Chương 7
Not cruel.
Not accusing.
Just true.
Madison put the needle down.
“Does that scare you?”
Nora thought about it.
“Sometimes.”
Madison nodded.
“Okay.”
“Are you mad?”
“No.”
“You look mad.”
“I am.”
Nora’s eyes lowered.
“Not at you.”
“That’s what you always say.”
Madison sat very still.
Nora rolled onto her back.
“I mean, you say you’re not mad at me, but then your face is still mad.”
“I can work on that.”
“Can you?”
“I don’t know.”
Nora considered the answer, then nodded.
Apparently uncertainty was acceptable.
Madison picked up the dress again.
After a while, Nora said, “Dad says Grandma loves us.”
“She does.”
“Then why did she do that?”
Madison had answers.
Too many.
Because love can be controlling.
Because some adults treat access to children as ownership.
Because Evelyn hated seeing Madison reflected in Nora.
Because Daniel had spent years teaching his mother that consequences could be negotiated downward.
Because family affection did not prevent cruelty.
Because people could love you and still harm you.
None of those were six-year-old answers.
So Madison said, “I think Grandma wanted to be in charge more than she wanted to be kind.”
Nora stared at the ceiling.
“That’s bad.”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to make her say sorry?”
“I can’t make her.”
“Why not?”
“Because apologies you have to force aren’t very useful.”
Nora thought again.
“Could you make her stay away?”
Madison’s fingers tightened around the needle.
“Yes.”
That was the first promise she made after the party.
It would cost more than she knew.
Daniel came over that evening.
He looked worse than the night before.
“Mom retained an attorney.”
Madison kept sewing.
“So did I.”
His eyebrows rose.
“Already?”
“Rachel Kim.”
He knew the name.
“That’s serious.”
“So is your mother.”
He sat across from her at the dining table.
For several minutes the only sound was the needle passing through fabric.
Finally Daniel said, “She wants me to file for temporary custody.”
Madison stopped.
There it was.
She placed the dress flat.
“Do you?”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
She studied him.
“No?”
“No.”
“Then why are you here like someone died?”
“Because she says if I don’t, she’ll give her attorney the video of you cutting the scarf and tell police I’m refusing to protect my kids.”
Madison stared at him.
“From me.”
“Yes.”
A laugh escaped her.
Daniel flinched.
“Don’t.”
“I’m sorry. That’s just—”
“I know what it is.”
“Do you?”
His eyes flashed.
“Yes, Madison, I do.”
The anger surprised her.
Good, she thought.
Then felt guilty for thinking it.
Daniel leaned forward.
“I have spent twenty-four hours listening to my mother tell me what I saw, what Ethan recorded, what Nora meant, what you meant, what she meant, and why everybody else has misunderstood her. So yes. I know.”
Madison said nothing.
“She says she was removing a tripping hazard.”
“With a cake server.”
“I know.”
“She said Nora was hysterical before she touched the dress.”
“She wasn’t.”
“I know.”
“She says Helen was comforting her.”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“Helen told me she was keeping Nora still.”
Madison stared.
“When?”
“This morning.”
“Why?”
“She was crying.”
“Helen?”
“Yes.”
Madison sat back.
That she had not expected.
“What did she say exactly?”
“That she put her hand on Nora because Mom told her Nora might jerk and get cut.”
Madison’s face went cold.
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
“No. Say it.”
He looked at her.
“Mom knew she could hurt her.”
The room became quiet.
Madison folded the repaired fabric once, then unfolded it because her hands needed something to do.
“Will Helen say that to the police?”
“I don’t know.”
“Will she say it to your mother’s lawyer?”
“I don’t know.”
“Will she say it to mine?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel looked away.
Madison recognized the old rage arriving.
The kind that wanted to punish uncertainty.
She stopped herself.
“What are you going to do?”
Daniel’s mouth moved before sound came.
“I told Mom I’m not filing.”
Something inside Madison loosened.
Only slightly.
“She said I’m choosing you over her.”
“Are you?”
“No.”
The answer stung.
Daniel saw it.
“I’m choosing Nora.”
Madison looked down.
“Okay.”
“And Ethan.”
“Okay.”
“And facts, if that still matters.”
“It does.”
He gave a humorless smile.
“Could have fooled me lately.”
Madison understood the target.
“I’m sorry I cut the scarf.”
Daniel looked at her.
She continued.
“I’m not apologizing to Evelyn right now. I’m telling you. I made everything harder.”
“Yes.”
“That was fast.”
“You said you wanted facts.”
She almost smiled.
He did too.
Then his expression changed.
“There’s something else.”
Of course there was.
He unlocked his phone and placed it on the table.
A text thread with Evelyn.
Madison read.
Evelyn: She has been poisoning those children against us for months.
Daniel: Stop.
Evelyn: You know it’s true.
Daniel: I said stop.
Evelyn: Nora told me Madison said I’m controlling.
Daniel: Did she say that or did you ask her if Madison says that?
No response for six minutes.
Then:
Evelyn: You always become cruel when she’s involved.
Madison scrolled.
There were messages from before the party.
Evelyn: Are you really letting Nora wear that costume?
Daniel: It’s her birthday dress.
Evelyn: It’s Madison making another statement.
Daniel: About what?
Evelyn: Don’t be obtuse.
Daniel: Leave the dress alone.
Evelyn: Fine.
Then, on the morning of the party:
Evelyn: If that thing gets ruined don’t blame me.
Daniel: What are you planning?
Evelyn: I’m planning a birthday party for your daughter since apparently her parents can’t manage one together.
Madison stopped reading.
“How long has she talked to you like this?”
Daniel laughed quietly.
“My whole life?”
“No. About me.”
“Since we got engaged.”
“Jesus.”
“You knew.”
“I knew she disliked me.”
“She doesn’t dislike you.”
Madison looked at him.
“That sounded worse.”
“What does she do, then?”
Daniel stared at the table.
“She competes with you.”
“For what?”
He did not answer.
Madison suddenly understood why.
May you like
“For you.”
Daniel rubbed his jaw.
