Chapter 6 - The Things He Had Signed
Andrew stood too quickly.
“That isn’t what you think.”
Lily looked at the screen.
“What should I think?”
“I meant I’d talk to her.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
He pressed his palms against the desk.
“I told her we needed more time.”
Outside the office, hotel staff were stacking chairs.
Metal legs scraped against marble.
Lily remembered the sound of another kind of metal.
The van folding around them.
Her mother saying her name.
Not screaming.
Just saying it, over and over, as if keeping Lily’s attention could hold the world together.
“You told her to wait,” Lily said.
Andrew’s eyes filled.
“I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t look.”
He sat down again.
Claire spoke carefully.
“We need the original inspection records, the purchase contract, and every medical authorization issued after the crash.”
Andrew nodded.
“Whatever you need.”
“Through an independent process,” Claire added.
“Your brother has access to the foundation systems.”
“He’s suspended.”
“Change the access first.”
For the next hour, Andrew made calls.
Lily listened while the life built around her began to crack.
Grant had managed foundation purchases.
Grant had recommended Keller.
Grant had supervised the legal settlement after the crash.
Every decision had passed through the same hands.
“How much did Northline pay?” Claire asked.
Andrew went still.
“It wasn’t public.”
“How much?”
“Four million.”
Lily stared.
“For Mom?”
“For the accident.”
“And you took it?”
“It went into a trust for you.”
“Did I have to agree not to ask questions?”
Andrew looked at Claire.
That was answer enough.
Rosa stood.
“We should go.”
Andrew turned toward her.
“I can put you in a hotel.”
“No.”
“Rosa, please.”
“You don’t get to decide where everybody sleeps because you’ve finally started paying attention.”
Noah looked up at his mother.
She placed a hand on his shoulder.
Lily wanted to go with them.
The thought came so quickly it frightened her.
Then she said it.
“I don’t want to go home.”
Andrew’s face collapsed.
Claire moved closer.
“Lily, is there another adult you trust?”
“My aunt Beth.”
Emily’s sister lived forty minutes away.
Grant said she only called when she wanted money.
Lily hadn’t spoken to her since the funeral.
Claire dialed.
Beth answered on the second ring.
When she heard Lily’s voice, she began crying.
May you like
Then she said something Lily could barely understand.
“Sweetheart, I’ve been trying to get you out of that house for months.”
