Chapter 3
I stood in the doorway watching Denise's car disappear.
Jordan's words echoed in my head.
Check the hallway camera.
I'd installed the security system after someone broke into our garage the previous summer.
The cameras covered the front entrance, driveway, backyard, and downstairs hallway.
Most of the time, I barely looked at them.
I trusted the people living in my home.
Now I wasn't sure I could trust anyone.
I closed the door.
Angela stood beside me.
"What did Jordan say?"
I explained.
She frowned.
"Then let's check."
I opened the security app on my phone.
The hallway camera had recorded motion events for the past thirty days.
I scrolled backward.
At first, I saw ordinary things.
Lily walking toward the playroom.
Jordan carrying laundry.
Denise moving between rooms.
Then I found a recording from the previous Tuesday.
The timestamp read 8:42 a.m.
I pressed play.
Lily appeared in the hallway carrying her stuffed rabbit.
She wore yellow pajamas.
Her hair was tied into two little puffs.
She approached the kitchen doorway.
Then Denise stepped into view.
The audio was faint.
I turned up the volume.
"What did I tell you?" Denise asked.
Lily stopped.
"I'm hungry."
Denise folded her arms.
"Jordan hasn't finished breakfast."
"But my tummy hurts."
My heart clenched.
Denise pointed toward the stairs.
"Then go back to your room."
Lily looked down.
"Can I have a banana?"
"Stop asking."
The recording continued.
My daughter stood motionless.
Then she slowly walked upstairs.
I couldn't breathe.
Angela covered her mouth.
"Oh, Marcus."
I replayed it.
Then again.
Every time, I felt worse.
I hadn't imagined the cruelty in Lily's voice.
It was real.
Recorded.
Undeniable.
I opened another clip.
Wednesday.
7:58 a.m.
Lily stood beside the dining table holding a drawing.
She approached Denise.
"Look, Mommy Denise! I made a picture!"
Denise didn't look up from her phone.
"Not now."
"It's for you."
"I said not now."
Lily lowered the paper.
Then Jordan entered.
Denise smiled immediately.
"Good morning, baby."
She hugged him.
"Did you sleep well?"
I watched Lily standing beside them.
Invisible.
Her little drawing hung loosely from her hand.
Then she walked away.
I paused the recording.
My eyes burned.
Angela touched my shoulder.
"Marcus, take a break."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Brother—"
"I need to see."
I kept scrolling.
Thursday.
9:11 a.m.
Lily sat on the hallway floor tying her shoes.
Denise walked past.
"Why are you still here?"
Lily looked up.
"I can't tie them."
Denise sighed.
"You're always helpless."
My hands began shaking.
Lily tried again.
Denise continued:
"Jordan could do things himself when he was your age."
I froze.
Jordan was fourteen years older.
And he'd never even lived with Lily when he was five.
The comparison was absurd.
But Denise delivered it as though it were reasonable.
Lily's shoulders slumped.
"I'm trying."
Denise walked away.
I stopped the video.
I couldn't watch anymore.
Angela sat beside me.
"Marcus, listen carefully."
I looked at her.
"These recordings matter."
I nodded.
"But Lily matters more."
I covered my face.
"I failed her."
Angela shook her head.
"You didn't know the full picture."
"I should've noticed."
"You noticed something was wrong and you're acting now."
I looked toward the playroom.
Lily was sitting on the carpet arranging toy animals.
She hummed softly.
My daughter was still trying to be happy.
Despite everything.
That broke me.
I walked into the playroom.
She looked up.
"Daddy!"
I knelt beside her.
"Hey, sweetheart."
She held up a plastic giraffe.
"This one is the mommy."
I smiled through tears.
"And who's this?"
"The baby."
She placed a smaller giraffe beside it.
"The mommy takes care of the baby."
I swallowed.
"Yes, she does."
Lily looked at me.
"Does Mommy Denise come back?"
I took a breath.
"Not today."
She nodded slowly.
Then whispered:
"Okay."
I studied her face.
"How do you feel about that?"
She hesitated.
Then said:
"Can I tell you the truth?"
My heart tightened.
"Always."
She looked down.
"I'm happy."
I closed my eyes.
She quickly added:
"Is that bad?"
I pulled her into my arms.
"No, sweetheart."
I kissed her hair.
"It's okay to feel relieved when something scary stops."
She hugged me.
Then she whispered:
"Can we have pancakes tomorrow?"
I laughed through tears.
"Absolutely."
That night, after Lily went to bed, Angela helped me save the security recordings.
We made copies.
Wrote down dates.
Prepared notes for Thomas.
Then Angela noticed something.
"Marcus, look at this."
She pointed at a recording from two weeks earlier.
The timestamp read 10:37 p.m.
Jordan appeared in the hallway.
He was carrying a small plate.
He walked quietly toward Lily's bedroom.
Then Denise stepped into view.
"What are you doing?"
Jordan stopped.
"Nothing."
"What's on that plate?"
He hesitated.
"A sandwich."
"For who?"
Jordan looked toward Lily's door.
Denise's face hardened.
"I told you not to interfere."
I felt cold.
Jordan said something quietly.
The microphone barely captured it.
I leaned closer.
Then I heard him.
"She's hungry, Mom."
Denise stepped closer.
"Jordan, don't make me repeat myself."
He looked down.
Then walked away.
I stared at the screen.
My stomach twisted.
Jordan knew.
He'd seen Lily going hungry.
He'd tried to help.
But he'd also stayed silent.
Angela looked at me.
"He's afraid of her too."
I wasn't sure.
But the recording suggested their relationship was more complicated than I'd believed.
The following morning, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello?"
"Marcus?"
It was Jordan.
His voice was shaking.
"Can we talk?"
I sat upright.
"Of course."
"Not at the house."
"Where?"
He hesitated.
"Somewhere Mom won't find out."
My chest tightened.
"Jordan, what is going on?"
He took a breath.
Then whispered:
"Marcus, my mother told Lily something last week."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
May you like
He started crying.
"She told her that if she kept being bad, you would stop loving her."
