Chapter 3
Brooke noticed first.
Ethan stopped wanting Gary to drive him to school.
He asked Brooke whether she could pick him up instead.
At dinner, he watched Gary’s hands before answering questions.
When Gary entered a room, Ethan’s shoulders tightened.
Brooke told Claire.
“Something’s wrong.”
Claire answered:
“He’s scared because of everything happening around the house.”
“No. He’s scared of Gary.”
Claire stared at her.
“Why would you say that?”
“Because I have eyes.”
That started an argument.
Claire accused Brooke of resenting Gary.
Brooke accused Claire of pretending not to see things.
Both said things they regretted.
Then Ethan came downstairs.
The argument stopped.
That night Brooke went into his room.
“Did Gary hurt you?”
Ethan shook his head.
Too fast.
“Ethan.”
“He gets mad.”
“How?”
“He says boys need to stop acting weak.”
“Does he hit you?”
Silence.
Brooke did not push harder.
She told him:
“If you ever need me, come get me. Even if it’s two in the morning.”
Three nights later, he did.
Gary had grabbed Ethan by the upper arm after the boy spilled juice.
Brooke saw finger-shaped bruises.
She photographed them.
Claire confronted Gary the next morning.
He said:
“I stopped him from running through broken glass.”
There had been a broken glass.
Claire believed enough of the explanation to hesitate.
Brooke did not.
Then the threats around the house intensified.
A second anonymous note arrived.
MOVE BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT.
Claire contacted police again.
Dominic’s lawyer demanded copies.
Family court appointed a neutral security consultant to review the incidents.
Gary hated that.
“We don’t need one of Dominic’s people.”
Claire answered:
“The judge picked him.”
The consultant found no direct link to Dominic’s known associates.
That did not prove there was no danger.
It simply left the source unknown.
Then Gary received an employment offer from a Phoenix-based building company.
Vice president.
Significant raise.
Equity opportunity.
He showed Claire the numbers.
“We can leave all this.”
Claire looked at the children.
“I can’t move them without dealing with court.”
“Then deal with court.”
“I’m not telling a judge Dominic’s people are threatening us when police haven’t proved that.”
Gary slammed the folder shut.
“What more do you need?”
Claire remembered that question later.
What more do you need?
Because after that, the threats began producing more physical evidence.
A garage camera was smashed.
Green paint appeared on the fence.
A patio chair was broken.
And one afternoon Ethan whispered something to Brooke.
“I saw Gary make the green thing.”
Brooke froze.
“What?”
“The fence.”
“When?”
“He thought I was asleep.”
“Are you sure?”
Ethan nodded.
“He had the paint from the garage.”
That was why Brooke photographed it.
May you like
That was why she started watching Gary.
And that was why Gary’s behavior toward Ethan became much worse.
