“Say goodbye to your mother,” Michael said softly, a warning beneath the tone.
Ava stepped forward hesitantly. Hannah leaned in to kiss her cheek.
It was a mistake.
Ava screamed, shoved her away, and ran behind Michael.
“Daddy! Please!”
Hannah remained crouched as a neighbor watched.
Michael sighed.
“What did you do to her this morning?” he asked quietly.
“Nothing,” Hannah cried. “I swear.”
“Children don’t react like this for no reason,” he said coldly. “Control yourself.”
The car drove away.
On the ground, Hannah noticed Ava’s sketchbook. Inside was a drawing: a man, a little girl, and a woman with black hair, a monstrous mouth, snake-like arms choking the child.
Above it: Bad Mommy.
The woman wore Hannah’s blue silk pajamas.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
“Your husband tells good stories,” the message read. “But he left a hole in the plot.”
That sentence echoed all day.
That evening, Hannah bought Ava a large teddy bear. When she returned home, Michael was already there. Ava sat on the floor with Mrs. Collins, the housekeeper.
The terror was instant.
Hannah knelt, offering the gift.
“Let’s open it together.”
She reached toward Ava.
“GET AWAY!”
Ava screamed, threw the box, and struck Hannah’s temple.