“I made this for the baby.”
“It’s beautiful,” Ethan said. “Thank you.”
He called a neighbor, Mrs. Alvarez, who had already offered to help. Ben happily went next door to eat cookies and play with her grandson while the adults talked.
Only then did Ethan allow Diane, Brooke, and Jason inside.
The living room television was on.
Paused across the screen was the security footage showing them carrying Claire’s food toward the door.
Diane stopped walking.
Brooke’s face lost its color.
Jason stared at the floor.
Ethan placed several printed documents on the coffee table.
Credit-card statements.
Receipts.
The canceled nursing contract.
A list of expenses totaling $12,640.
“You gave Mom permission to use the card,” Brooke said quickly.
“For Claire’s recovery and Lily’s care.”
“We’re family.”
“So are they.”
Diane finally spoke.
“I raised you. I sacrificed everything for you.”
“And I have spent years trying to honor that,” Ethan said calmly. “But raising me did not give you the right to neglect my wife, lie to me, or take money intended for my newborn daughter.”
