Don't Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders

Author:Nicola Sanders [Sanders, Nicola]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

‘You’ve been spying on us?’ Richard bellows.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so angry. Not even when I told him about kissing Anthony at that Christmas party.

He pounds the table with his fist. ‘Answer me!’

Chloe is smirking in the background.

I take a breath. ‘I was just being cautious because of Evie and I being alone out here most of the time,’ I say. After all Richard was the one who always insisted on the extra security. I remind him of that now.

He turns to Chloe. ‘Can you wait for me in your room, please?’

She hesitates for a moment. Her face has gone back to that mask-like expression. I have no idea how she feels about the cameras around the house, or even if she feels at all.

In fact, I wonder if she always knew.

She leaves the room and Richard sits back down heavily, dropping his forehead in his hands.

‘I’m sorry,’ I say. ‘I didn’t mean…’

He narrows his eyes at me. ‘You’re always sorry, Joanne! You are so paranoid that you’ve been spying on us, in my own house! You think sorry is going cut it?’

‘I wasn’t spying on you.’

He shakes his head at me. ‘You should be ashamed of yourself.’

‘I was worried!’ I glance towards the door for moving shadows. ‘I thought she wanted to harm Evie,’ I whisper.

‘Harm Evie? Again? What is wrong with you? How long have you had them up? How many?’

“Not long,’ I mumble. ‘I only just put them up.’

He grabs a glass from the table and smashes it against the wall. I jump in my chair.

‘You’ve been spying on my daughter in my own house? Where are they? The cameras you’ve been hiding?’

I tell him where the one is in the nursery. He grabs a bin liner from the kitchen drawer and angrily drops the one Chloe found into it.

‘What are you doing?’

‘What does it look like I’m doing. These are going in the bin.’

I follow him as he stomps up the stairs.

‘Please don’t wake Evie,’ I plead.

But it’s like he doesn’t hear me. He’s mumbling to himself. ‘Spying on my own daughter, in my own house. You should be ashamed of yourself.’ He tears open the teddy bear and throws it on the floor. Evie’s eyes snap open and sure enough her mouth distorts and she starts to wail.

‘Chloe?’ I call out as we walk past her closed door. ‘Can you help with Evie, please?’

‘Oh, now you want Chloe to help!’ Richard snaps.

Chloe opens her door. ‘That’s okay, I’ll do it.’

‘How dare you?’ Richard mumbles as he runs down the stairs. I run after him. When he reaches the bottom, he turns to me and puts out his hand.

‘Your phone.’

‘What for?’ I whine.

‘I want to see the app. I want to check if you’ve lied to me about how many cameras you’ve put up.’

I go into the kitchen and hand him my phone. I’m shaking. ‘I didn’t lie.’ I say

‘Like hell you haven’t,’ he snaps. ‘I can’t trust anything you say. I don’t even know who you are anymore.

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