Chapter 3
My heart stopped.
"What are you doing here?" I said, my hand on the door, ready to slam it shut.
Linda smiled. It was the same cold smile she'd given me through the window.
"I just wanted to return this," she said, holding up the locket. "I found it under the couch. I thought you might want to give it to Emma at the hospital."
She held it out to me.
I didn't move.
"Why are you really here?" I said.
Her smile widened.
"To give you some friendly advice," she said. "Mind your own business."
"I saw what you did," I said. "The police saw the video. You're not going to get away with it."
Linda laughed. A sharp, bitter sound.
"Video?" she said. "That video proves nothing. I'll say Emma was being dramatic. I'll say I tripped and accidentally knocked her. I'll say you edited it. And David will back me up. He always does."
She stepped closer. I could smell her expensive perfume.
"You don't know what you're dealing with, Maya," she said. "You just moved here. You don't know the history. You don't know what David and I have been through."
"I know you hurt a little girl," I said.
"Emma is fine," Linda said, waving a hand dismissively. "She's dramatic. She always has been. She misses her mother, so she acts out. I'm just trying to teach her some discipline."
"Discipline?" I said. "You shoved her into a table!"
"She needed to learn a lesson," Linda said. Her voice was cold. Deadly. "That locket was a distraction. A reminder of a woman who's gone. I'm her mother now. And she needs to accept that."
"You're not her mother," I said. "Her mother is dead. And you're just a monster who married her father."
Linda's face twisted with rage.
For a moment, I thought she was going to hit me.
But then she smiled again. That same horrible smile.
"You're very brave for someone who knows nothing," she said. "But bravery won't help you. Not when David is on my side. Not when the whole town thinks I'm a grieving widow who's just trying to be a good stepmother."
She tossed the locket onto my porch step.
"Give that to Emma if you want," she said. "Or throw it away. I don't care. It's just a piece of wood."
She turned to leave.
"And Maya?" she said, looking back over her shoulder.
"What?"
"If I were you, I'd be very careful. Accidents happen. All the time."
She walked away.
I stood there, trembling with rage and fear.
I picked up the locket from the step. It was warm from her hand.
I opened it.
Inside was a tiny photograph. A beautiful woman with Emma's same brown eyes and warm smile.
Emma's mother.
I closed the locket and held it tight.
I was going to give this back to Emma.
And I was going to make sure Linda never hurt her again.
I drove to the hospital.
I asked for Emma's room. The nurse at the desk told me family only.
"I'm a neighbor," I said. "I was there when she got hurt. I have something that belongs to her."
The nurse hesitated, then smiled kindly. "Five minutes. Her father is in there, so be quick."
I walked down the hallway to Emma's room.
I paused outside the door.
I could hear voices.
David and Linda.
"She's going to be fine," Linda was saying. "Just a little bump on the head."
"I should have been there," David said. His voice was full of guilt. "I should have come home earlier."
"You work hard," Linda said. "You provide for us. That's what matters. And I'm here. I'll take care of her. I'll take care of everything."
I heard David sigh. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Linda."
I felt sick.
I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
David opened it.
When he saw me, his face hardened.
"What are you doing here?" he said.
"I came to see Emma," I said. "I have something that belongs to her."
He looked at the locket in my hand. His eyes softened for just a moment.
Then he looked past me, as if checking for someone.
"She's resting," he said. "You should leave."
"Dad?"
A small voice from inside the room.
Emma was awake.
"Is that the nice lady from next door?"
David looked back at his daughter, then at me.
He sighed and stepped aside.
"Five minutes," he said.
I walked into the room.
Emma was sitting up in bed, a bandage wrapped around her head. Her eyes were red and puffy. But when she saw me, she smiled.
A small, tired smile.
"Hi," she whispered.
"Hi, Emma," I said. I sat down beside her bed. "I brought you something."
I held out the locket.
Her face lit up like the sun coming out from behind clouds.
"My locket!" she said. She took it carefully, like it was the most precious thing in the world. "You found it!"
"I did," I said.
She opened it and looked at the photo inside. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I miss my mom," she whispered.
"I know," I said. "I know you do."
She looked up at me. Her eyes were so full of pain and fear.
"She didn't trip, did she?" I said quietly.
Emma shook her head. A single tear fell onto the locket.
"She pushed me," Emma whispered. "She hates me. And my dad... he believes her. He always does."
My heart broke for her.
I looked up. David was standing in the doorway, listening.
May you like
His face was pale. His eyes were wide.
He'd heard every word.
