Chapter 1 - The Woman in Green
The stroller hit the water before Maya could scream.
One second, nine-month-old Noah Cole was sleeping beneath the shade of the patio umbrella.
The next, his stroller rolled backward, crossed the stone edge, and vanished into the deep end of the swimming pool.
“Noah!”
Maya Reed ran.
She didn’t remove her shoes.
She didn’t reach for her phone.
She jumped.
Cold water slammed against her face as she dove beneath the surface.
The stroller had already tipped sideways.
Noah’s tiny arms moved beneath the water.
His eyes were wide.
Terrified.
Maya kicked hard, grabbed the stroller frame, and ripped at the safety strap.
It wouldn’t release.
“Come on!”
Her lungs burned.
She yanked again.
The buckle snapped free.
Maya pulled Noah against her chest and pushed toward the surface.
They broke through the water together.
Noah coughed.
Then screamed.
That scream was the most beautiful sound Maya had ever heard.
“I got you,” she gasped. “I got you, baby.”
She dragged herself toward the steps.
A patio door flew open.
Ethan Cole came running outside.
“Noah!”
The thirty-seven-year-old widower looked as if someone had punched straight through his chest.
But before he could reach Maya, Vanessa Hart stepped between them.
Vanessa was wearing a fitted emerald-green dress.
Her blond hair was still perfect.
Her makeup hadn’t moved.
Yet her voice shook with perfectly timed horror.
“Ethan, don’t touch her!”
Ethan stopped.
“What?”
Vanessa pointed at Maya.
“She pushed him.”
Maya froze.
Water streamed from her hair.
Noah screamed in her arms.
“What did you say?”
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“I saw everything.”
“That’s a lie.”
“You pushed the stroller into the pool!”
Maya stared at her.
“You’re insane.”
Vanessa stepped behind Ethan.
“I was coming out here when I saw her standing behind Noah. She looked around first.”
Maya climbed from the pool.
“That never happened!”
Ethan took Noah from her.
His hands were trembling.
“Did he swallow water?”
“Yes. Call an ambulance.”
“Ethan,” Vanessa said sharply, “she just tried to kill your son.”
Maya felt the ground disappear beneath her.
“I saved him.”
“You pushed him first.”
“I was twenty feet away!”
Vanessa shook her head.
“No. You weren’t.”
Sirens sounded in the distance.
One of the gardeners had already called 911.
Maya pointed toward a black security camera mounted beneath the roof.
“Check the camera.”
Vanessa’s eyes flickered toward it.
Only for half a second.
But Maya saw it.
Ethan looked up.
“The patio camera records everything.”
“Good,” Maya said. “Then you’ll know she’s lying.”
Vanessa said nothing.
Paramedics rushed through the side gate.
Ethan handed Noah over.
Maya followed automatically.
A police officer stepped in front of her.
“Ma’am, stay here.”
“But the baby—”
“We need to talk to you.”
Maya looked at Ethan.
For two years, she had cooked in his home, cleaned his rooms, stayed up during Noah’s fevers, and held the baby through the nights after Ethan’s wife died.
Surely he knew her.
Surely he would look at Vanessa and laugh at the accusation.
Instead, Ethan stared at Maya with a face she didn’t recognize.
“Tell me the truth,” he said.
“I am.”
Vanessa whispered, “Ask her why she was angry this morning.”
Maya’s stomach tightened.
Ethan turned.
“What happened this morning?”
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
“She and I argued about Noah.”
“That’s not what happened.”
Vanessa’s voice cracked.
“She told me I’d never replace Noah’s mother.”
Maya stared at her.
Those words had been spoken.
But not the way Vanessa was describing them.
Ethan looked toward the officers.
“Check the security footage.”
One of his security men hurried inside.
Maya wrapped her arms around herself.
Three minutes later, the man returned.
His face was pale.
“Mr. Cole…”
“What?”
“The patio camera was turned off.”
Maya slowly looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa was already crying.
May you like
And then the security guard said something worse.
“It was disabled from inside the house.”
