After Eight Months Overseas, I Came Home to My Sick Newborn—Then My Mother Told Me My Wife Needed to Learn Her Place

“And Audrey?”

“Audrey hated that you had what she wanted without begging for it.”

“What did she want?”

“The house. The trust. The life. The attention.”

Sophia gave a sad, tired smile.

“I would have given her attention.”

“I know.”

“That’s what makes it worse.”

Leo made a soft sound from the bassinet.

Not a cry.

A living, sleepy sound.

Sophia turned her head toward him.

For the first time since I came home, her face softened without fear.

That night, I slept in a chair between my wife and my son.

At 6:11 the next morning, my phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

I ignored it.

It buzzed again.

Then Naomi’s phone rang.

She answered, listened, and looked at me.

“What?”

She covered the receiver.

“Eleanor is requesting a deal.”

I almost laughed.

“She has been in custody less than eight hours.”

“She says she has information.”