Chapter 4

I started a mental countdown. Twenty-four hours.

By this time tomorrow, Leo and I would be gone.

The next morning, I went to Leo' s preschool to arrange his withdrawal.

My hands trembled as I filled out the forms.

"Everything alright, Mrs. Hayes?" the principal asked, her expression concerned.

"Yes, just... a family matter," I mumbled.

As I was leaving, I heard familiar voices from around the corner.

Ethan. And a woman' s laugh, light and musical. Chloe.

My stomach clenched.

"...don' t worry, Chloe," Ethan was saying, his voice low and intimate. "Sarah will never know Liam has Leo' s eye. She' s too wrapped up in this whole reconciliation charade."

"You' re sure?" Chloe' s voice, smooth as silk. "She seems... fragile."

"She' s easily manipulated," Ethan said with a dismissive laugh. "Always has been."

I backed away, my blood boiling.

Then, Chloe stepped into the hallway, a boy clinging to her hand.

He was about Leo' s age, with bright, curious eyes. One of them, I knew with a sickening certainty, was my son' s.

"Oh, Sarah!" Chloe said, her smile wide and overly friendly. "What a coincidence! This is my son, Liam. Liam, say hello to Mrs. Hayes and... where' s Leo?"

Liam stared at me, then his gaze drifted past me.

Leo chose that moment to run out of his classroom, spotting me. "Mommy!"

He stopped short when he saw Chloe and Liam.

"Leo, darling, this is Liam," Chloe cooed. "He' s going to be your new friend!"

Liam looked Leo up and down. His gaze fixed on Leo' s prosthetic eye.

A cruel smirk spread across his face.

"Ew," Liam said loudly. "Your fake eye is gross! It doesn' t even move right."

Leo flinched as if struck. His face crumpled.

My hand shot out, and I pulled Leo behind me. "That' s not a nice thing to say, Liam."

Chloe laughed lightly. "Oh, children. So honest, aren't they?"

Ethan appeared, his arm casually draping over Chloe' s shoulder.

"What' s going on here?" he asked, his tone indulgent.

"Liam just made an observation about Leo' s eye," Chloe said, a hint of malice in her voice.

Ethan looked at Leo, then at me.

"Sarah, don' t be so sensitive," he said, his voice chiding. "Boys will be boys. Liam didn' t mean any harm."

He turned to Liam with a warm smile. "It' s okay, buddy. Leo' s just a bit touchy."

Leo' s small body trembled behind me.

The casual cruelty, the blatant favoritism... it was like a punch to the gut.

Ethan, my husband, defending the boy who wore my son' s stolen eye, while dismissing Leo' s pain.

Leo looked up at me, his one good eye swimming with tears.

That look broke the last remaining thread of hope I might have clung to.

This wasn' t just betrayal. This was monstrous.