The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Watching
Chapter 04 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Watching
Madison waited until Noah was asleep before confronting Blake.
They stood in the kitchen of a house that had once felt safe.
"You told me you'd take him," she said.
Blake poured himself a drink.
"I told you I'd handle it."
"That's the same thing."
"No. It isn't."
Madison stared at him.
"Where were you?"
Blake gave a tired sigh.
"Madison, we just had one of the worst days of our lives. Do we really need to interrogate each other?"
"Our baby was left in a car."
"And a stranger was holding him."
"A stranger who may have saved him."
Blake set the glass down.
Hard.
"Do you hear yourself?"
"Yes."
"You watched that guy take Noah out of our SUV."
"I watched him holding Noah. That's what I saw."
Blake stepped closer.
"You're exhausted. You haven't slept properly in months. Your anxiety has been bad since the birth."
Madison's face tightened.
There it was.
The sentence he used whenever she disagreed with him.
You're tired.
You're anxious.
You're not thinking clearly.
She had heard it so many times that she had started saying it to herself.
Blake softened his voice.
"Let me deal with this."
"How?"
"I'll speak to the police. I'll speak to the company. You stay home with Noah."
"You already fired Ethan."
"He shouldn't have touched our child."
Madison looked toward the dark hallway.
"If Noah had been in danger, what should he have done?"
Blake said nothing.
The silence answered for him.
Later that night, Madison opened the family calendar.
The nanny had canceled at 8:12 a.m.
Madison had forwarded the message to Blake at 8:14.
His reply was still there.
I'VE GOT NOAH. GO SIGN THE PAPERS. DON'T WORRY.
Madison read it three times.
Then she heard Blake behind her.
"What are you doing?"
She turned.
He saw the phone in her hand.
His expression changed.
Only slightly.
May you like
But enough.
"Madison," he said, "you need to delete that."
