CHAPTER 2: Chapter 2 - The Voice in the Living Room

Ethan did not move at first. He stood outside his own front door with his hand on the brass knob, listening.
It was the sound of someone trying not to make noise because making noise might make things worse.
Then Vanessa's voice cut through the house.
"You should be grateful I even let you be involved, Margaret," she said. Her tone was sharp enough to make Ethan's jaw tighten. "Honestly, you act like this place is some kind of mansion. It is old, it smells like dust, and once Ethan and I are married, things are going to change."
A chair scraped across the floor.
His mother's voice trembled. "Vanessa, please. I only said the guest list seemed too large. I did not mean anything by it."
"Of course you did," Vanessa snapped. "You always mean something. You hide behind that sweet little widow act, but I know what you are doing. You want Ethan to feel guilty. You want him tied to you forever."
Ethan's fingers tightened around the doorknob.
This was cruelty.
He pushed the front door open slowly.
The hinges gave a soft creak. No one noticed at first. The living room stretched out in front of him, warm with lamplight and crowded with relatives and family friends who stood frozen near the walls.
And in the middle of the room, his mother was kneeling on the floor.