Chapter 1 "The Parrot That Said the Wrong Name
Chapter 1 — The Parrot That Said the Wrong Name
Daniel Brooks had replayed the surprise in his head for the entire flight home.
Olivia would hear the front door open, laugh, run into his arms, and ask why he hadn't told her he was coming home a day early. That was how it had always happened. Even after ten years of marriage, she still insisted on greeting him herself whenever he returned from a business trip.
That picture disappeared the second he stepped inside the mansion.
The front door closed quietly behind him.
Warm afternoon sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the marble floor in golden light. His black leather travel bag rested against his leg as he admired the peaceful silence.
Then Charlie spread his blue-and-gold wings.
The macaw bounced excitedly on his perch, looked directly at Daniel, and shouted in a perfect imitation of a man's voice.
“I love you, Tyler!”
Daniel stopped breathing.
Charlie bobbed his head happily.
“I love you, Tyler!”
The words echoed through the enormous living room.
Daniel frowned.
Tyler?
He searched his memory.
No employee.
No investor.
No client.
No relative.
No one in his life carried that name.
Before he could think further, the sharp crash of breaking crystal exploded from the kitchen.
Daniel turned.
Olivia stood beside the marble island.
A shattered wine glass lay at her feet, sparkling across the white floor. Water slowly spread around her shoes.
She wasn't looking at the broken glass.
She was staring at Charlie.
Then she looked at Daniel.
For one long moment, neither of them spoke.
Charlie cheerfully broke the silence.
“I love you, Tyler!”
Olivia's face drained of color.
Daniel slowly walked toward her.
“You look like you've seen a ghost.”
She forced a weak smile.
“You scared me.”
“I don't think I did.”
She glanced nervously toward the bird.
“Charlie says strange things sometimes.”
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“No.”
“He repeats strange things.”
There was a difference.
Charlie had lived with them for nearly eight years. He never invented names. Every word he spoke had come from someone he had heard.
Daniel placed his travel bag beside the kitchen counter.
“Who's Tyler?”
Olivia folded her arms.
“I don't know.”
“You've never heard that name?”
“No.”
Charlie whistled once.
Then, almost proudly, repeated the sentence again.
“I love you, Tyler!”
Daniel watched Olivia carefully.
She wasn't pretending to be confused.
She looked frightened.
Not frightened because Daniel was angry.
Frightened because Charlie wouldn't stop talking.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“What are you afraid he'll say next?”
Her lips parted.
No answer came.
The silence between them became unbearable.
Trying to distract himself, Daniel glanced around the kitchen.
Everything looked perfectly normal.
Fresh flowers.
A cutting board.
An open cookbook.
Then something caught his attention.
Two coffee mugs.
Olivia only drank tea.
He picked up the second mug.
It was still warm.
Fresh.
Someone had used it recently.
“You had company.”
Olivia shook her head too quickly.
“No.”
Daniel touched the rim.
“It hasn't been sitting here long.”
“I was trying a new coffee.”
“You hate coffee.”
She looked away.
Charlie suddenly hopped from his perch onto the back of a dining chair.
Instead of repeating the same sentence, the bird tilted his head and spoke in a completely different tone.
A soft female voice.
“Nathan... he'll be home tomorrow.”
Daniel froze.
The bird immediately answered himself with a deep male voice.
“Relax. He'll never know.”
Olivia's breathing stopped.
Daniel slowly turned toward her.
“Charlie isn't making this up.”
She whispered only one sentence.
“I never taught him that.”
Before Daniel could ask another question, his phone vibrated.
Unknown Number.
One message.
No greeting.
No explanation.
Only seven words.
**Don't question your wife. Watch the bird instead.**
Daniel read the message twice.
When he looked up again, Charlie was staring directly at him.
As if the bird had been waiting...
For Daniel to finally start listening.
