Chapter 3
I drove Lily to Boston Children's Hospital with Maria sitting in the back seat beside her.
Claire followed in her own car.
I didn't ask her to.
I didn't tell her not to.
I could barely think.
Every few seconds, I looked into the rearview mirror.
Lily was holding Maria's hand.
Not her mother's.
Maria whispered little things to her.
"You are safe."
"Daddy is right there."
"Almost there, sweetheart."
I gripped the steering wheel harder.
Safe.
The word kept repeating in my mind.
A child should never need someone to explain that she is safe inside her own home.
At the hospital, a pediatrician examined Lily.
Her shoulder was bruised.
Her wrist had faint marks I hadn't noticed before.
The doctor looked at me.
"Do you know how these happened?"
I did not soften it.
I did not protect Claire.
"I saw my wife grab her arm on a recording."
Claire inhaled sharply.
"Daniel."
The doctor looked at her.
Then back at me.
"What recording?"
"A nursery camera."
"It was an accident," Claire said immediately.
The doctor stayed calm.
"We're going to document the injuries. I also need to ask some questions."
Claire crossed her arms.
"You're treating me like a criminal."
"No one called you that."
"Not yet."
I looked at her.
"Why are you worried about that?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"You really hate me right now."
"I don't know you right now."
That silenced her.
A social worker arrived twenty minutes later.
Claire became charming.
That was the disturbing part.
Her voice softened.
Her posture changed.
She explained how exhausted she had been.
How Lily was difficult lately.
How she had reached for her only to stop her from running.
How the fall had been unfortunate.
If I hadn't seen the video, I might have believed her.
That realization made me feel even worse.
How many times had I believed her before?
The social worker asked me about Maria.
I explained what happened.
Then she asked whether there were other recordings.
I thought about the memory card in my pocket.
"Yes."
Claire turned toward me.
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
She forced a laugh.
"I mean, I don't think there are."
I slowly pulled the memory card from my wallet.
"Maria gave me this."
Claire stood.
"I want an attorney."
The social worker's expression remained neutral.
"That's your right."
"This interview is over."
Claire grabbed her handbag.
I stood too.
"Where are you going?"
"Home."
"No."
Her eyes narrowed.
"You don't get to tell me where I can go."
"Lily is coming with me."
"She's my daughter."
"Then act like it."
Claire slapped me.
The sound cracked through the small consultation room.
Everyone froze.
Claire stared at her own hand.
I stared at her.
Then the door opened and a nurse stepped inside.
Claire grabbed her purse.
"Stay away from me."
She walked out.
I didn't follow.
An hour later, Lily was cleared to leave.
The doctor said there was no fracture.
I should have felt relieved.
Instead, I felt like I had just stepped onto the edge of something enormous.
Maria and I took Lily to my sister Rachel's apartment in Cambridge.
Rachel opened the door and immediately knew something was wrong.
"What happened?"
"Lily needs somewhere safe tonight."
Her face changed.
"Come in."
Once Lily was asleep on Rachel's couch, surrounded by pillows and a blanket, I finally looked at Maria.
"The card."
Maria nodded.
Rachel brought out her laptop.
"What is going on?"
"You may not want to know."
"I'm your sister. Try me."
I inserted the memory card.
There were dozens of video files.
The camera appeared to be in the kitchen.
I looked at Maria.
"Where was this?"
"On the shelf above the pantry."
"Why was there a camera there?"
"The previous security system had one."
I remembered.
We had installed several interior cameras after a burglary in the neighborhood.
Most had been disconnected after Claire complained they made her uncomfortable.
Apparently, one had still been working.
"How did you get the card?"
Maria hesitated.
"I saw Mrs. Bennett trying to remove the camera yesterday."
Claire had known.
She had tried to erase it.
I opened the oldest file.
Nothing.
Kitchen.
Empty.
Another.
Claire making coffee.
Another.
Maria cleaning.
Another.
Lily eating cereal.
Then I saw the date.
Six weeks earlier.
I clicked.
Claire entered the kitchen with Lily.
Lily was crying.
"I want Daddy."
Claire put a cup on the counter.
"Your father isn't here."
"I want Daddy."
"I heard you."
Lily reached toward her.
Claire stepped away.
"Stop following me."
Lily cried harder.
Then Claire opened the pantry door.
My heart stopped.
"No."
Rachel whispered it before I did.
Claire pointed inside.
"Go."
Lily shook her head.
"No dark."
"Go."
"No dark, Mommy."
Claire grabbed her.
Maria squeezed her eyes shut beside me.
On-screen, Claire put Lily into the pantry.
Then she closed the door.
The screaming started immediately.
"Daddy!"
My chest felt like it had been split open.
"Daddy!"
Claire leaned against the counter and checked her phone.
My daughter screamed from inside a dark closet.
Claire did nothing.
One minute.
Two.
Three.
Four.
I stopped the video.
I couldn't breathe.
Rachel was crying.
"Daniel."
I stood so fast the chair fell backward.
"Where is she?"
"Who?"
"Claire."
"Don't go after her."
"I need to talk to her."
"No. You need to think."
"She locked my daughter in a closet."
"I know."
"For four minutes."
"I know."
"She told me Lily had developed a fear of dark rooms because of a nightmare."
Rachel's face twisted.
I walked toward the window.
Every memory was changing.
Every explanation.
Every strange moment.
Every time Lily had cried when I traveled.
Every time Claire told me our daughter was going through a clingy stage.
My phone rang.
Claire.
I stared at the screen.
Rachel said, "Don't."
I answered.
"Where are you?"
Claire sounded calm again.
Too calm.
"Daniel, we need to talk privately."
"Where are you?"
"At home."
"Stay there."
Rachel grabbed my arm.
I shook my head.
I wasn't going to hurt her.
But I needed answers.
"Before you come," Claire said, "you should know Maria isn't who you think she is."
I looked at Maria.
She heard it.
Her expression tightened.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"She's been blackmailing me."
Maria stood.
"That's a lie."
Claire continued.
"She has been stealing from us."
Maria shook her head.
"No."
"And the reason she has those recordings is because she planned all of this."
"Planned what?"
"To destroy our family."
I nearly laughed.
"You are on video, Claire."
"You don't know what happened before those clips."
"I know you locked Lily in a pantry."
Silence.
Then Claire whispered, "Because she almost killed herself."
I froze.
"What?"
"She tried to run out the back door while I was cooking. I panicked. I put her somewhere safe while I calmed down."
"For four minutes?"
"You weren't there."
"No. I wasn't."
My anger turned inward for a moment.
She heard it.
And she used it.
"Exactly," Claire said softly. "You weren't here. You have no idea what I've been dealing with."
Maria stepped toward the phone.
"Ask her who she was talking to."
I looked at her.
"What?"
Claire heard.
"Don't listen to her."
Maria's voice trembled.
"Ask Mrs. Bennett who called her every afternoon."
I remembered the nursery video.
The phone.
Daniel still doesn't know.
"Who were you talking to today?"
Claire said nothing.
"Who?"
"It's not what you think."
"Then tell me."
"I can't."
"Can't or won't?"
"Daniel, please come home alone."
Maria suddenly opened another file.
"Mr. Bennett."
I put the call on speaker.
On-screen, Claire entered the kitchen.
A man followed her.
Rachel gasped.
The camera angle only showed the back of him.
Tall.
Dark hair.
Gray suit.
Claire turned toward him.
And kissed him.
My entire body went numb.
Claire's voice came through the phone.
"Daniel?"
I couldn't speak.
On the recording, the man wrapped his arms around my wife.
Then he turned slightly.
Enough for me to see his face.
My sister grabbed the table.
"Oh my God."
I stared at the screen.
The man kissing my wife wasn't a stranger.
It was my business partner.
My closest friend.
Ethan Cole.
The man who had stood beside me at my wedding.
The man Lily called Uncle Ethan.
The man who had hugged me at my father's funeral.
Claire whispered my name through the phone again.
"Daniel..."
I found my voice.
"How long have you been sleeping with Ethan?"
Silence.
Then the call ended.
Rachel looked at me.
Maria looked down.
I sat slowly.
I thought that was the worst thing I could discover that night.
I was wrong.
Because the video kept playing.
After Claire and Ethan stopped kissing, Ethan placed a folder on the kitchen counter.
Claire opened it.
Even through the grainy image, I recognized my company's logo.
Ethan said something.
I raised the volume.
"You get Daniel to sign the amended trust papers."
Claire shook her head.
"He reads everything."
"Then make sure he doesn't this time."
My blood turned cold.
Claire looked toward the hallway.
"And after he signs?"
Ethan smiled.
"Then Bennett Holdings stops belonging to Daniel."
Rachel stared at me.
"What trust papers?"
I didn't answer.
Because I suddenly remembered the documents Claire had placed beside my breakfast three days earlier.
Documents she said came from our accountant.
Documents I had almost signed.
And at the bottom of the video, Claire asked Ethan one final question.
"What about Lily?"
May you like
Ethan's answer made the room go completely silent.
"If Daniel loses everything, Lily becomes leverage."
