The faint voice of seven-year-old Ava Bennett barely carried from her pink, storybook-themed bedroom in one of the city’s most upscale neighborhoods. Daniel Bennett had just returned from a critical business conference in Singapore. His suitcase sat unopened near the front door, his mind focused only on seeing his daughter.
Instead, he caught a glimpse of his ex-wife, Marissa Cole, hurrying down the stairs.
“I have a last-minute client at the studio,” she muttered sharply, avoiding his eyes. She brushed past him before he could ask how the week had gone and disappeared out the door in a rush that immediately unsettled him.
A cold sense of unease settled in Daniel’s chest.
He walked upstairs and tapped gently on Ava’s door. “Peanut, I’m home. Come give Dad a hug.”
“I’m here,” she answered softly.
When he entered, she was sitting stiffly on the edge of her bed, facing away from him, swallowed by an oversized T-shirt. Her shoulders were hunched in a way that didn’t look natural.
“What’s going on, sweetheart?” he asked gently.
She stood slowly and turned toward him. When he stepped forward to embrace her, she gasped in pain.
“Daddy, don’t… it hurts.”
Daniel froze. “Where does it hurt?”
