On the night of Richard’s extravagant birthday party, I believed I was simply attending another high-pressure business event with my husband, Daniel. He had spent days preparing me for it, reminding me how important it was to appear supportive, polite, and invisible in the right ways. I didn’t question it. In marriage, I had learned to read his moods like weather patterns—this one felt like pressure, not danger. I had no reason yet to suspect that something far more fragile was already cracking beneath the surface of our life together.

The estate was overwhelming in its scale—glass chandeliers, marble floors, and guests who moved with effortless confidence. Daniel quickly slipped into their world, laughing beside Richard as if he belonged there more than he belonged with us. I stayed with our four-year-old daughter, May, who explored everything with innocent curiosity. She talked constantly, pointing out details adults ignored, while I tried to keep her close and out of trouble, unaware that her words would soon become the center of everything.....