Chapter 8 - LILY SPEAKS
Naomi arrived before the social worker finished her interview.
“Let her speak for herself,” Naomi told Daniel quietly. “We’ll be right here.”
Daniel hated every second of it.
Through the glass, he saw Caroline leave the room. The social worker pulled up a chair beside Lily. Lily answered a few questions, then pointed at the hallway.
When the door finally opened, the social worker looked directly at Daniel.
“Lily asked for you.”
He crossed the room. Lily reached for him with her uninjured hand.
“I told her I’m scared when Mom gets mad,” Lily said.
Daniel held her carefully. “Thank you for telling her.”
Caroline stood in the hallway with her arms folded. “She’s seven. She doesn’t understand what she’s saying.”
The social worker turned to her. “She understood my questions.”
Caroline’s cheeks reddened, but she said nothing.
Detective Bennett came by that afternoon with news from the hotel. The staircase camera hadn’t simply failed. Someone had logged into the security system and turned it off eleven minutes before Lily fell.
“Can you tell who?” Daniel asked.
“The login belonged to the event manager. She says she never touched it.”
Caroline had planned the party with that manager for weeks. Daniel told Bennett, who wrote it down.
Evan arrived carrying a laptop.
“I found part of the video,” he said. “It synced to my computer before it disappeared from my phone.”
He opened a short clip. It showed guests laughing near the cake table. Lily entered the frame and walked toward the stairs. Caroline followed her.
The recording ended before they reached the landing.
“Is there more?” Daniel asked.
“Maybe. The file’s damaged.”
Bennett asked Evan to give her a copy.
Evan looked at Daniel. “I should’ve told the truth last night.”
“Yes,” Daniel said.
“I’m telling it now.”
That evening, Lily fell asleep while Daniel read to her. He went into the hall to make a call and found Caroline waiting near the elevators.
“I know about Ruth,” she said.
Daniel stopped.
Caroline took one step closer. “Victor says her agreement won’t hold up.”
“Victor can tell that to my attorney.”
“He’s offered you a way out. Resign Monday. We’ll handle the rest privately.”
Daniel looked toward Lily’s room. “You hurt her.”
Caroline’s face hardened. “I have spent years cleaning up the messes you made at that company.”
“Lily isn’t part of the company.”
“No,” Caroline said. “She’s the reason you’ll do what you’re told.”
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Then her phone lit up in her hand.
Daniel saw the message before she turned the screen away: THE BUYER IS COMING MONDAY.
