Chapter 4 - THE PROMISE
Noah refused to speak to Megan.
He also refused to apologize for hurting Ella.
At first, Megan took that as cruelty.
Then she heard him arguing with Andrew through the hospital stairwell door.
“You lied!”
“Noah, lower your voice.”
“You said I was coming home.”
Andrew rubbed both hands over his face.
“I said we would talk about where you’d live.”
“No. You said after Mom died, I wouldn’t be alone anymore.”
Megan stood outside the door, listening.
Noah’s voice broke.
“You said I had a room.”
Andrew said nothing.
That silence made something clear.
Noah had not attacked Ella because of a random tantrum.
He had arrived believing the Harrison house was supposed to become his home.
Then he had seen Ella.
The child who had the father, the house, the family name, the bedroom, the photographs, the life he believed had been stolen from him.
The violence was still inexcusable.
But the rage had been fed for years.
And Andrew had fed it.
When Megan stepped into the stairwell, Noah looked at her with open hostility.
“You knew about me.”
“No,” Megan said.
Noah frowned.
“My mom said wives always know.”
Megan looked at Andrew.
Another piece of the lie clicked into place.
May you like
Rachel had not merely accepted being hidden.
She had believed Megan was part of the arrangement.
