Is he a cheater

Go get her !

The next morning, the house was heavy with silence.
Lucy didn't come out of the bedroom. The door stayed locked. No coffee brewing, no soft humming in the kitchen — just cold quiet.
Tim stood in the living room, arms folded, staring out the window, trying to think. Over and over, he played back the footage Lucy had shown him the night before: Maddy, glancing around like she knew she shouldn't — pocketing the bow necklace and then the $50. No hesitation.
He didn't want to believe it. But he'd seen it with his own eyes.
Maddy finally came down the stairs late in the morning, hair unbrushed, hoodie too big. She looked at him cautiously.
"Hey."
Tim turned. "Don't 'hey' me."
She stopped cold.
"You stole from Lucy," he said, his voice low but sharp. "You lied — twice. You made her feel like she was losing her mind."
"I wasn't gonna keep it," Maddy muttered. "It was just—"
"No," he snapped. "It wasn't just anything. You took it. You lied. You watched her spiral, and you let her."
Maddy's eyes welled, but she didn't speak.
"I thought I raised you better than that."
"You didn't raise me," she whispered, bitterly. "You left."
That landed like a punch, but Tim didn't react. "That doesn't give you permission to lie and steal."
He pulled out his phone and dialed. Maddy stared at him.
"Who are you calling?"
"Your mom."

"Victoria Arrives"
Fifteen minutes later, a red SUV screeched into the driveway. The door slammed, and Victoria marched up to the porch in designer boots and fury in her eyes.
She barely let Tim speak before snapping, "She stole? From Lucy? Are you kidding me, Maddy?!"
Maddy looked down at her shoes.
"I can't deal with this right now," Tim said, his voice shaking. "You need to take her."
Victoria scoffed. "Oh, now you want me to take her?"
"This isn't about us. She needs consequences."
Victoria rolled her eyes, grabbed Maddy's arm, and dragged her toward the car without another word. Maddy didn't fight. She just kept her head down.

Lucy still hadn't come out of the bedroom. The door remained locked.
Tim sat on the couch, exhausted and wired. The image of Maddy taking the bow necklace and $50 still haunted him. No more denying it. No more excuses.
Footsteps came up the front porch. A knock. He opened the door to find Angela, his best friend, standing there with a paper bag and two coffees.
"I figured you hadn't eaten," she said, stepping in. "You look like hell."
Tim offered a weak smile. "Feel like it."
Angela sat across from him and set the coffees down. "So? You gonna tell me what happened?"
Tim ran a hand over his face. "Maddy stole from Lucy. Took her bow necklace — the one Lucy always wears — and some cash. Lied to both of us."
Angela blinked. "Seriously?"
"Lucy checked the cameras. Caught her in the act."
"Damn..." Angela leaned back. "What'd you do?"
"I sent her home. To Victoria."
Angela stiffened. "You what?"
"I didn't know what else to do," Tim said. "I was angry — I didn't want to say something I couldn't take back. I thought maybe... maybe Victoria would handle it."
Angela scoffed. "Yeah. She'll 'handle' it alright."
Tim looked down, guilt thick in his chest. "You think I messed up?"
Angela stared at him. "I think you forgot who her mother is. You think Victoria's gonna sit down and have a heart-to-heart? That woman doesn't do compassion — she does control."
Tim didn't answer.
"She needs you, Tim," Angela said softly. "Even when she screws up. Especially then."

At Victoria's House
The moment Maddy stepped through the front door, Victoria let loose.
"You stole?! From Lucy?! What the hell is wrong with you?"
Maddy tried to speak, but Victoria didn't want answers. Just someone to take her rage.
"You want to act like trash, you can live like it. Go to your room and don't come out."
"But mom you told me to do this " she said , maybe if you didn't get caught we wouldn't be having this conversation.

When Maddy tried to speak, Victoria grabbed her by the arm — harder than necessary — and shoved her toward the hallway.
"You're grounded. Don't even think about leaving that room."
Maddy stumbled, barely catching herself.

Maddy moved quietly down the hall, shoulders slumped, blinking back tears.
Behind the closed door, she finally let them fall.

Back at Tim's
Tim stood at the end of the hallway, staring at Lucy's locked bedroom door. Angela stood behind him.
"You're not just her husband," she said quietly. "You're a father. And right now, one of your kids is spiraling and the other is locked behind a door."
He nodded once.
Then knocked on the door.
"Lucy... it's me. I know you're hurting. And I know you don't want to talk. But we have to. It's about Maddy."
A pause.
Then a faint rustle inside.

Tim stood in the hallway, still facing Lucy's closed door. Angela gave him a small nod, then stepped away to give him space.
He knocked again.
"Lucy... I know you're angry. You should be. But this thing with Maddy — it's bigger than her just being sneaky. Something's going on, and I think we both feel it."
There was no answer.
So he kept going.
"I didn't want to believe it at first. I thought maybe she was just being dramatic, trying to get attention. But after watching that video, and after how she looked when I confronted her..."
He paused, voice cracking.
"...I think I failed her."
Inside, Lucy sat on the edge of the bed, her hands gripping her robe. She hadn't slept. She'd cried more than she wanted to admit.
Slowly, she walked over and unlocked the door.
Tim looked up when he heard the click. She didn't open it all the way — just cracked it. But it was enough.
"Come in," she said quietly.

They sat on opposite ends of the bed.
"I'm not mad at you," she said first. "I'm mad at what she did. And I'm mad that I don't feel safe in my own house right now. That necklace was a piece of me."
Tim nodded slowly. "I know. And I'm sorry. I should've handled it sooner."
Lucy looked at him, eyes still sharp. "Sending her back to Victoria was not handling it. You know how that woman is."
"I do," Tim admitted. "But I was pissed and scared. I thought maybe Victoria would scare her straight."
Lucy folded her arms. "You didn't send her to be scared, Tim. You sent her to be hurt. Whether you meant to or not."
That hit him harder than anything she could've screamed.
After a moment, Lucy added, "If you're gonna fix this... you better start now."
Tim stood up, full of emotion and fire. "I'm going."

A/N
I kinda forgot Maddy was 5 😭😭.