Marisol glanced back at Valeria and Sofia.
Both children were staring at the floor.
“They’re afraid of you.”
Silence.
Then Chloe slapped Marisol across the face.
The sound cracked through the living room speakers.
I lunged toward the security-room door.
Hector caught my arm.
“Mr. Vance.”
“Get out of my way.”
“Sir, wait.”
I turned on him.
“My daughter was grabbed, and that woman just struck an employee in my house.”
“I know.”
“Then move.”
Hector didn’t.
Instead, he pointed toward the monitor.
“Look.”
I looked.
Marisol had not struck Chloe back.
She hadn’t even raised her hand.
She simply touched the side of her cheek and said, very quietly, “You shouldn’t have done that.”
Chloe leaned closer.
“What are you going to do? Tell Alexander?”
A cold smile spread across her face again.
“Please do. He’ll believe me.”
Marisol looked at her for several seconds.
Then she said something that made every hair on my arms rise.
“Not after what I found.”
Chloe froze.
So did I.
“What did you say?”
Marisol lowered her voice.
“I found the medication.”
Chloe’s entire face changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
But once I saw it, I knew.
Fear.
Real fear.
Hector’s grip loosened on my arm.
I slowly sat back down.
“What medication?” I whispered.
Onscreen, Chloe glanced toward the hallway.
“Girls,” she snapped, “go upstairs.”
Valeria didn’t move.
Marisol turned toward them.
“It’s okay,” she said gently. “Go to the library.”
Valeria looked at her.
There was an understanding between them that broke my heart.
My nine-year-old daughter nodded.
She took Sofia by the hand.
Together, they disappeared down the hallway.
The moment they were gone, Chloe grabbed Marisol by the arm.
“What did you find?”
Marisol pulled herself free.
“A bottle hidden behind the cleaning supplies in the upstairs linen closet.”
“What bottle?”
“You know exactly what bottle.”
“I don’t.”
Marisol stared at her.
“Then maybe we should ask Mr. Vance why his daughter keeps falling asleep in the afternoons.”
My breath stopped.
Sofia.
For nearly two months, she had been unusually tired.
