Chapter 1
I came home from a business trip two days early and found my five-year-old daughter standing on a kitchen chair, sobbing into a sink full of dirty dishes.
Lily was wearing a black-and-white maid costume I had never seen before.
Her tiny hands were red from the hot water.
A plate slipped from her fingers and shattered in the sink.
“Lily?”
She turned so fast she almost fell off the chair.
“Daddy!”
I caught her before she hit the floor.
Across the living room, my wife Madison was stretched out on the couch watching television like nothing was happening.
“What the hell is this?” I shouted.
Madison grabbed the remote and muted the TV.
“Daniel, calm down.”
“Why is my daughter dressed like a maid?”
Lily buried her face against my chest.
Madison rolled her eyes.
“She wanted to help.”
I stared at her.
“She wanted to stand on a chair and wash a sink full of dishes while crying?”
“She’s being dramatic,” Madison said. “You know how kids are.”
Lily’s arms tightened around my neck.
“I didn’t want to, Daddy.”
Madison’s face changed instantly.
“Lily, don’t lie.”
My daughter flinched so hard I felt it through her whole body.
That was when I noticed a small bruise on her wrist.
“What happened to her arm?”
Madison stood up. “She fell yesterday.”
“No, I didn’t,” Lily whispered.
Madison stepped toward us and snapped, “Enough.”
Something inside me broke.
When Madison reached for Lily, I slapped her once across the face and pushed her hand away from my daughter.
She stumbled back, shocked, holding her cheek.
“Have you lost your mind?” she screamed.
I hated that I had hit her, but the fear on Lily’s face scared me even more.
I carried my daughter into the hallway and knelt so we were eye to eye.
“Sweetheart, tell me what happens when Daddy is away.”
Lily looked past me toward Madison.
Madison went completely still.
“You can tell me anything,” I said.
Lily started crying again.
“She makes me clean the bathrooms.”
My stomach dropped.
“She makes me eat after everyone else.”
Madison shouted, “She is lying!”
Lily covered her ears.
“And when I cry, she puts me in the dark laundry room until I stop.”
I turned toward my wife, but Lily grabbed my shirt with both hands.
“Daddy…”
Her voice became so quiet I almost didn’t hear her.
“That’s not the worst thing.”
Madison suddenly rushed toward us.
I stepped between them.
May you like
Lily pointed toward the locked basement door.
“She takes me down there when you call me at night.”
