Chapter 2
Vanessa's hand struck the edge of the laptop.
The screen tilted backward.
I grabbed it before it fell.
"Don't touch that!"
My sister reached again.
I shoved her hand away.
"Back up, Vanessa!"
She stared at me with wild eyes.
"You have no idea what you're doing!"
I looked straight at her.
"I'm protecting my daughter."
Behind us, Lily began crying again.
That sound stopped me from moving any closer to Vanessa.
I immediately turned toward my little girl.
She stood beside the kitchen island, holding her injured arm.
Her lower lip trembled.
I walked to her and knelt.
"Baby, you're not in trouble."
She looked past me toward her aunt.
I gently turned her face back.
"Nobody is going to hurt you for telling the truth."
Her eyes filled.
"Promise?"
My throat tightened.
"I promise."
I pulled a chair beside me and helped her sit.
Then I looked toward my father.
"Dad, please stay with Lily while I finish this."
Arthur hesitated.
He looked at Vanessa.
Then at me.
Something in his expression made my stomach turn.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
He swallowed.
"Nothing."
I stared at him.
"Then sit beside your granddaughter."
He slowly approached.
But Lily immediately pulled away.
"No."
Arthur froze.
I looked at her.
"Sweetheart?"
She shook her head.
"I want you."
I wrapped an arm around her.
"Then you stay with Mommy."
My father stepped backward.
He looked devastated.
I didn't understand why.
Not yet.
I turned the laptop screen toward myself and pressed play.
The footage continued.
Vanessa held Lily's arm while trying to take the small black object from her other hand.
Then she bent toward my daughter's face.
The camera microphone captured every word.
"Give me the drive, Lily."
My stomach tightened.
The drive?
What drive?
On the recording, Lily shook her head.
Vanessa squeezed her arm again.
"You didn't see anything. Understand?"
My hands went cold.
Lily began crying.
Then Vanessa said something that made my entire world stop.
"If your mother finds out what Grandma and Grandpa did, this family is finished."
I stared at the screen.
My mouth fell open.
I turned slowly toward my parents.
My mother was standing beside the sofa.
Her face had gone white.
My father looked as though he'd aged ten years.
"What did she mean?"
Neither answered.
I looked at Vanessa.
She was shaking her head.
"That recording doesn't tell the whole story."
I almost laughed.
"You threatened a six-year-old child."
"Nia—"
"You grabbed her hard enough to leave marks."
"It was an accident!"
"You told her to keep a secret about our parents!"
Vanessa pressed her lips together.
I looked toward Lily.
"Baby, where did you find that little black thing?"
She pointed toward the hallway.
"Grandpa's office."
My father closed his eyes.
I felt my heart begin pounding.
His office had always been off-limits.
Even when I was a child.
He kept important business documents there.
And for the past year, he'd been especially protective of it.
"Arthur."
My father slowly opened his eyes.
"What is on that drive?"
He stared at me.
"Nothing you need to worry about."
I felt anger rise.
"Don't you dare."
My mother stepped forward.
"Nia, please."
I turned toward her.
"Please what?"
She began crying.
"You're making this worse."
I stared at her.
"Worse than my daughter being hurt?"
She looked down.
That silence answered more than I wanted to know.
I looked at Lily again.
"Where is the drive now?"
She reached into the pocket of her floral dress.
Then she pulled out a tiny black USB drive.
My breath caught.
Vanessa made a desperate sound.
"Lily, give that to me."
I immediately stepped between them.
"Don't speak to her."
Vanessa looked at my father.
"Dad, do something!"
He remained still.
I took the drive from Lily.
"Thank you, sweetheart."
She looked frightened.
"Am I bad?"
My heart broke.
I knelt and held her face gently.
"No."
I kissed her forehead.
"You did exactly the right thing by telling me."
She began crying again.
I hugged her.
Then I stood with the drive in my hand.
My family watched me.
Nobody moved.
I walked toward the laptop.
My mother suddenly stepped forward.
"Nia, wait."
I turned.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Some things are better left alone."
I felt sick.
"That's what you told me when Daniel died."
The room went silent.
My husband had been dead for eleven months.
A car accident.
A rainy highway.
A phone call that destroyed my life.
And my mother had used almost those exact words when I asked questions about the insurance settlement.
Some things are better left alone.
I stared at her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
She shook her head.
"Nia..."
I looked down at the USB drive.
It was black.
Small.
Ordinary.
But suddenly, I remembered something.
Two weeks before Daniel died, he'd purchased a small black drive to store copies of his business records.
He told me he was worried about missing money at the construction company where he worked.
I had forgotten about it after the funeral.
My pulse accelerated.
I looked at my father.
"Is this Daniel's?"
Arthur's expression changed.
I stepped closer.
"Answer me."
He whispered, "Nia, please don't do this here."
My stomach twisted.
"Then it is his."
Vanessa started crying.
"Nobody meant for things to happen this way."
I turned toward her.
"What things?"
She covered her mouth.
I stared at my sister.
Then at my parents.
All three looked terrified.
I slowly inserted the USB drive into the laptop.
A folder appeared.
DANIEL CARTER — PERSONAL BACKUP.
My knees almost gave way.
Daniel.
My husband.
The man I'd buried eleven months earlier.
I opened the folder.
There were bank statements.
Emails.
Scanned contracts.
And one video file.
Its title made my blood run cold.
IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ME, GIVE THIS TO NIA.
My mother began sobbing.
Vanessa whispered, "Oh, God."
I clicked the file.
The screen turned black.
Then my husband's face appeared.
He looked exhausted.
Frightened.
And very much alive.
"Nia," he said, "if you're watching this, it means I couldn't protect you myself."
I stopped breathing.
May you like
Then he whispered the words that shattered everything.
"Your father has been stealing from my company."
