The words spilled out of Sutton’s mouth in a torrent. “I didn’t buy it. I’d never give him something like this. I’ve never given him anything the doctor didn’t approve first, and those were just his vaccines. He’d never gotten sick, there is no reason for something like this to be in the closet. It was hidden. And after I found it...I did research. This drug can cause an overdose that would mimic SIDS. There are cases online where babysitters have used it to dose children and they’ve died. I think...”

“Wait. Hold on. Take a breath, Sutton. You’re going a mile a minute. You can’t think Jan would have—”

But she couldn’t stop, the words were there, on her tongue, glowing and pink, the moment they came out, the world was going to change.

“Not Jan. I think Ethan killed the baby.”

Ivy sat back in the chair, wineglass forgotten. “Sutton...”

“Hear me out.”

“No, wait—”

“I know what you’re going to say. ‘There’s no way. Ethan adored Dashiell. He’d never hurt him.’ But he has a dark side, Ivy. He’s not the man you think he is. I love him, he’s my husband, for better or for worse, but there’s a darkness inside him, sometimes he just turns off, goes blank, and the next thing I know, we’re not speaking to each other for days.”

Ivy sighed heavily. “I know. I know how hard it is. I know how bad it’s been between you. But this...to murder his own son. That’s beyond the pale.”

“Is it?” Sutton was furious now. She stood and paced Ivy’s small living room. “Is it so hard to believe? He’s punishing me. He’s always been jealous of Dashiell. God, he wanted that baby so badly, and when I gave him a child, instead of appreciating me for it, he was consumed with the idea that I loved Dashiell more than him. He never forgave me.”

Or was it the other way around? Had she not loved the baby enough to keep him safe? To see the predator lurking under their roof? The unspoken words imprinted in her brain almost as if someone was whispering them to her in the night.

He’s going to hurt you, he killed the baby.

He’s going to hurt you, he killed the baby.

She was rocking, panic rising, and Ivy’s arms were around her, she was crooning in her ear. She had no idea of time or space, just the overwhelming rush of blood roaring through her ears and her heart thumping so hard in her chest she couldn’t breathe.

Finally, she heard soothing words. “Shhhh, it’s okay.”

Sutton slowly came back to herself, calmed, her heart rate dropping, the tears drying.

“I’m so sorry,” she muttered, and Ivy released her.

“That was a bad one.”