Chapter 1 - The Slice Nobody Wanted
The smell of hot cheese and garlic filled the Bennett family's living room.
Two fresh pizzas sat open on the wooden coffee table while eleven-year-old Kayla and ten-year-old Noah reached happily for slices. Their mother, Simone Bennett, sat beside them on the beige sectional in an emerald-green dress, looking perfectly at ease.
Eight-year-old Maya sat at the opposite end.
Her plate held one cold piece of pizza.
The crust had hardened.
The cheese had curled at the edges.
Andre Bennett noticed the difference immediately.
He had returned from a three-day business trip less than an hour earlier, still wearing his brown suit and tie.
“Why is Maya eating that?”
Simone barely looked at the plate.
“She already ate earlier.”
Maya's eyes filled.
“She said the fresh pizza was for her kids...”
Andre slowly turned toward Simone.
Simone's expression sharpened.
“She’s lying. She just wants attention.”
Maya lowered her face.
Andre had seen that reaction before.
Not crying.
Not arguing.
Retreating.
It disturbed him more than tears would have.
He looked toward the children.
“Then somebody tell me what really happened.”
Kayla froze.
Noah stopped chewing.
Simone turned toward him.
“Noah.”
One word.
A warning.
But Noah looked at Maya.
Then at Andre.
His hands began shaking.
“Dad, Mom told us never to give you this.”
He opened his fist.
A small metal key lay in his palm.
Simone went white.
Andre stared at it.
“What does it open?”
Noah shook his head.
“She just said you couldn't have it.”
Andre held out his hand.
Noah placed the key in it.
Simone stood.
“Andre, this is ridiculous.”
He ignored her.
Something about the key looked familiar.
Then he remembered.
One of the lower kitchen drawers had a small lock built into its face. Andre had assumed it was decorative because he had never seen anyone use it.
He walked into the kitchen.
Simone followed.
“Andre, don't start tearing through things because children are confused.”
He inserted the key.
It fit.
His eyes lifted toward Simone.
She stopped moving.
Andre turned the key.
Click.
He opened the drawer.
Inside lay a black smartphone.
Not Simone's everyday phone.
Not his.
A second phone.
He picked it up.
The battery still had charge.
There was no passcode.
A messaging thread was already open.
Andre read.
Darren: Is the girl still causing problems?
Simone: I'm handling Maya.
Another message:
Darren: She needs to be gone before Andre starts asking questions.
Then Simone's reply:
If I keep treating her like she doesn't belong, she'll ask to live with Celeste herself.
Andre's chest tightened.
He scrolled.
Darren: Keep giving her the leftovers. No special treatment.
Simone: Exactly. Let her watch the others get everything. Eventually she'll understand this isn't her home anymore.
Andre could hear Simone breathing behind him.
He turned.
“You want me to leave?”
Tears had appeared in her eyes.
Andre looked from her to the phone.
For months, he had believed Maya was becoming withdrawn because she still struggled with the death of her mother.
Simone had told him Maya rejected the blended family.
That Maya resented her.
That Maya created conflict whenever Andre traveled.
But Maya hadn't been rejecting the family.
Someone had been teaching her that the family rejected her.
Andre's jaw tightened.
“Now I know why you were lying.”
Simone stared at him.
Maya stood in the living room doorway behind her.
She had heard everything.
Andre looked down at the phone again.
Then he noticed something he had missed.
Darren had sent another message three nights earlier.
Month-end is coming. If Maya tells him what she saw in the office, we're both finished.
Andre stopped breathing.
He looked at Maya.
“What did you see in my office?”
Maya's face changed.
Fear returned instantly.
And Simone whispered:
May you like
“Don't.”
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