Chapter 1
My six-year-old daughter dropped her favorite toy in the middle of my parents' living room and started screaming.
Not crying.
Screaming.
The little stuffed rabbit hit the hardwood floor, and Lily stumbled backward as though someone had frightened her half to death.
Her tiny hands flew to her chest.
Her eyes filled with tears.
And then she looked straight at my younger sister, Vanessa.
I knew immediately that something was wrong.
"Lily!"
I ran across the living room and dropped to my knees in front of her.
"Baby, what happened?"
She was shaking so badly that I could feel it through her hands.
I pulled her toward me.
"Sweetheart, look at Mommy."
She tried.
But her frightened eyes kept moving toward the kitchen.
Toward Vanessa.
My sister stood beside the island, scrolling through her phone.
She wore a dark-red fitted top and blue jeans.
Her dark jacket rested over a stool.
She looked perfectly relaxed.
Too relaxed.
"Lily," I whispered, "did somebody hurt you?"
My daughter nodded.
My heart stopped.
"Who?"
She pressed her face against my shoulder.
I wrapped both arms around her.
"You're safe with me. Tell Mommy what happened."
Her voice came out in a broken whisper.
"She grabbed me."
I pulled back just enough to see her face.
"Who grabbed you?"
Lily pointed toward Vanessa.
My sister's thumb stopped moving across her phone.
For one terrible second, nobody spoke.
Then Lily whispered something that made my blood turn cold.
"She told me not to tell you."
I stared at my daughter.
"What?"
"She said I'd be in trouble."
My chest tightened.
Lily was only six.
She still slept with a night-light.
She still believed I could fix anything with a hug and a kiss.
And somebody had frightened her so badly that she couldn't stop trembling.
I turned toward Vanessa.
"What did you do to my daughter?"
She looked up from her phone.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play games with me."
Vanessa rolled her eyes.
"Nia, seriously?"
I stood slowly, keeping Lily behind me.
"She said you grabbed her."
Vanessa laughed.
It was the wrong reaction.
The sound made something inside me snap.
"You think that's funny?"
She slipped her phone into her pocket.
"Your kid is dramatic."
I took a step toward her.
"Watch how you talk about my daughter."
Our mother, Evelyn, shifted uncomfortably on the cream sofa.
Dad sat beside her, staring at the floor.
My aunt Denise and cousin Marcus were seated nearby.
Nobody said anything.
I looked around the room.
"Did anyone see what happened?"
Silence.
I couldn't believe it.
There were five adults in that room.
Five.
And nobody could answer a simple question.
"Mom?"
Evelyn adjusted her glasses.
"Sweetheart, I'm sure there's been some misunderstanding."
I stared at her.
"A misunderstanding?"
She glanced toward Vanessa.
"Children sometimes get upset over little things."
I felt my face grow hot.
"My daughter is terrified."
Dad cleared his throat.
"Nia, maybe everybody should calm down."
I turned toward him.
"Did you see Vanessa touch Lily?"
He looked away.
That was when I knew.
He had seen something.
I looked back at my sister.
Vanessa grabbed her dark jacket from the stool.
"Well, this is getting ridiculous. I should go."
She started toward the hallway.
"No."
My voice stopped her.
She turned.
"Excuse me?"
"Stay right there."
Vanessa folded her arms.
"You don't get to tell me what to do."
"Then explain why Lily is crying."
"I already told you. She's exaggerating."
Lily made a small frightened sound behind me.
I turned immediately.
She was holding her left arm against her body.
I crouched again.
"Baby, does your arm hurt?"
She nodded.
My stomach twisted.
I gently moved the sleeve of her mustard-yellow floral dress.
There were red marks near her upper arm.
Finger-shaped marks.
I went completely still.
Then I looked toward my sister.
"What is that?"
Vanessa's expression changed.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Fear.
She quickly looked at my parents.
"Are you seriously going to let her accuse me?"
My mother stood.
"Nia, perhaps we should discuss this privately."
I stared at her.
"No."
She looked shocked.
"Excuse me?"
"My daughter was hurt in front of this family. We're not hiding it."
Vanessa stepped backward.
"This is insane."
I looked toward the kitchen island.
My phone was beside the laptop I'd been using earlier.
Then I remembered something.
Three months earlier, my parents had installed indoor security cameras after several packages disappeared from their house.
One camera faced the living room.
Another covered the hallway.
My father had shown me how to access the recordings.
I slowly turned back toward Vanessa.
"The living room camera records everything."
Her face drained of color.
"What?"
I walked toward the kitchen.
Vanessa followed me with her eyes.
"Nia, don't be ridiculous."
I opened the laptop.
My fingers were shaking.
Not from fear.
From anger.
I logged into the security system.
The camera interface appeared.
Four feeds.
Front door.
Hallway.
Living room.
Kitchen entrance.
Behind me, my mother made a strangled sound.
"Oh, Lord."
I looked over my shoulder.
She had covered her mouth.
My father was staring at the laptop.
Vanessa took another step backward.
"That's private family footage."
I turned toward her.
"So is what happened to my child."
I clicked the living room recording.
Then I rewound it to the time when I'd stepped outside to answer a work call.
The footage began playing.
I saw Lily sitting on the rug.
Her stuffed rabbit rested beside her.
My parents were on the sofa.
Vanessa stood near the kitchen island.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then Lily picked up something from the floor.
A small black object.
Vanessa immediately approached her.
I leaned closer.
My sister bent toward Lily.
Lily tried to move away.
Vanessa grabbed her upper arm.
Hard.
My daughter's little body jerked sideways.
I heard myself gasp.
On the screen, Lily opened her mouth in pain.
Vanessa leaned close to her ear.
My parents remained seated only a few feet away.
My father looked directly toward them.
Then deliberately turned his head.
I felt sick.
"Mom."
My voice sounded unfamiliar.
My mother didn't answer.
I turned toward Vanessa.
"You grabbed her."
She shook her head.
"She had something she wasn't supposed to have!"
"Then you ask her for it!"
Vanessa stepped forward.
"Nia, you don't understand."
I pointed at the screen.
"I understand exactly what I'm seeing."
Lily touched my leg.
"Mommy?"
I turned.
Her eyes were full of tears.
"Keep watching."
My heart tightened.
"What, baby?"
She swallowed.
"She said something after that."
I looked back at the laptop.
Vanessa suddenly moved.
Fast.
She lunged toward the kitchen island.
"TURN IT OFF!"
I reached for the playback button.
May you like
And as my sister's hand flew toward the laptop, I realized she wasn't afraid of me seeing her grab Lily.
She was terrified of what the camera had recorded next.
