Chapter 2 - Confronting Lucas About The Muddy Frozen Pajamas
The digital clock on the bedside table glowed a harsh, unforgiving 3:14 AM.
Audrey stood in the dim hallway holding the soiled pajamas she had pulled from the bottom of Eli’s small blue backpack.
The fabric was stiff, crystallized by ice that had melted into dark, brackish water staining the expensive wool carpet.
She walked down the quiet stairs and pushed open the heavy oak door of the ground-floor executive study.
Lucas sat behind his sprawling mahogany desk, illuminated only by the cold blue light of his triple computer monitors.
He didn't look up as she entered, his fingers clacking furiously against the mechanical keyboard with rhythmic precision.
“Lucas, we need to talk about what Eli is keeping in his backpack,” Audrey said, her voice shaking with restrained panic.
Lucas finally stopped typing, leaning back in his leather chair with a heavy, dismissive sigh.
“Audrey, it’s the middle of the night; can this corporate restructuring wait until morning?” he asked, rubbing his tired eyes.
“This isn't about your company stocks, Lucas; look at these pajamas!” she demanded, slamming the frozen pants onto his desk.
Water droplets hit the polished wood surface, soaking into confidential financial papers that lay scattered near his laptop.
Lucas glanced down at the soiled fabric, his expression hardening instantly into an unreadable mask of corporate indifference.
“He probably spilled juice on them during daycare and tried to hide it in his bag,” Lucas muttered flatly.
“Juice doesn't freeze solid into ice crystals, and daycare doesn't involve frozen mud from the Whitaker estate gardens!” Audrey shouted.
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“You’re overreacting like you always do when you haven't had enough sleep,” Lucas countered, turning his screens back on.
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