I left my daughter with my brother, but the moment I walked back in, I knew something was wrong. The house was too quiet—eerily still. No cartoons, no laughter, no scattered toys. Just silence… and that awful, sinking feeling in my gut.
I hadn’t wanted to leave her with Jamie. He had a messy past—drinking, disappearing, disappointing. But my sitter canceled last minute, and my neighbor was out of town. Jamie said he’d changed. Swore he could handle it. I wanted to believe him, just this once.....