Chapter 1 - THE SPLASH
The stroller hit the pool hard enough to send water over the stone deck.
Maria Santos did not think.
She ran.
One second she was carrying folded towels toward the glass doors of the Calder estate. The next, she was in the water in her navy housekeeping uniform, shoes dragging at her feet, lungs burning as she reached for the white stroller sinking nose-first beneath the surface.
"Oliver!"
The eight-month-old baby was strapped inside, screaming underwater bubbles behind the clear rain cover.
Maria grabbed the handle, kicked upward, and pulled with everything she had.
The stroller broke the surface.
She tore open the straps, lifted Oliver against her chest, and held his face above the water.
He coughed.
Then he cried.
That sound was the most beautiful thing Maria had ever heard.
"I saved him!" she shouted.
The patio doors flew open.
Adrian Cole ran outside barefoot, wearing black slacks and an open white shirt. He froze when he saw Maria waist-deep in the pool holding his son.
Then Vanessa Reed appeared behind him in a cobalt-blue dress.
Her hair was wet at the temples. Her face looked terrified.
She pointed at Maria.
"She pushed him into the water!"
Maria stopped breathing.
"What?"
Adrian's eyes snapped to her.
Vanessa clutched his arm. "I saw her. She pushed the stroller. I tried to stop her."
"No!" Maria shouted. "She did it! She looked around and let go!"
Adrian took Oliver from her while security rushed toward the pool.
Maria climbed out, soaked and shaking.
"Mr. Cole, please. I would never hurt him."
Vanessa stepped closer. "Then why were you the one in the water?"
Maria stared at her.
Because that was exactly what Vanessa had planned for everyone to see.
Maria's knees gave out on the wet stone.
Then she remembered the tiny red light between the cypress trees.
She lifted a trembling hand and pointed into the darkness.
"The camera," she whispered.
Everyone turned.
A garden security camera blinked red.
"The camera recorded everything."
Vanessa's face changed.
Not fear.
May you like
Recognition.
And before anyone could move, the red light went dark.
