Chapter 1 - The Girl Beneath the Water
Vivian Mercer tightened her fingers around the little girl's ankles and pushed them deeper beneath the swimming pool's glittering surface.
Eight-year-old Ellie Mercer kicked desperately.
Her coral-pink swimsuit flashed beneath the turquoise water. Tiny bubbles escaped her mouth as she twisted, searching for something to grab.
Above her, Vivian's copper-red hair fell across one shoulder.
The expensive burgundy satin robe she wore shimmered in the late-afternoon sunlight.
"Stop fighting," Vivian hissed. "You should have listened."
Ellie's lungs burned.
She couldn't understand why the woman who had kissed her forehead at breakfast was holding her underwater.
Then the patio doors opened.
Daniel Mercer stepped outside carrying a brown teddy bear and a small white gift bag decorated with blue ribbon.
He had spent twenty minutes choosing the bear.
Ellie had been asking for one ever since she saw a similar toy in a shop window.
"Daddy's home!" he called.
No answer.
Then he saw the splashing.
His daughter was beneath the water.
And his wife was holding her there.
The teddy bear slipped from his fingers.
The gift bag struck the stone patio.
"ELLIE!"
Daniel ran.
Vivian looked over her shoulder. For one horrifying instant, she appeared more annoyed than frightened.
She released Ellie's ankles.
Daniel hit the water fully clothed.
The impact sent a wall of white spray across the pool.
He opened his eyes underwater, fighting through the sting of chlorine until he spotted his daughter's pale arms.
He grabbed her beneath the shoulders and pushed upward.
They broke the surface together.
Ellie coughed violently.
Daniel held her against his chest, keeping her face above the water.
"Baby, breathe. Please, breathe."
She gasped, coughed again, and wrapped her trembling arms around his neck.
"Daddy!"
"I've got you."
His voice cracked.
"I've got you, sweetheart."
He carried her toward the shallow steps, never loosening his grip.
Ellie's wet blonde hair clung to her forehead. Tears mixed with pool water as she buried her face against his shoulder.
Daniel looked toward Vivian.
"What did you do?"
Vivian stood motionless beside the pool.
"She slipped," she answered.
Daniel stared at her.
"I saw you holding her feet."
"You're confused. Everything happened so fast."
"Don't you dare tell me what I saw."
Vivian's expression hardened.
"You need to calm down."
Ellie tightened her arms.
"Daddy," she whispered.
Daniel immediately turned toward her.
"What is it, baby?"
Her lips trembled so violently that he could barely understand her.
"She waited until the cameras went dark."
Daniel felt his stomach drop.
"What?"
Ellie glanced at Vivian.
"She said nobody would believe me this time."
A terrible silence followed.
Daniel remembered the strange things Ellie had said during the previous few weeks.
The missing drawings.
The nightmares.
Her sudden refusal to be alone with Vivian.
He had dismissed them as difficulties adjusting to a stepmother.
Now his daughter was shaking in his arms.
Vivian stepped forward.
"Daniel, she's lying."
Ellie whimpered.
"Stay away from her," Daniel warned.
Vivian rushed toward them, reaching for the child.
Daniel reacted instinctively.
Still supporting Ellie, he thrust one foot forward to keep Vivian back.
The impact knocked Vivian off balance.
She stumbled onto the grass, catching herself with both hands.
"You attacked me!" she screamed.
Daniel backed toward the house with Ellie against his chest.
"Don't come near my daughter again."
Vivian pushed herself onto her knees.
Her face twisted with rage.
"You have no idea what you've just done!"
Then a deep male voice sounded behind them.
"Actually, Daniel, I think you should be very careful about what you do next."
Daniel turned.
Graham Vale stood inside the mansion's open wrought-iron gates.
Fifty-nine years old, dressed entirely in black, Vivian's father looked as though he had arrived for an important business meeting.
Not a family emergency.
His dark hair was streaked with silver, and his cold gray eyes moved from Vivian to the dripping child.
He didn't ask whether Ellie was breathing.
He didn't ask whether she was hurt.
Instead, he looked at Daniel and said something that made the blood drain from his face.
"Put the girl down. We need to discuss what she thinks she saw."
Ellie buried her face in Daniel's neck.
Then she whispered five more words.
May you like
"Daddy, he told her when."
And Daniel understood that the nightmare had begun long before he reached the pool.
