Chapter 1 - The Fall
The scream came before the crash.
Anna Mercer spun away from the kitchen island just as a small blue sleeve flashed between the white rails of the staircase.
“Leo!”
Her two-year-old son was falling headfirst.
The glass bowl in Anna’s hands shattered on the tile. She ran barefoot through the broken pieces, reached the bottom step, and threw herself forward. Leo struck her shoulder instead of the marble floor. The force knocked both of them down.
For one terrible second, he made no sound.
Then he screamed and wrapped both arms around Anna’s neck.
“I’ve got you,” she gasped, clutching him so tightly she could feel his heart pounding against her chest. “Mommy’s got you.”
She looked up.
Vanessa Mercer stood at the top of the staircase.
Richard’s older sister was frozen beside the railing, one hand still hanging strangely in the air. Her face was pale, but not shocked. Not at first.
Anna saw something worse.
Annoyance.
“You pushed him,” Anna said.
Vanessa blinked. “What?”
“You pushed my son.”
“He slipped.”
“I saw your hand.”
“You saw a child fall. Don’t turn this into one of your dramas.”
Anna stared at her.
Leo buried his wet face against Anna’s throat and sobbed one word.
“Vessa.”
Vanessa’s expression changed.
Only for a second.
Then the front door opened.
“Anna?” Richard called. “What happened?”
His footsteps came fast through the foyer. He stopped when he saw the broken glass, Anna on the floor, and Leo shaking in her arms.
Vanessa came down three steps before Anna could speak.
“Richard, thank God,” she said. “Anna left him alone upstairs. I tried to catch him.”
Anna felt the room tilt.
“That is a lie.”
Vanessa pressed a hand to her chest. “I was the one screaming for help.”
Richard’s eyes moved from his sister to his wife.
“Who was with Leo?” he asked.
“I was in the kitchen for less than a minute,” Anna said. “Vanessa was upstairs with him.”
“No,” Vanessa snapped. “She was supposed to be watching him.”
Leo suddenly stopped crying.
His small body remained rigid against Anna’s chest.
Then he lifted one trembling hand.
Not toward Vanessa.
Toward the wall above the staircase.
Everyone followed his finger.
A black security camera stared down at them.
Its tiny green light was on.
Richard’s face hardened.
May you like
Vanessa stopped breathing.
And Anna realized the camera had seen everything.
