Chapter 2 - THE LOCK ON THE OUTSIDEGrant had spent years believing anger was weakness.
In business, anger caused mistakes.
It exposed vulnerabilities.
It made people predictable.
So when Grant looked at his mother standing in the doorway, he didn't shout.
That frightened Lenora more.
He picked Caleb up carefully and pressed the baby against his chest.
“Why was this door locked?”
Lenora's expression hardened.
“It wasn't.”
Grant looked toward the brass key.
“Try again.”
Audrey whispered his name.
“Grant.”
He turned.
She looked terrified.
Not of him.
Of what might happen next.
Grant crouched beside her.
“How long have you been in here?”
Audrey looked toward Lenora.
That glance answered more than words could.
Grant stood.
“How long?”
“Since this afternoon,” Audrey whispered.
Grant's jaw tightened.
Lenora immediately intervened.
“That is completely misleading.”
Grant didn't look at her.
“Why is the window open?”
Audrey lowered her eyes.
“Your mother said the guests complained the upstairs was too warm.”
Grant stared at the frost gathering near the window frame.
“And Caleb?”
Audrey's voice broke.
“He wouldn't stop crying.”
Grant closed his eyes for one second.
When he opened them, something inside him had changed.
Lenora stepped forward.
“Grant, she has been emotional since the delivery.”
He turned slowly.
“Be very careful with your next sentence.”
His mother stopped.
Audrey looked at him.
Grant removed his coat and wrapped it around her.
“We're leaving.”
Lenora stared.
“What?”
Grant picked up the diaper bag.
“You heard me.”
“You cannot walk out in the middle of my gathering.”
Grant almost laughed.
“Your gathering?”
Lenora realized her mistake.
“This family's gathering.”
“My house.”
“Grant—”
“My house.”
The words were quiet.
Final.
Lenora crossed her arms.
“You're exhausted. You're upset. Tomorrow morning, after you've slept—”
“No.”
Grant placed Caleb carefully into Audrey's arms.
Then he began packing.
Diapers.
Formula.
Blankets.
Caleb's medication.
Audrey watched him in disbelief.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking you somewhere warm.”
“Grant…”
He stopped.
For the first time, he truly looked at his wife.
She had lost weight.
There were shadows beneath her eyes.
A faint bruise marked her wrist.
Grant's gaze dropped to it.
“What happened there?”
Audrey pulled her sleeve down.
“Nothing.”
Grant stared.
“Audrey.”
“Please.”
That word hurt more than anything else.
Please.
Not here.
Not now.
Not while Lenora was listening.
Grant nodded.
“All right.”
He zipped the bag.
Lenora stepped into the room.
“You're behaving irrationally.”
Grant picked up another blanket.
“My six-week-old son was lying beside an open window in December.”
“He was perfectly safe.”
Grant turned.
“You locked them inside.”
“I did no such thing.”
“The key was outside.”
“Because Audrey has been confused lately.”
Audrey flinched.
Grant noticed.
He suddenly remembered conversations from the previous month.
Lenora saying Audrey was overwhelmed.
Lenora saying Audrey forgot appointments.
Lenora saying Audrey was becoming overly protective of Caleb.
Lenora saying perhaps Audrey needed “professional rest.”
Grant had believed some of it.
His stomach turned.
How many lies had he accepted?
“How often?” he asked Audrey.
She didn't answer.
Grant stepped closer.
“How often has she locked this door?”
Lenora interrupted.
“This conversation is over.”
Grant looked at her.
“No, Mother.”
He picked up Caleb's carrier.
“This conversation hasn't even started.”
They walked downstairs ten minutes later.
The party fell silent.
Audrey wore Grant's coat over her clothes.
Caleb was wrapped against her chest.
Grant carried two bags.
Guests stared.
Lenora followed them.
“Grant, don't humiliate this family.”
He stopped beside the front door.
Then he turned.
“You should have thought about that before locking my wife and infant son in a freezing room.”
Gasps spread through the foyer.
Lenora went pale.
Grant opened the door.
Snowflakes drifted through the porch lights.
He helped Audrey into the SUV.
Then he climbed beside her.
As the gates closed behind them, Audrey finally began crying.
Grant held her hand.
“You're safe.”
She looked at him.
“No.”
Grant frowned.
Audrey glanced toward the estate disappearing behind them.
“You don't understand.”
“Understand what?”
Her fingers tightened around his.
“She wasn't trying to punish me tonight.”
Grant felt something cold settle in his chest.
Audrey swallowed.
“She was trying to prove something.”
“To whom?”
May you like
Audrey stared through the window.
“The people downstairs.”
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