Chapter 1 - The Sirens
The wail of the sirens fractured the dead silence of the dining room. Rachel didn't move her eyes from Emma’s pale face. Her four-year-old daughter was barely breathing, the skin on her cheek already blistering into an angry, terrifying red.
"Cancel them," her father commanded, slamming his coffee mug onto the mahogany table. "Rachel, call them back right now and say it was a misunderstanding. We handle things in-house."
Rachel looked up, her vision blurring with tears and unfiltered rage. "She hit my baby with a hot iron skillet. She could have killed her!"
Vanessa leaned against the marble island, lazily examining her manicured nails. "Oh, please. The brat tripped. If she hadn't tried to steal Lily’s seat, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Actions have consequences."
The front door burst open. Two paramedics rushed in, followed by a pair of police officers. The paramedics took one look at Emma’s burns and immediately called for a trauma unit.
"Who did this?" Officer Davis asked, his hand instinctively resting on his belt.
"She did," Rachel said, pointing a shaking finger at her sister.
Vanessa rolled her eyes, offering the cops a dazzling, innocent smile. "Officers, my sister is hysterical. It was a cooking accident."
"She swung it at her head!" Rachel screamed.
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Officer Davis looked at the cast-iron skillet on the floor, then at the perfect, unbothered posture of the grandparents still sitting at the breakfast table. He stepped toward Vanessa. "Ma'am, turn around and place your hands behind your back."
Vanessa’s smirk vanished. "Dad! Do something!"
