Chapter 7 - THE CHILD AT THE BACK DOOR
Charles was out of the booth before Mrs. Ellis finished.
“Where is Rosa?”
“With Lucy. She won’t let him take her.”
“Good. Put me on speaker.”
There was a scrape, then Grant’s voice.
“Granddad, this has gotten ridiculous.”
“What are you doing?”
“Taking Lucy somewhere quieter. Mom found a suitable place where she won’t be in the middle of all this.”
“Who asked you to?”
“You’ve been under a lot of stress.”
“Listen carefully. Lucy stays with Rosa. You leave my house.”
A pause.
Then Grant laughed softly.
“You can’t seriously believe we’re trying to hurt her.”
“I believe you’re leaving.”
Charles stayed on the line until he heard the front door close.
When he arrived, Lucy was sitting beneath the kitchen table.
Rosa sat on the floor nearby.
“He told me Mom wanted me to go,” Lucy said.
Charles lowered himself to the floor.
“Your mom didn’t say that.”
“I asked to call her. He said her phone was broken.”
Rosa’s jaw tightened.
“He came through the back while Mrs. Ellis was upstairs.”
Charles looked toward the service entrance.
Grant had used that door since childhood. He knew where the spare keys hung. Which camera pointed toward the driveway. Which staff members hesitated to challenge family.
Charles had taught everyone in this house to trust him.
Now he would have to teach them something else.
He had the entry codes changed. He told the staff in plain language that neither Vivian nor Grant could enter without his approval.
No hints. No polite confusion.
Then he went back to the kitchen.
Lucy was still under the table.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“You keep saying that.”
“I know.”
“Does it mean something different after a while?”
He sat with that question.
“It should mean I stop letting the same thing happen.”
She came out slowly.
That evening, Anna spoke to Lucy by video.
Lucy smiled through the entire call. She didn’t mention Grant.
Afterward, Charles asked why.
“Mom needs to get better.”
He recognized the habit.
A child carrying something heavy because the adults already seemed burdened.
He had let Anna do that after her mother died.
He wouldn’t let Lucy do it now.
“You don’t have to protect us from knowing you’re scared.”
Lucy stared at the dark phone screen.
“Then can I tell you something?”
“Anything.”
“Before we came here, somebody went into our apartment.”
Charles felt the room sharpen.
“How do you know?”
“They put Mom’s Bible back upside down.”
May you like
She looked up.
“And the picture was the only thing she took out of it.”
