Chapter 5 - SHE CAME FOR LILY
Daniel nearly broke every traffic law between the hospital and Lily’s daycare.
“She’s not there,” he repeated.
Sarah was driving.
“Rachel picked Lily up before we came here.”
“Margaret doesn’t know that.”
“No.”
Daniel called the daycare director.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
His mind created images he couldn’t stop.
Margaret walking inside.
Margaret signing Lily out.
Margaret carrying her away.
“Faster.”
“I’m doing eighty.”
“Faster.”
They arrived to find two police cars outside.
Daniel jumped out before Sarah stopped moving.
The daycare director stood in the lobby shaking.
“What happened?”
“Mr. Carter—”
“Where is my mother?”
“She left.”
“With Lily?”
“No! No, Lily wasn’t here.”
Daniel grabbed the front desk.
His knees weakened.
“What did Margaret want?”
“She said you had been arrested.”
Daniel looked at Sarah.
“She told us there had been a domestic violence incident and that she had emergency guardianship.”
“Did she show documents?”
The director nodded.
“She had court papers.”
Sarah’s expression hardened.
“Real?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“She’s using forged paperwork again.”
The director handed Sarah a photocopy Margaret had left.
Sarah scanned it.
“Emergency custody order.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“Is it real?”
“Looks real enough to fool someone.”
She checked the case number on her phone.
Then looked up.
“The case number belongs to a divorce from 2019.”
Daniel stared toward the parking lot.
His mother had prepared for this.
This wasn’t panic.
It was a plan.
That afternoon, Daniel moved Lily to Rachel’s home with private security.
He hated doing it.
Lily cried when he tried to leave.
“No Daddy go.”
He knelt.
“I’m not leaving you, sweetheart.”
“You go, Ness bad.”
His heart broke.
“Vanessa won’t touch you again.”
Lily shook her head hard.
“Grandma bad too.”
Daniel held her face gently.
“I know.”
“No.”
Lily became frantic.
“Grandma take baby.”
Daniel frowned.
“What baby?”
Lily pointed toward herself.
“Baby Lily.”
Daniel felt cold.
“Grandma took you?”
Rachel stared at him.
Lily nodded.
“Mommy cry.”
Daniel stopped breathing.
Melissa.
“You remember Mommy?”
Lily was barely two.
Memories at that age were fragments.
Pictures.
Words.
Maybe stories someone had told her.
“Grandma yell Mommy.”
“When?”
Lily touched her own chest.
“Baby.”
Daniel’s phone rang.
Jonathan.
“I found something.”
“What?”
“Melissa contacted an attorney three days before she died.”
Daniel sat down.
“About what?”
“She wanted to change Lily’s estate documents.”
“Why?”
“She claimed someone was pressuring her to sign financial power over to the Carter family.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Who?”
“The lawyer’s notes don’t say.”
“But Melissa must have told him.”
“She scheduled another meeting.”
“When?”
“The morning after her accident.”
Silence.
Daniel opened his eyes.
“What exactly happened in Melissa’s accident?”
“You know what happened.”
“Tell me.”
“She lost control of her car on Route 17.”
“In clear weather.”
“Yes.”
“No other vehicle?”
“That’s what the report said.”
Jonathan was silent.
Daniel stood.
“Find the accident file.”
“Daniel…”
“Find everything.”
An hour later, Detective Mills returned.
She looked more serious than Daniel had ever seen her.
“We recovered deleted messages from Vanessa’s phone.”
Daniel waited.
Sarah placed three printed screenshots on the table.
They were messages between Vanessa and Margaret.
The first was from six months earlier.
Vanessa: HE STILL WON’T SIGN THE GUARDIANSHIP CHANGE.
Margaret: THEN MAKE HIM LOOK UNFIT.
The second:
Vanessa: WHAT ABOUT THE GIRL?
Margaret: BREAK HER HABITS. SHE’LL LEARN TO FEAR HIM LEAVING.
Daniel’s hands began to shake.
Then he read the third message.
It was from Margaret.
DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE WE MADE WITH MELISSA.
Daniel looked up slowly.
“What mistake?”
May you like
Sarah met his eyes.
“That’s what we need to find out.”
