Chapter 6 - A Mother’s Threat
Margaret entered the office and closed the door behind her.
“Give me the phone.”
Claire backed toward the desk.
“No.”
“You don’t understand what you photographed.”
“I understand enough.”
Margaret’s face tightened.
“The house needs repairs. Vanessa’s business needs temporary support. Daniel would help his family if you weren’t poisoning him against us.”
“You were going to borrow nearly half a million dollars in his name.”
“It is family property.”
“Then why do you need his signature?”
Margaret took another step.
Claire raised the phone.
“Stay back.”
For a moment, neither woman moved.
Then Leo cried through the monitor in Claire’s pocket.
Claire turned instinctively toward the sound.
Margaret lunged.
She grabbed Claire’s wrist, but Claire twisted free and ran.
She reached the nursery and locked the door.
Her hands shook as she sent the photographs to Daniel’s private email.
The upload stopped at eighty-six percent.
The internet had been disconnected again.
Margaret struck the door with her palm.
“Open this door.”
“No.”
“You are making a mistake you will regret.”
Claire held Leo while listening to Margaret walk away.
Minutes later, Vanessa’s voice drifted from the hallway.
“Did she send anything?”
“I don’t know.”
“We can say the forms were drafts.”
“What about the photographs?”
“Take her phone.”
Claire looked down at Leo.
His eyes were closed against her chest, unaware of the battle building around him.
Claire restarted the nursery monitor using cellular backup.
She uploaded the photographs to its cloud storage.
Then she recorded a message.
“Daniel, your mother and Vanessa are trying to use your deployment to take out a loan. They’re blocking our calls. I’m safe right now, but I need you to know.”
She hesitated before adding one final sentence.
“If they tell you I’m unstable, ask to see the original recordings.”
Outside the door, the handle slowly turned.
May you like
Claire had forgotten that Margaret kept a master key.
👉 The door opened—and Claire realized Margaret was no longer trying to hide what she was capable of doing.
