Chapter 2 - 3:17 P.M.
The video began with Lily sitting beneath the oak tree while Noah played on a blanket beside her.
Vanessa walked into frame.
Even without sound, I knew something was wrong.
Her movements were too sharp.
Too deliberate.
Then the audio came through.
“Pick him up.”
Lily looked confused.
“Why?”
“I said pick him up.”
“I’m coloring.”
Vanessa grabbed the coloring book and threw it across the yard.
Lily jumped.
Beside me, my daughter buried her face against my side.
I paused the video.
“You don’t have to watch.”
She shook her head.
“I want you to know.”
My throat tightened.
Vanessa stood behind us.
“This looks worse than it was.”
I slowly turned.
“Worse than what?”
“She had been misbehaving all day.”
“So you threw her things?”
“I lost my temper.”
I turned back to the screen.
“Let’s keep watching.”
“Adrian, please.”
I pressed play.
Lily picked Noah up.
Vanessa pointed toward the doghouse.
“Inside.”
“No.”
“Lily.”
“Noah doesn’t like it.”
“Inside.”
“He’ll cry.”
Vanessa grabbed Lily’s wrist.
Hard.
The same wrist with the red mark.
I heard my daughter gasp beside me.
On the recording, Vanessa dragged her across the grass.
“Stop fighting me.”
“Please!”
“Then learn to listen.”
She opened the little wooden door.
Lily twisted away.
Vanessa pulled harder.
Noah started crying.
I could barely breathe.
On the television, my wife shoved Lily toward the opening.
Lily held Noah against her chest to keep his head from hitting the wood.
Then Vanessa said something I would never forget.
“Maybe three hours in the dark will teach you not to embarrass me.”
My hands curled into fists.
Vanessa began crying behind us.
“Adrian, I was angry. I made a terrible mistake.”
The video continued.
Lily was inside now.
Holding Noah.
Vanessa pushed the door closed.
Then I heard a click.
A lock.
My daughter began pounding from inside.
“Vanessa!”
“Please!”
“Noah’s scared!”
Vanessa stood outside for several seconds.
Then she walked away.
No hesitation.
No panic.
No regret.
Just walked away.
I paused the video.
The room went silent except for Noah fussing in my arms.
“How long?” I asked.
Vanessa wiped her face.
“What?”
“How long were you planning to leave them there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Three hours?”
“I was upset.”
“Four?”
“I said I don’t know!”
Lily squeezed my hand.
Vanessa immediately lowered her voice.
“I’m sorry.”
“No.”
I stood.
“You’re sorry because I found out.”
“That’s not fair.”
I laughed once.
Nothing about it was funny.
“You deleted the footage.”
She froze.
“If it was an accident, why erase the recording?”
“I panicked.”
“You didn’t panic when they were locked outside.”
“Adrian—”
“You panicked when there was evidence.”
Her face hardened.
There.
For half a second, I saw the Vanessa behind the beautiful dresses and careful smiles.
“You have no idea how difficult Lily has been.”
I stepped toward her.
“My daughter is six.”
“She hates me.”
“She’s six.”
“She has been trying to destroy this marriage since the day I moved in!”
Lily stared at her.
I felt her fingers go cold in mine.
“Get away from us.”
Vanessa blinked.
“What?”
“Go upstairs. Pack a bag.”
“You’re throwing me out?”
“Yes.”
“This is my home.”
“It’s my property.”
“I’m your wife.”
“And she is my daughter.”
Vanessa’s eyes filled again.
This time the tears looked almost convincing.
“After everything I’ve done for this family?”
I looked at the television.
“I just watched what you did.”
She stared at me for several seconds.
Then she laughed softly.
“You think that recording tells the whole story?”
I said nothing.
“You have no clue what’s been happening in this house while you hide inside your company.”
My jaw tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“Ask your precious daughter.”
Lily stiffened.
Vanessa saw it.
And smiled.
It was tiny.
Cruel.
“You think I’m the only one keeping secrets?”
“Enough.”
“No, Adrian. Ask Lily what she found in your study last week.”
I looked down.
My daughter’s face had gone white.
“Lily?”
She shook her head.
Vanessa picked up her handbag.
“Go ahead, sweetheart.”
“Vanessa.”
“Tell Daddy about the papers.”
My daughter whispered, “I didn’t mean to.”
“What papers?”
She began crying.
“The ones with Mommy’s name.”
The air left my lungs.
Lily’s mother—my first wife, Claire—had been dead for four years.
And there should not have been any papers with her name anywhere in this house.
Vanessa walked toward the door.
Before leaving, she turned back.
“You want the truth, Adrian?”
She looked at the screen.
“Keep watching.”
May you like
Then she smiled.
“Especially the files from before we got married.”
