Chapter 10 - What Her Mother Left
Lily wouldn’t let anyone open the envelope for her.
Her fingers shook.
She tore the paper anyway.
Sweetheart,
If you’re reading this because I’m late again, you’re allowed to be mad at me.
Lily let out a sound that almost became a laugh.
Her mother had been late to everything except performances.
The letter continued.
I put something important under the lining of this case.
It’s grown-up trouble, and I’m trying to keep it from becoming your trouble.
But if somebody tells you I was careless, I need you to know I was paying attention.
Especially when it came to you.
Lily stopped.
Beth rested a hand on her shoulder.
They waited.
At the bottom of the letter was one final paragraph.
Your father is a good man who has gotten too comfortable letting other people tell him what is true.
I am trying to make him look.
I hope he does.
Lily handed the letter to Andrew.
He read it standing beside the lockers.
Then he covered his mouth.
Claire arrived twenty minutes later with an investigator.
They photographed the violin case before lifting the lining.
Inside were inspection reports, bank records, and a small digital recorder.
Emily had recorded a meeting with Grant.
His voice sounded almost bored.
“You can’t prove I knew the van was unsafe.”
“I can prove you received the report,” Emily answered.
“Then prove it.”
Paper moved.
A chair scraped.
Emily spoke again.
“Andrew trusts you.”
“That’s Andrew’s problem.”
Andrew turned away from the recorder.
The investigator kept listening.
Then came a sentence that changed the room.
“If you hand this over, I’ll tell them you insisted on driving that van after I warned you.”
“You assigned it to me.”
“And who’s going to believe you?”
The recording clicked off.
No dramatic confession.
No neat explanation of everything.
Just enough to show that Grant had known.
Enough to show Emily had been threatened.
Claire picked up another document.
A maintenance request dated the morning of the crash.
The failed brake component had been ordered.
Replacement authorized.
Vehicle marked out of service.
Then the status had been changed.
Cleared for use.
The approval came from Grant’s office.
Andrew gripped the edge of a locker.
Claire’s phone rang.
She listened.
Then her gaze moved to him.
“Grant’s attorney filed an emergency request.”
“For what?”
“To restrict access to Lily until a custody review.”
Beth swore.
Claire kept her voice level.
“He attached a statement claiming you’ve become unstable.”
Andrew laughed once in disbelief.
May you like
Then Claire added the worst part.
“He used the ballroom video as evidence.”
