Chapter 1

At 1:14 AM, my husband shook me awake.

"Our daughter was just standing by the bed with a knife!"

I glared at him and rolled over. "You're having a nightmare. Go back to sleep."

But Grant insisted he wasn't dreaming. He said she wanted to kill me.

After that night, Grant changed.

Every day, he tried to prove that our six-year-old was a monster.

But I was sure she was a sweet little angel.

I didn't understand why he suddenly turned on her.

Until the day I found a pair of bloody panties under her bed...

1

"Claire, you have to get rid of Kaylee. She's going to kill us!"

Grant had been buzzing in my ear for over an hour.

I kept slicing the watermelon.

"She's scared of seeing a fish get gutted. She's six. How could she kill anyone?"

"What is wrong with you lately? Are you losing it?"

I put the knife down and looked him in the eye.

I'd analyzed his dreams vs. reality a thousand times, but he wouldn't budge.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, frustrated.

"We adopted her a year ago. You worked day and night to pay for her surgeries."

"You loved her like she was your own. Why are you saying this now?"

Grant looked terrified.

He claimed he saw her torturing a mosquito―pulling its wings off one by one.

"A normal child doesn't do that!"

He sighed. "We've been married ten years. When have I ever lied to you?"

"She's not right, Claire. Why won't you believe me? She has to go."

I'd known Grant for thirteen years. He was stable and reliable.

Even knowing her medical bills would be huge, he'd chosen Kaylee.

Neighbors called him the ultimate girl dad.

Why the sudden change?

Kaylee came limping down the stairs.

"Mommy, I made my bed and got the milk from the porch."

She touched her face to my hand. "Please don't fight with Daddy."

She had just finished spinal surgery.

Seeing her try so hard to please us made my heart ache.

She grabbed Grant's hand. "Daddy, I'll work harder. I'll eat less. Please don't send me away."

Tears pooled in her big eyes.

Grant pulled away coldly and left the room.

I hugged her tight.

My poor baby. I will always protect you.

Grant didn't eat or sleep for days.

He showed me drawings she made―dark, disturbing things.

Then he showed me photos on his phone.

One was Kaylee scattering thumbtacks at the bottom of the stairs.

"She said she was going to push you down," he whispered.

The next was her holding a bag over the coffee maker.

"She was trying to put bleach in the coffee to poison us."

I stared at the screen. It was her.