Chapter 2 - The Rule Nobody Could Explain
The next morning, Valeria asked Beatrice about the question.
Beatrice pretended not to remember asking it.
Damian was nearby.
Valeria noticed that too.
Over the following days, little things began collecting in her mind.
Elliot stopped asking for snacks without permission.
Beatrice started closing her bedroom door whenever Damian came home.
The children became unusually quiet during dinner.
Damian called it improvement.
"See?" he said Thursday evening. "They finally understand expectations."
Valeria looked at the two children sitting across from them.
Neither was smiling.
"Children aren't supposed to look like employees at a quarterly meeting."
Beatrice almost laughed.
Damian looked at her.
The sound died immediately.
Valeria put down her fork.
"Why did you stop laughing?"
Beatrice shrugged.
Damian continued eating.
"Don't interrogate her."
"I asked a question."
"You're turning everything into something."
Valeria looked directly at him.
"Maybe because lately everything feels like something."
The atmosphere changed.
Elliot's eyes moved from one adult to the other.
Valeria hated that.
She changed the subject.
After dinner, Damian took a phone call in his office.
Valeria found Beatrice outside near the garden wall.
The girl was sitting with her knees against her chest.
Valeria sat beside her.
For a minute, neither spoke.
Then Valeria said, "I will never ask you to choose between me and your father."
Beatrice looked at her.
"Why would I have to?"
"I don't know. But I want you to know that."
The girl's expression became guarded.
"Did he tell you something?"
"No."
"Did Elliot?"
"No."
Beatrice looked away.
Valeria's pulse quickened.
"Bee, if something is happening in this house, you can tell me."
"Nothing is happening."
"You know I love you."
Beatrice nodded.
"You know you can trust me."
Another nod.
"Then why do you look scared?"
Beatrice's chin trembled.
For one second, Valeria thought she would speak.
Then the back door opened.
Damian stepped onto the patio.
"There you are."
Beatrice stood immediately.
Damian smiled.
"I need a word with my daughter."
Valeria remained seated.
"About what?"
"School."
"I can stay."
"Valeria."
Something sharp entered his voice.
He corrected it instantly.
"This is a father daughter matter."
Beatrice's fingers curled around the edge of her blouse.
Valeria saw it.
She stood.
"No."
Damian blinked.
"No?"
"If it is school, we are both parents in this house."
Damian gave a slow smile.
"Interesting."
"What is?"
"Nothing."
He walked inside.
Beatrice watched him disappear.
Then she whispered, "You shouldn't do that."
Valeria turned.
"Do what?"
"Make him look stupid."
"I didn't."
"That's what he thinks."
Valeria felt cold.
"Beatrice, what happens when he thinks someone makes him look stupid?"
The girl stared toward the door.
Then she ran inside.
That night, Valeria searched the house after everyone slept.
She did not know what she was looking for.
Evidence felt like too dramatic a word.
She checked Elliot's room.
Nothing.
Beatrice's room.
Nothing.
Then she remembered the blue notebook.
It was gone.
The next morning, Valeria asked about it.
Beatrice froze.
"What notebook?"
"The blue one."
"I lost it."
"When?"
"I don't know."
Damian entered the kitchen.
"What's lost?"
"Nothing," Beatrice said immediately.
Damian looked between them.
Valeria smiled.
"Homework."
Damian nodded and poured coffee.
Valeria had lied to her husband for the first time.
She was surprised by how natural it felt.
That afternoon, she called Elliot's school.
His teacher, Mrs. Harper, spoke cautiously.
"Elliot has been distracted."
"Since when?"
"Maybe two weeks."
"Has he said anything?"
A pause.
"Mrs. Calloway, there was an incident Monday."
Valeria's hand tightened around the phone.
"What incident?"
"Elliot fell asleep during independent reading. When I woke him, he became very upset."
"Why?"
"He said he had been standing in the hallway most of the night."
Valeria stopped breathing.
"Standing where?"
"He wouldn't say."
"Did he mention Damian?"
Another pause.
"No. But when I asked whether an adult had punished him, he asked me not to call home."
Valeria closed her eyes.
"Why wasn't I informed?"
"We tried the home number."
"Who answered?"
"Your husband."
Valeria's eyes opened.
"What did he say?"
"He said Elliot had been having nightmares and exaggerating things for attention."
Valeria said nothing.
Mrs. Harper continued.
"I assumed you knew."
"I didn't."
When Valeria returned home, Damian was in his office.
The door was closed.
She stood outside it for almost a minute.
Then she heard his voice.
He was speaking on the phone.
"No. She still thinks this is about discipline."
Valeria froze.
A pause.
Then Damian laughed quietly.
"She'll sign eventually."
Valeria moved closer.
"Once the trust amendment is done, Elliot stops being a problem."
Valeria's blood went cold.
She pushed open the door.
Damian looked up.
For half a second, his face revealed surprise.
Then the mask returned.
He ended the call.
"How long have you been standing there?"
Valeria looked at the papers on his desk.
On top was a document bearing her name.
AMENDMENT TO FAMILY TRUST.
May you like
And beneath it was a clause she had never seen before.
A clause involving Elliot.
