Chapter 3 - The Rules of the House
Andre did not call the police immediately.
He called his attorney.
Then he called his sister, Tasha.
Tasha arrived twenty minutes later.
One look at Maya told her not to ask questions.
“Girls,” she said, “pack enough clothes for a few nights.”
Simone stood from the sofa.
“They're not leaving.”
Andre replied, “Maya is.”
“What about Kayla?”
Kayla looked terrified.
“And Noah?”
Andre hesitated.
That hesitation hurt him.
For four years, Noah and Kayla had called him Dad.
They were Simone's children with Darren, but Andre had coached Noah's baseball team, attended Kayla's school concerts, and sat beside both children through stomach bugs and nightmares.
They were not responsible for their parents.
Andre looked at them.
“If you want to go to Aunt Tasha's tonight, you can.”
Simone stared at him.
“They are my children.”
“And they shouldn't be in the middle of this.”
Darren had joint custody.
Andre contacted him through his attorney rather than directly.
The children eventually went to their biological father's home.
Maya left with Tasha.
Andre remained.
So did Simone.
The hidden phone sat inside a clear evidence bag Andre's attorney had told him not to manipulate further.
They stood on opposite sides of the living room.
The fresh pizzas remained on the table.
Maya's cold slice remained untouched.
Andre looked at it.
“How long have you been feeding her differently?”
Simone crossed her arms.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“You wrote it.”
“Those messages were frustration.”
“You described a strategy.”
“They were jokes.”
“With Darren?”
“He knows Maya and I haven't gotten along.”
Andre laughed once.
“There it is again.”
“What?”
“Making an eight-year-old equally responsible.”
Simone's face hardened.
“You aren't here.”
Andre said nothing.
“You fly to Chicago. Dallas. New York. Tampa. Then you come home and expect everyone to perform happy family for you.”
“And that gave you permission to punish Maya?”
“She makes this house miserable.”
“She is eight.”
“She knows exactly what she's doing.”
Andre stared at her.
He recognized the sentence.
Simone had said versions of it for months.
Maya knew how to manipulate.
Maya deliberately cried.
Maya tried to divide them.
Maya resented Noah and Kayla.
Andre had answered with patience.
Give Simone time.
Give Maya time.
Blending families was hard.
He had treated warning signs like normal adjustment.
“Tell me the rules,” he said.
Simone frowned.
“What?”
“The rules when I'm traveling.”
“There aren't special rules.”
Andre picked up a notebook from the coffee table.
It belonged to Maya.
On the back page were handwritten lines.
No asking Dad questions while he works.
No sitting on Mom's side of couch.
No dessert unless invited.
Do not ask for the same food as Noah and Kayla.
Andre felt something cold move through him.
“What is this?”
Simone glanced at it.
“Maya writes nonsense.”
He looked closer.
Another rule.
If Dad asks, say everything is fine.
Andre raised his eyes.
Simone said nothing.
His phone rang.
His attorney.
“Andre, I've spoken to your controller.”
“What did she say?”
“She says Simone requested temporary accounts-payable access eleven months ago.”
Andre frowned.
“Why?”
“She told them you approved it because she was helping during the staffing shortage.”
“I never approved that.”
“There is an email from you.”
Andre felt the room tilt.
“I never sent one.”
His attorney paused.
“We need a forensic review.”
Andre looked toward his home office.
A place Simone knew well.
His passwords had once been written in a small notebook inside his desk.
He had changed them six months earlier after a security upgrade.
Before that...
Anyone in the house could have found them.
His attorney continued.
“Andre, there's something else.”
“What?”
“Cole Facility Solutions isn't the only vendor your controller flagged.”
Andre's grip tightened.
“How many?”
“Five.”
Andre stared at Simone.
She looked away.
“How much money?”
“Preliminary total?”
“Yes.”
“Just over four hundred thousand dollars.”
The house became silent.
Then his attorney said:
May you like
“Andre, someone has been building this for much longer than eight months.”
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