Chapter 1 - The Fingerprints
“So she fell?”
I kept my voice low.
“And somehow left your fingerprints around her throat?”
Richard lifted his Scotch.
His smile never moved.
“You’re confused, Arthur.”
“Lily was upset.”
“She became hysterical.”
“I tried to stop her from hurting herself.”
Lily flinched on the floor.
That tiny movement told me more than his entire speech.
I slid one arm beneath her shoulders.
She cried out when I touched her ribs.
“Easy, sweetheart.”
“I’ve got you.”
Richard’s mother stepped between us and the door.
Her name was Margaret Hale.
She wore pearls, diamonds, and the expression of a woman who had never heard the word no.
“You are not taking her anywhere,” she said.
I looked at Lily.
“Can you stand?”
Her lips trembled.
“I don’t know.”
Richard sighed as though she were ruining his afternoon.
“This is exactly what she does.”
“She creates drama.”
“Then she calls you because she knows you’ll come charging in like some washed-up hero.”
A few guests shifted uncomfortably.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody defended her.
They had watched my daughter bleed onto a white rug and decided silence was the safer choice.
I looked toward the nearest man.
He was holding a champagne flute.
“Did you see what happened?”
His eyes dropped.
“I arrived after.”
A woman beside him spoke too quickly.
“So did I.”
Richard smiled wider.
“See?”
“No witnesses.”
I pulled out my phone.
Richard’s smile finally weakened.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling an ambulance.”
Margaret reached for the phone.
I caught her wrist before she touched it.
Not hard.
Just enough.
Her face changed.
For the first time, she understood that I was not afraid of her.
“Take your hand off me,” she whispered.
“Then keep yours off my phone.”
I called emergency services.
I gave the address.
I described Lily’s injuries.
Then I added one sentence that drained every trace of color from Richard’s face.
“The suspected attacker is still in the house.”
Richard set down his glass.
“You’re making a serious accusation.”
“No.”
“I’m reporting what I can see.”
He stepped closer.
“I know people in this county.”
“I built half this neighborhood.”
“The sheriff plays golf at my club.”
I looked down at Lily’s neck.
“Then he should recognize your fingerprints.”
Outside, the Easter egg hunt had gone quiet.
Someone had finally taken the children away from the windows.
Sirens began to rise in the distance.
Richard leaned toward me.
His voice dropped.
“You have no idea what you’re walking into.”
I met his eyes.
“That’s the first honest thing you’ve said.”
Lily suddenly gripped my sleeve.
Her nails dug into my arm.
“Dad.”
I bent closer.
She barely moved her swollen lips.
“There’s a camera.”
Richard froze.
Lily’s frightened eyes shifted toward the ceiling.
May you like
Then every light in the mansion went out.
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