He asked again.
Renee wiped her eyes.
“Proof.”
His stomach tightened.
“Proof of what?”
“That they waste food.”
He stared.
She continued.
“Dr. Keller asked me to keep meals they refused.”
“For months?”
“I was tracking patterns.”
“Why freeze them?”
“So we could show what they reject.”
Damon looked at the tote.
“You were saving uneaten meals as evidence.”
“Yes.”
“Evidence for what?”
Renee hesitated.
There.
Another door.
“Renee.”
She looked toward the hall.
“Something I was building.”
“What?”
Silence.
Damon waited.
Finally:
“A program.”
“What program?”
She swallowed.
“The Brooks Family Reset.”
He looked toward the laminated chart.
“That isn’t just what you call the chart.”
“No.”
“What is it?”
Renee closed her eyes.
“A platform.”
Damon stared.
“Platform.”
She nodded.
“Parent coaching.”
For a second he genuinely thought he misunderstood.
“You’re selling this?”
“Not yet.”
“You planned to?”
“Yes.”
He laughed once.
A stunned sound.
“Food points.”
“It’s more than that.”
“Locked snack bins.”
“The bin is not locked.”
“That is your defense?”
“No.”
Renee pressed both hands against the counter.
“You don’t understand how much research I’ve done.”
“Then explain.”
Her voice became steadier.
“Parents are overwhelmed.”
Damon stared.
“Working parents especially.”
She continued.
“They don’t know how to create consistency. They negotiate every basic rule. Kids snack constantly. Screens control everything. Bedtime becomes war. We had all of that.”
“We had children.”
“We had chaos.”
Damon said nothing.
Renee continued.
“Dr. Keller helped me create a points system.”
“Who is he?”
“She.”
Damon blinked.
“Fine.”
“Dr. Vivian Keller.”
“Licensed?”
Renee hesitated.
“In what?”
He laughed bitterly.
“Good answer.”
“She has a doctorate in organizational behavior.”
“Children are not organizations.”
“That’s simplistic.”
“They are also not employees.”
“You reward employees for behavior all the time.”
Damon stared.
Renee heard herself.
Her expression changed.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“But that is the model.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“It’s incentives.”
Damon looked toward the refrigerator.
“My daughter got slapped because she asked for yogurt after earning the wrong color dot.”
Renee covered her face.
“I know.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“I don’t think you do.”
Her hands dropped.
Damon continued.
“You built a system where hunger became disobedience.”