Chapter 3 - THE THINGS MY DAUGHTER HID
I sat on the kitchen floor reading my daughter’s words.
Every page felt heavier than the last.
Lily wrote everything.
The days Kate locked her in her room.
The nights she was forced to stay silent.
The punishments for asking questions.
The excuses Kate gave me.
“She’s acting out because she misses Emily.”
I remembered those words.
I believed them.
I hated myself for believing them.
Kate stood across from me.
“You’re letting a child manipulate you.”
I looked at her.
A woman who had lived under my roof.
A woman who had held my children.
“You expect me to believe you over my daughter?”
Kate smiled.
A cold, empty smile.
“Daniel, you have no idea what children imagine.”
Then Owen started crying upstairs.
But it wasn’t a normal cry.
It was weak.
Like he didn’t have enough energy.
I carried him downstairs.
The doctor’s appointment records on the counter revealed something terrifying.
Owen had missed three scheduled checkups.
May you like
Kate had canceled them.
And she never told me.
