Chapter 2 - The Accident They Needed

By the time the ambulance arrived, Daniel was already downstairs wearing the face Claire had trusted for six years.

He knelt beside the stretcher. "Honey, I'm here."

Claire recoiled so hard the paramedic looked at him.

"Don't touch me."

Daniel blinked. "Claire, you fell. You're in shock."

"You cut the curtain."

Miguel went still.

Daniel gave a short, wounded laugh. "What?"

"You cut it while I was hanging there."

Eleanor stepped through the garden doors, pale and composed. "She hit her head."

"I did not hit my head."

"Ma'am," the paramedic said, "we need to move."

Claire grabbed his sleeve. "The police. Call the police."

Daniel's expression flickered.

At St. Anne's, fetal monitoring showed a strong heartbeat and no immediate signs of placental separation. Claire had bruising, a strained shoulder, and a deep cut on her palm. The baby was safe for now.

A uniformed officer named Perez took her statement while Daniel waited outside.

"You're saying your husband intentionally cut the curtain?"

"Yes."

"And your mother-in-law stepped on the housekeeper's hand?"

"Yes."

"Where is the housekeeper?"

Claire swallowed. "I don't know."

Perez checked his notes. "Your husband says Mrs. Rowland panicked, grabbed you, and accidentally pulled the curtain loose while he tried to cut tangled fabric away from your neck."

"My neck?" Claire almost laughed. "The curtain was in my hand."

"He also says the balcony rail collapsed because of dry rot."

"It did collapse. That doesn't explain why he tried to finish the job."

Perez did not dismiss her, but Claire could see the problem forming. One terrified pregnant woman. One respected family. One missing witness.

Then Eleanor entered without knocking.

"Officer, my daughter-in-law has had severe prenatal anxiety."

Claire stared at her. "Get out."

Eleanor set a leather folder on the counter. "Her therapist can confirm she has expressed irrational fears about the baby."

"I don't have a therapist."

Eleanor opened the folder.

Inside were appointment summaries with Claire's name on them.

The officer frowned.

Claire felt cold spread through her chest.

"I've never seen those."

Eleanor gave her a look almost tender enough to fool a stranger. "Claire, you don't need to be ashamed."

Daniel appeared behind her. "We just want you safe."

Claire looked from the fake records to her husband.

"You planned this before the balcony."

No one answered.

Then her phone buzzed beneath the hospital blanket.

Unknown number.

A single message appeared:

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Under it was a photograph of a brass key taped beneath the old rocking chair in Claire's nursery.