Chapter 4
I met the investigator at Patricia’s house with Grace beside me.
Ms. Ortiz had advised us not to question Lily repeatedly about the room. Adults could examine the place and let a trained interviewer speak with her. I agreed, though I wanted to drive there myself the moment Daniel called.
The investigator, Detective Harris, had obtained permission to inspect the areas where Lily lived. Patricia was present with her attorney.
She greeted me in the foyer as if I had come for dinner.
“Ryan, this has gotten out of hand.”
“Lily spent nights in a locked room.”
“She had a quiet room for when she was overwhelmed.”
“You let me believe she was dead.”
Patricia’s expression hardened. “Vanessa made her choices.”
I followed Detective Harris upstairs. Lily’s bedroom held clothes, books, and drawings. From the doorway, it could have belonged to any little girl.
The room beside it had a lock on the outside.
Inside was a narrow bed, a small lamp, and almost nothing else. The window was painted shut. Scratches marked the lower edge of the door.
I stood there imagining Lily asking to see her father.
Detective Harris photographed the room. He asked me to wait downstairs while he spoke to the staff.
A housekeeper named Mrs. Price approached me in the hall.
“I should have called someone,” she whispered.
“Were you there when they locked her in?”
“Sometimes. Mrs. Hart said the quiet helped Lily settle. I heard her asking to come out.”
“Did she get food?”
“Yes. I took her meals. I tried to stay with her when I could.”
Her hands shook. She had cared for Lily in small ways and had still followed Patricia’s rules. I knew she was trying to tell me the truth. I also knew Lily had been alone behind that door.
Mrs. Price spoke with Harris.
Back at the hospital, Lily asked why I had visited Grandma’s house.
“I wanted to see where you lived,” I said.
“Did you find the little room?”
“Yes.”
She looked at Blue.
“I don’t want to sleep there anymore.”
“You won’t.”
I had not known, the day before, whether I could make that promise. Now Ms. Ortiz had confirmed that Lily would not be returned to Patricia’s home while the investigation continued.
The hospital planned to discharge her soon. Tessa offered to stay at my house and help with both girls. Grace and Ms. Ortiz worked on a temporary placement with me once my parentage and household safety were confirmed.
Vanessa was staying with Daniel. She sent messages asking how Lily felt, but she did not come to the hospital again.
That evening, she asked to speak with me in person.
We met in the hospital cafeteria while Tessa sat with the girls. Vanessa looked as tired as I felt.
“I need to tell you what happened after Lily was born,” she said.
“Tell me everything you remember.”
“I had a difficult recovery. Patricia was at the hospital every day. She kept telling me I couldn’t manage two children and that Lily needed specialists I couldn’t afford.”
“We could afford to find her care together.”
“I know that now. I was frightened. I signed permission for Patricia to take Lily while I recovered.”
“Then who told me she died?”
Vanessa covered her face. “I did. Patricia said if you knew, you would take both girls and say I wasn’t fit to be their mother.”
I could barely speak. “You believed her?”
“I believed I might lose you and Emma. Then every day I waited made telling you harder.”
“Four years, Vanessa.”
“I know.”
I looked at her. “And three nights behind Emma’s closet?”
She swallowed. “Daniel brought her without warning. Patricia was going to move her. I planned to tell you that night, but you called to say you were coming home early. I panicked.”
“You let Lily stay in the wall.”
“I brought her food when Emma slept.”
“Emma heard her. Emma was feeding her.”
Vanessa began crying again. I stood. I needed to get back to our daughters.
Before I left, she said, “I want to tell Lily I’m sorry.”
“Then keep working with the people helping her. You can’t ask her to make you feel forgiven.”
She nodded.
The next morning, the hospital released Lily. A temporary plan allowed her to come home with me, with Tessa present to help. Ms. Ortiz would visit and remain in contact. Vanessa would not come to the house without an agreed plan.
Emma waited by the front window.
When she saw Lily, she ran to the door. Then she stopped, suddenly shy.
“You can have the pillow,” Emma said.
Lily gripped Blue. “Do I have to sleep in a closet?”
“No,” I answered.
I showed her the bedroom next to Emma’s. Tessa had put clean sheets on the bed and left the door open.
Lily walked around it twice. She touched the lamp and the window.
“Does this door lock?” she asked.
“Only from inside, and you don’t have to lock it.”
She looked at me. “Can you stay until I fall asleep?”
“I can.”
That night, as I sat beside her bed, she asked whether Patricia knew where she was.
“She knows you’re with me,” I said.
“Will she come get me?”
“No. The adults helping us have made a plan to keep you safe.”
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Lily held out one hand. I took it.
She fell asleep without letting go.
