Chapter 1 - The Jar That Should Not Have Existed)
By six that evening, Christmas had disappeared from the Pierce house.
The lights remained on the tree, but nobody looked at them.
The cinnamon candles had been extinguished.
Wrapping paper lay crumpled in evidence bags.
Emma was upstairs sleeping after being examined at the emergency room. Her cheeks were swollen, and the doctor had warned that the irritation might worsen before it improved.
Claire sat beside her bed.
Daniel stood at the bedroom doorway.
Neither of them spoke for several minutes.
Finally Claire whispered, “How long?”
Daniel knew exactly what she meant.
“How long what?”
“How long has your father hated me?”
Daniel looked away.
Claire rose carefully so she would not wake Emma.
“This wasn’t an accident.”
“I know.”
“He gave our daughter something that burned her face.”
“I know.”
“And when we asked him what was in it, he smiled.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“I know.”
Claire crossed her arms.
“Then stop saying you know and tell me what I don’t.”
That was the problem.
Daniel did not know.
Or perhaps he had spent too many years refusing to know.
Richard Pierce had always been difficult.
Cold.
Controlling.
The kind of father who could turn silence into punishment.
Daniel remembered childhood dinners where nobody was allowed to leave the table until Richard had finished speaking. He remembered being thirteen and standing outside in freezing rain because he had forgotten to lock the garage.
But Richard had changed after Emma was born.
At least Daniel had believed he had.
He brought presents.
He attended birthdays.
He gave Emma books, puzzles, and expensive toys.
Sometimes he even smiled.
Claire had never trusted that smile.
Now Daniel understood why.
His phone buzzed.
Detective Laura Bennett.
She had taken the initial report and promised to call after the lab received the bottle.
Daniel stepped into the hallway.
“Detective?”
“We identified the bottle.”
Claire moved closer.
Daniel put the phone on speaker.
“It contained a concentrated industrial cleaning additive,” Bennett said. “Not something legally sold as a cosmetic ingredient.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Daniel gripped the railing.
“Could it have caused the reaction?”
“Yes.”
“Could it have caused worse?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“How much worse?”
“Chemical burns. Eye injury. Respiratory damage if inhaled in sufficient quantity.”
Claire looked toward Emma’s bedroom.
Daniel felt something cold spread through him.
“Where would my father get it?”
“We’re working on that.”
“You said the bottle changed everything.”
“It does. Because it contains fingerprints.”
“His?”
“Some appear consistent with Richard Pierce.”
Daniel exhaled.
“But there’s another set.”
Claire frowned.
“Whose?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Daniel’s stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“It means your father may not have prepared this alone.”
Daniel looked at Claire.
Before he could respond, the downstairs doorbell rang.
Both of them froze.
Bennett heard it.
“Are you expecting anyone?”
“No.”
“Do not open the door until you know who it is.”
Daniel moved down the stairs quietly.
Through the glass panel beside the door, he saw nobody.
He approached carefully.
The bell rang again.
Claire followed despite Daniel motioning for her to stay back.
He checked the security camera app.
Empty porch.
“Whoever rang it is outside the camera angle,” Claire whispered.
Daniel stared at the door.
Something scraped against the wood.
Then footsteps moved away.
Daniel waited until police dispatch confirmed a patrol car was approaching.
Only then did he open the door.
A small red gift bag sat on the welcome mat.
Claire covered her mouth.
Attached to the handle was a card.
Daniel did not touch it.
The handwriting was Richard’s.
For Emma.
Claire backed away.
“No.”
The patrol officers arrived three minutes later.
They photographed the package before opening it.
Inside was a stuffed white rabbit.
Emma already owned one almost identical to it.
Beneath the rabbit was a folded photograph.
One officer unfolded it.
Daniel stared.
The picture showed Emma leaving school three weeks earlier.
It had been taken from inside a parked car.
May you like
On the back were four handwritten words.
SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MINE.
