Chapter 1 - The Shattered Glass
The silence that followed Chloe’s whisper was so absolute that I could hear the hum of the neighbor’s air conditioning unit three houses down. Chloe stood frozen by the sliding glass door, her knuckles white as she gripped the handle. She was seventeen, but right then, in her oversized t-shirt and faded jeans, she looked incredibly small.
Vanessa’s face went from pale to a mottled, furious red. “Chloe,” she hissed, her voice trembling with a rage that had nothing to do with shame and everything to do with being caught. “Get back inside. Now. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“She’s not lying, Mom,” Chloe repeated, her voice gaining a fraction of an inch of strength. She stepped fully onto the patio, tears spilling over her lashes. “Ethan is inside crying right now because Dad promised to take him to the batting cages, but Dad is drunk again. He’s been drinking since noon.”
Greg kicked his chair back so hard it tipped over, the legs clattering against the concrete. “That’s enough!” he roared, taking a heavy step toward his daughter.
Before I even realized my own body was moving, I was between them. I shoved my hands flat against Greg’s chest. He was a big man, broad-shouldered and heavy, but the pure, unadulterated adrenaline of a protective mother gave me the strength of a concrete wall.
“Do not take another step toward her,” I commanded, my voice deadly quiet but carrying an unmistakable threat.
“Get out of my way, Sarah,” Greg snarled, his breath reeking of cheap beer and stale smoke. “You’re brainwashing my kid.”
“I’m keeping your kid alive!” I fired back. I turned my head slightly, catching my mother’s eye. Diane was still standing by the grill, the salad tongs trembling in her hands. “Mom, are you going to stand there and let him do this? After everything you just heard?”
My mother blinked, her gaze darting from Vanessa’s furious, panicked face to Chloe’s sobbing form. For the first time in thirty years, the illusion of Vanessa’s perfect life shattered in my mother’s eyes. Diane slowly set the tongs down. “Greg,” my mother said, her voice shaking. “Step away from Chloe.”
Vanessa scoffed, a desperate, ugly sound. “Oh, please! You’re taking Sarah’s side? She’s just jealous! She’s jealous because her kid is defective and mine are normal!”
I felt Leo flinch behind me. I didn't turn around. I didn't need to. I reached back, finding his hand, and squeezed it tightly.
“Go pack your things, Chloe,” I said, not taking my eyes off Vanessa. “You and Ethan are coming home with me tonight.”
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“The hell they are!” Greg shouted, lunging forward.
But Chloe was already moving. She sprinted back inside. I stood my ground, staring my sister and her husband down. The barbecue was over. The war had just begun.
