now his daughter was pointing past Vanessa's shoulder.
"Lily, sweetheart," he said, "what are you talking about?"
Daniel had planned the afternoon for six weeks. He'd ordered the flowers himself, chosen the exact spot where the afternoon light would catch the ring, and asked the gardener to leave the lawn clear. He'd even rehearsed the sentence he wanted to say. After Emily died, he had believed that asking someone to share his life again might be a betrayal. Vanessa had been patient with that fear, at least at first. He could still remember her bringing soup to the house during a winter storm, kneeling to help Lily rebuild a toy castle. Now all of those memories seemed to be standing on the grass beside him, waiting for him to choose which version of this woman was real. Lily had been silent all morning, not sulking exactly, but watching the pool whenever Vanessa came outside. Daniel had asked her once whether she was sick. She'd shaken her head and said she wanted to go home, although home was only thirty feet away.
Vanessa stood in her scarlet gown beside the turquoise water. Her smile vanished. "Daniel, she's trying to ruin this. Again."
"I saw a hand," Lily whispered. Then, louder: "Daddy, I saw a HAND!"
Daniel followed her finger. Sunlight glittered across the deep end. A white pool float drifted against the tiled wall. Beneath it, something dark moved.
"Stay back," he told Lily.
Vanessa stepped between him and the pool. "It's the cleaning robot. She's been making up stories about me for weeks."
"Move, Vanessa."
"You promised we'd have one afternoon without a scene."
Daniel rose too quickly. The ring box slipped from his fingers and struck the stone. He reached past Vanessa toward the pool, but his shoe caught the edge of the grass. He pitched forward, crashing into the water with an ugly splash.
Cold swallowed him. Under the float, a woman's hair spread like black silk. He grabbed her wrist and kicked upward.
On the lawn, Lily fell to her knees.
"Please," she cried. "Please let her breathe."
Daniel broke the surface dragging the unconscious woman. Her lips were blue, and there was a thin red mark around one wrist.
Vanessa stood utterly still.
"Call 911!" Daniel shouted.
She didn't move.
He looked at her, water streaming down his face. "Vanessa!"
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She stared at the woman's face and whispered a name that Daniel had never heard before.
"Nora."
