Chapter 4 - The Good Husband)
Daniel smiled at Rachel.
It was the same smile he used at weddings, work dinners, and neighborhood barbecues.
Easy.
Controlled.
Friendly.
"Underreacting to what?"
Rachel looked at Claire.
Claire answered.
"The missing milk."
Daniel laughed softly.
"Seriously?"
Rachel did not laugh.
"Claire says several bottles disappeared."
"My wife had a baby five days ago. She's sleeping maybe three hours a night."
Claire felt heat rise into her face.
Daniel continued.
"She's losing track of things."
Rachel leaned against the counter.
"Then helping her track them seems reasonable."
Daniel's smile faded slightly.
"This is a family issue."
Rachel nodded.
"Then I'll go."
Claire looked at her.
Rachel picked up her bag.
Before leaving, she hugged Claire carefully so she would not disturb Lily.
"Call me later."
Daniel watched her walk out.
The front door closed.
Silence filled the kitchen.
Daniel turned toward Claire.
"What exactly did you tell her?"
"The truth."
"What truth?"
"That milk is disappearing."
Daniel exhaled.
"You are obsessed with this."
"Three bottles."
"Claire."
"Three."
"You pumped at least twenty since we came home."
"Twenty-two."
Daniel stared at her.
"You know exactly how many?"
"Yes."
"That isn't healthy."
Claire almost smiled.
There it was again.
Not healthy.
Emotional.
Unstable.
Words that could be repeated.
Words that could be written down.
Words that could be shown to somebody later.
Claire suddenly remembered Margaret's quiet voice downstairs.
Document it.
"What are you documenting?" Claire asked.
Daniel's face changed so subtly another person might have missed it.
Claire did not.
"What?"
"Your mother said to document something."
Daniel shook his head.
"You heard part of a conversation."
"What part did I miss?"
"She thinks you're overwhelmed."
"So you're documenting that?"
"No."
"Then what are you documenting?"
Daniel stepped closer.
"I don't like what you're accusing me of."
"I haven't accused you of anything."
"You are now."
Claire adjusted Lily against her shoulder.
Daniel looked at the baby.
"Give her to me."
"No."
"Claire."
"She just ate."
"I want to hold my daughter."
Claire hesitated.
That was the trap.
If she refused, Daniel could call her controlling.
If she handed Lily over, she did not know whether he would follow Margaret's schedule.
Finally Claire sat on the couch and allowed Daniel to hold Lily while remaining beside him.
Daniel shook his head.
"This is what Mom means."
"What?"
"You don't trust anyone."
"Your mother walked into our house at two in the morning."
"To help."
"You called her without telling me."
"Because you needed sleep."
"And then milk started disappearing."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"Enough."
Lily startled.
Claire immediately reached for her.
Daniel gave the baby back.
For the rest of the afternoon, he barely spoke.
At 5:00, Margaret arrived.
Claire had not been told she was coming.
Margaret brought dinner.
She acted cheerful.
She asked Claire whether she had slept.
She kissed Lily's forehead.
She complimented Daniel for cleaning the kitchen.
Then she said, "You look pale, Claire."
"I'm tired."
"Have you been crying?"
Claire looked at Daniel.
He was watching her.
"No."
Margaret nodded slowly.
"Daniel said you were upset earlier."
"Daniel and I had a disagreement."
"About?"
"Milk."
Margaret's eyes moved toward the refrigerator.
Claire saw it.
Tiny.
Automatic.
But undeniable.
Margaret knew.
Claire's heart began pounding.
She kept her voice casual.
"Funny thing. Three bottles disappeared."
Margaret opened the oven.
"Did they?"
"Yes."
"New mothers misplace things."
Claire looked at Daniel.
The exact phrase.
Almost.
Not a coincidence.
Margaret turned.
"You need rest."
"I need people to stop touching Lily's food."
Margaret's expression changed.
"Are you accusing me?"
Claire held her gaze.
"I'm asking."
Daniel immediately stepped forward.
"No. You're accusing."
Margaret raised a hand dramatically.
"Daniel, don't."
Claire almost admired how quickly Margaret changed roles.
Suddenly she was wounded.
Fragile.
The helpful grandmother falsely attacked by the irrational daughter-in-law.
Margaret picked up her purse.
"I'll leave."
Daniel glared at Claire.
"Happy?"
Claire said nothing.
Margaret moved toward the door.
Then she paused beside the refrigerator.
For one second, her hand disappeared behind her purse.
Claire heard a faint beep.
The refrigerator display went dark.
Then came back.
Margaret left.
Claire stared at the screen.
"Did she just touch that?"
Daniel looked away.
"Touch what?"
Claire walked to the refrigerator.
The activity history required a password.
She entered the code Daniel had given her months earlier.
ACCESS DENIED.
She tried again.
ACCESS DENIED.
Claire slowly turned.
Daniel was standing behind her.
"You changed the password."
He folded his arms.
"It's my account."
"It's our refrigerator."
"I paid for it."
Claire looked at him for several seconds.
Then she nodded.
"Okay."
Daniel frowned.
He had expected a fight.
Claire picked up Lily.
"I'm going upstairs."
"That's it?"
Claire looked back.
"For tonight."
At 11:40 p.m., after Daniel fell asleep, Claire opened their shared laptop.
Daniel had forgotten that his browser synchronized passwords.
She searched saved credentials.
The refrigerator account appeared.
Claire logged in.
The activity history loaded.
She expected to see door openings.
Instead, she found something more interesting.
Administrator access.
Two authorized users.
Daniel Bennett.
Margaret Bennett.
Claire stared at Margaret's name.
Then she saw the permission level.
REMOTE CONTROL ENABLED.
The refrigerator was not simply recording what happened in Claire's kitchen.
Margaret could see when the doors opened.
She could change settings.
She could receive alerts.
And beneath her name was another setting.
CAMERA ACCESS ENABLED.
Claire felt the room tilt.
The refrigerator camera faced the kitchen island.
The place where Claire prepared bottles.
The place where she pumped during late nights.
The place where she and Daniel argued.
Claire opened the camera history.
Most clips were ordinary.
Claire washing bottles.
Claire holding Lily.
Daniel making coffee.
Then she found a clip from the previous night.
1:52 a.m.
Daniel entered the kitchen.
He opened the refrigerator.
Removed a bottle.
Walked to the sink.
And emptied it.
Claire covered her mouth.
The clip continued.
Daniel took out his phone.
Called someone.
Claire turned up the volume.
"Yeah," Daniel whispered.
A pause.
Then he said, "I did it."
Another pause.
Daniel glanced toward the stairs.
"No, she didn't see."
Another pause.
Then the sentence that made Claire's blood turn cold.
May you like
"How many more nights before she looks incapable?"
Claire stopped breathing.
