Chapter 5 - The Woman in Burgundy.
Vanessa did not answer immediately.
She looked at the glowing phone as if she could force the message back inside it.
Adrian held out his hand.
"Give it to me."
"No."
The word came too quickly.
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Then read the rest."
"Adrian, you're tired."
"Read it."
Claire moved toward her seat.
This was now unquestionably a family confrontation.
But Adrian glanced at her.
"Please stay."
Claire hesitated.
Vanessa looked furious.
"Why?"
Adrian's eyes stayed on Claire.
"Because if she leaves, you'll tell me later that I imagined this."
Claire understood the sentence more than she wanted to.
She sat in the aisle seat without speaking.
Vanessa lowered herself back into the burgundy leather chair.
"No one is spying on you."
Adrian gave a cold laugh.
"The message says otherwise."
"Dad asks how things are going."
"And you tell him I can't handle my son."
"You couldn't."
The words escaped before Vanessa could soften them.
Adrian flinched.
Noah shifted against him.
Claire watched Adrian close his eyes for one second.
When he opened them, the anger had become something quieter.
"Since when?"
Vanessa looked toward the window.
"Since Lena died."
"Since the day Lena died?"
"Since the week after."
Adrian stared.
"I was arranging a funeral."
"You were barely sleeping."
"I was arranging a funeral."
"You kept forgetting to eat."
"I was arranging my wife's funeral."
Vanessa's face tightened.
"I was trying to keep you alive."
"By telling Dad I was unstable?"
"I never used that word."
"You used irrational."
Claire saw Vanessa realize the difference did not matter.
The physician stepped backward toward the divider.
He clearly wanted no part of the argument.
Adrian noticed him.
"Doctor Soren."
The physician stopped.
"Did my family ask you whether I was fit to care for Noah?"
Vanessa stood.
"Adrian."
He ignored her.
Doctor Soren looked uncomfortable.
"They asked whether your grief was interfering with daily functioning."
"And?"
"I said grief can interfere with anyone's functioning."
Adrian waited.
"Did you say I was unfit?"
"No."
Vanessa's face changed.
Adrian looked at her.
She shook her head.
"That isn't what I told Dad."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him you needed help."
"That isn't what your message says."
Vanessa's eyes filled, but she did not cry.
"I was scared."
"So was I."
"You disappeared into work two weeks after the funeral."
"I went to work because every room in that house sounded like her."
Vanessa looked down.
Adrian's voice broke for the first time.
"I could not walk past the nursery without expecting her to be there."
No one moved.
Noah made a soft sleepy sound.
Adrian looked at him.
"I thought if I hired enough people, I wouldn't ruin him."
Claire felt the sentence settle over the cabin.
Vanessa's expression softened.
"That is exactly why I stepped in."
Adrian looked back at her.
"You didn't step in."
He paused.
"You stepped between us."
Vanessa inhaled sharply.
Claire saw the truth of it.
Every instruction Vanessa had given had been technically helpful.
Every correction had also told Adrian he could not be trusted.
Over time, he had started believing her.
Vanessa gripped the edge of the seat.
"Dad and Mom think Noah should stay with them for a while."
Adrian went still.
"How long?"
"Until you are more stable."
"Define stable."
"Don't turn this into a courtroom."
The phrase was a mistake.
Adrian's gaze sharpened.
"Why would you say courtroom?"
Vanessa looked away.
Claire felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cabin temperature.
Adrian stood carefully.
"Vanessa."
She closed her eyes.
"There's a meeting scheduled after we land."
"With whom?"
She did not answer.
"With whom?"
"Family counsel."
Adrian stared.
The physician looked down at the floor.
Claire felt sick for him.
Vanessa spoke quickly.
"It's not what you think."
Adrian's laugh was almost silent.
"You've been sending my father reports about whether I can hold my own child."
"No one is taking Noah from you."
"Then why is there a lawyer waiting?"
Vanessa swallowed.
"Because Dad wants temporary guardianship discussed."
The words hit harder than shouting.
Adrian's face emptied.
Noah remained asleep against him, unaware that adults had turned love into evidence.
Claire saw Adrian's hand close protectively around the baby's back.
Then his eyes dropped to the small gray blanket.
Something about it seemed to catch his attention.
He rubbed the edge between his fingers.
"This isn't his blanket."
Vanessa froze.
Adrian looked up.
"Where is the blue one Lena used?"
May you like
Vanessa's silence answered before her mouth did.
And Adrian's fear became anger all over again.
