Chapter 6 - The Girl in the Pink SweaterChloe sat on the edge of her bed with her hands pressed between her knees.
Downstairs, her mother was arguing with someone on the telephone.
Chloe had heard the same words all morning.
Ungrateful.
Manipulated.
Disloyal.
Every time Vanessa said them, Chloe felt smaller.
She had always believed that doing the right thing would feel good.
Instead, she felt terrified.
At breakfast, Vanessa had barely looked at her.
When Chloe reached for the bread, her mother pushed the basket away.
"Do you understand what you've done?"
Chloe stared at her plate.
"I showed Daniel some pictures."
"You betrayed your own mother."
Chloe's throat tightened.
"I didn't want Lily to be sad anymore."
Vanessa leaned across the table.
"Don't you dare make this about Lily."
Chloe flinched.
Her mother lowered her voice.
"Everything I have done has been to protect our future."
Chloe didn't understand.
Their future from what?
Lily was seven.
She liked butterflies, stuffed animals, and drawing stars.
What danger could she possibly represent?
Vanessa stood.
"Your grandmother is coming. You will behave properly."
Chloe nodded.
Then she went upstairs.
She took the tablet from its hiding place.
There was one thing she had never shown Daniel.
Not because she wanted to hide it.
Because she was afraid it would make him hate her mother.
She opened a photograph taken six weeks earlier.
It showed Lily sitting on the kitchen floor.
Vanessa stood nearby holding a piece of bread.
Lily was looking at it.
Chloe remembered the afternoon.
She remembered the argument.
"Please, Mrs. Vanessa. I'm hungry."
"You had your breakfast."
"That was a long time ago."
"Then perhaps you should have been more grateful."
Chloe had quietly pushed part of her sandwich toward Lily.
Vanessa noticed.
She took the sandwich away.
Then she told Chloe something Chloe had never forgotten.
"If you keep interfering, you'll make everything worse for her."
Chloe had stopped helping openly after that.
But she had not stopped completely.
Sometimes she hid crackers behind the books in Lily's room.
Sometimes she left fruit beneath the little girl's pillow.
And sometimes she simply sat outside the storage-room door because Lily was afraid of being alone.
Chloe wished those things had been enough.
They weren't.
Her tablet vibrated.
A message from Daniel.
Are you safe? You don't need to answer anything about the pictures. I just want to know you're okay.
Chloe read it three times.
She typed:
I'm okay. Mom is angry.
Then she deleted the second sentence.
Finally, she sent:
Yes. Is Lily okay?
Daniel answered immediately.
She's with me. She's safe.
Chloe began crying.
Downstairs, the front door opened.
A familiar voice echoed through the entrance hall.
"Vanessa, where is Daniel?"
Grandma Eleanor.
Chloe wiped her face.
Eleanor Mercer entered the mansion wearing a cream-colored coat and carrying a structured leather handbag.
At sixty-eight, she remained as commanding as ever.
She had helped build Mercer Packaging into a successful regional company.
She considered herself responsible for preserving everything the family owned.
Including its reputation.
Especially its reputation.
Vanessa met her in the hallway.
"He's at a hotel with Lily."
Eleanor removed her gloves.
"Then he's making an emotional decision."
"He's found the pictures."
Eleanor's expression sharpened.
"What pictures?"
"Chloe kept photographs."
A long silence followed.
Chloe stood at the top of the staircase, hidden behind the wall.
She could hear every word.
"Did you let him take the tablet?" Eleanor asked.
"Not deliberately."
"And the files?"
"I don't know."
Eleanor exhaled sharply.
"I told you to keep the situation controlled."
Vanessa's voice trembled.
"I did what you asked."
Chloe pressed her hand against her mouth.
What Grandma asked?
Eleanor lowered her voice.
"We cannot afford another mistake. Graham is handling the records."
Chloe moved closer to the railing.
Then Eleanor said something worse.
"Daniel must believe this situation proves he can no longer manage the girl's affairs."
Vanessa answered quietly.
"He won't sign anything now."
"He may, once he understands what the allegations could do to him."
Chloe stepped backward.
Her heel struck the wooden floor.
Both women looked up.
"Chloe?" Vanessa called.
Chloe froze.
"Come downstairs."
She walked slowly toward them.
Eleanor studied her face.
"Have you been listening?"
Chloe shook her head.
Vanessa crossed her arms.
"Your daughter has been causing trouble."
Eleanor crouched in front of Chloe.
Her perfume smelled sharp and expensive.
"Sweetheart, families must sometimes make difficult decisions."
Chloe stared at her.
"Did you tell Mom to make Lily eat under the table?"
For the first time, Eleanor's expression faltered.
Vanessa inhaled sharply.
"Chloe!"
But Eleanor raised a hand.
"Children often misunderstand adult arrangements."
Chloe felt tears burning behind her eyes.
"Lily was hungry."
"That is not the issue."
"Then what is?"
Eleanor said nothing.
Chloe looked from her grandmother to her mother.
Neither would answer.
She backed away.
That afternoon, Chloe sent Daniel another message.
This time, she included the photograph from the kitchen.
Beneath it, she wrote:
I heard Grandma say she wanted you to think you couldn't take care of Lily's affairs. I don't understand what that means.
Daniel read the message at the hotel.
He showed Nina.
Her expression darkened.
"Daniel," she said, "I think this is bigger than a cruel stepmother."
His phone vibrated again.
May you like
A second message from Chloe appeared.
Grandma says Mr. Pike has the records. What records?
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