Chapter 2
I carried Lily downstairs.
Vanessa followed us, furious but careful because Ashley was watching.
That was when I understood something else.
Vanessa knew when to perform.
She softened her face when we entered the dining room.
“Sweetheart,” she said, reaching for Lily. “Come here. Daddy misunderstood.”
Lily buried her face in my neck.
I stepped back.
“Don’t touch her.”
Ashley put down her wine glass.
“Daniel, this is ridiculous. Vanessa has been raising that child while you run around building hotels.”
I looked at the table.
Two steaks.
Garlic potatoes.
Salad.
Chocolate cake.
Then I looked toward the kitchen counter.
A small plate sat near the sink.
One piece of cold salmon.
No sides.
No drink.
No fork.
My stomach turned.
“Is that Lily’s dinner?”
Vanessa rolled her eyes.
“She refused to eat properly.”
Lily whispered, “She said if I asked for water, I had to sleep without Bunny.”
Bunny was the stuffed rabbit her mother had given her before the cancer spread.
My grip tightened.
Vanessa snapped, “Children lie when they want attention.”
I looked at Ashley.
“You knew?”
Ashley lifted one shoulder.
“Vanessa is strict. Kids need structure.”
“Lily is six.”
“And already manipulative,” Vanessa said.
I turned to her slowly.
“Say that again.”
She must have heard something in my voice because she stopped.
For once, she stopped.
I took Lily to the kitchen and made her toast, eggs, and warm milk.
She ate so fast I had to slow her down.
“Small bites, baby.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No more sorry.”
She nodded, but the word still lived in her body.
Vanessa stood in the doorway with crossed arms.
“This is exactly why she behaves this way. You reward tears.”
I looked at the nanny camera above the breakfast nook.
A camera I had installed after Lily started having nightmares.
Vanessa followed my gaze.
Her face changed.
“You record the kitchen?”
“For Lily’s safety.”
“You never told me.”
“I didn’t think I needed to.”
Her lips parted.
Then closed.
I handed Lily another piece of toast.
“Stay here with me.”
I opened the camera app.
Vanessa moved fast.
“Daniel.”
I stepped away from her.
“What am I going to see?”
Ashley stood.
“Maybe everyone should calm down.”
The footage loaded.
The first clip was from that afternoon.
Lily stood beside the refrigerator.
“Can I have a banana?”
Vanessa took the banana from her hand and threw it into the trash.
“You ate breakfast. Stop begging.”
Lily began crying.
Vanessa leaned close.
“Cry harder and Daddy will send you to boarding school.”
My hands went numb.
Lily stopped chewing beside me.
I paused the video.
Vanessa whispered, “That is taken out of context.”
I turned.
“What context makes threatening my child acceptable?”
She did not answer.
I kept scrolling.
Clip after clip.
Lily asking for food.
Lily cleaning floors.
Lily standing in corners.
Lily being told she was ungrateful.
Then one clip made the room go silent.
Vanessa held Bunny over the kitchen trash can.
“If you tell Daddy, Bunny disappears.”
Lily screamed, “No!”
May you like
Vanessa smiled.
And Ashley, standing in the background, laughed.
