Chapter 12
My father denied sending the shoe.
Of course he did.
He said anyone could have taken it.
Anyone could have written the note.
Anyone could have wanted to damage him.
But the envelope had his driver’s fingerprint.
The driver confessed by noon.
He said Edmund had ordered him to deliver it.
He said Edmund laughed when he wrote the note.
That laugh haunted me more than the words.
The court issued an arrest warrant for intimidation and violation of the protective order.
My father was taken from the penthouse lobby in front of cameras.
He did not fight.
He adjusted his cuffs.
Looked straight into the cameras.
And said, “My son is destroying this family.”
The clip played everywhere.
By dinner, half the world had an opinion.
I turned off every screen in the house.
Lily and I built a blanket fort in the music room instead.
Emma used to play piano there.
Badly.
Joyfully.
Lily brought her stuffed rabbit, two flashlights, and a serious face.
“Can Grandpa get out?”
“Yes,” I said. “Maybe.”
“Can he come here?”
“No.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
She studied me.
“You promised before.”
That hurt because it was true.
Before, I promised without knowing the danger.
Now I knew.
I took her hands.
“This promise has locks, guards, judges, cameras, and me behind it.”
She thought about that.
“And Mrs. Vale?”
“And Mrs. Vale.”
“And Marcus?”
“And Marcus.”
“And Mommy?”
My throat closed.
I looked toward the piano.
The room felt warm suddenly.
“Yes,” I said. “And Mommy.”
Lily nodded.
“Okay.”
She crawled into my lap and fell asleep inside the blanket fort.
I stayed awake for hours.
May you like
Not because I feared the house.
Because for the first time, I was guarding peace instead of surviving fear.
