Chapter 2: This Isn't the First
Maya sat at the table and didn't say a word.
She just looked at her plate.
Vanessa smiled at the guests like nothing had happened.
But I watched her.
I saw the way her jaw tightened every time someone leaned over to talk to Maya.
About twenty minutes later, Vanessa crouched down beside Maya's chair and said something low, just loud enough for me to catch the end of it.
"...you really should have stayed upstairs."
Maya went still.
I set down my drink.
"What did you just say to her?"
Vanessa stood up slowly.
"I was just checking on her, Marcus."
"That's not what I heard."
The table went quiet.
Her sister looked away.
A few guests suddenly found something very interesting in their glasses.
Then Maya looked up at me — and what I saw in her face wasn't embarrassment.
It was exhaustion.
Like this had happened before.
Many times before.
"Dad," she said quietly.
"It's okay."
But it wasn't okay.
Because right then, Vanessa's sister leaned across the table and said four words I wasn't supposed to hear.
"This isn't the first."
Vanessa's head snapped toward her.
"Don't."
Her sister looked at me.
Then looked away.
And I realized I didn't know half of what had been happening in my own house.
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What Marcus finds out next changes everything — and Vanessa's secret is darker than anyone at that table knew.
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