Chapter 9: What Lily Remembered
I wanted to run straight to Margaret.
Hale stopped me.
“No.””
“She has Lily.””
“We don't know where.””
“She sent the photograph.””
“That doesn't mean the photograph was taken tonight.””
“It does to me.””
“Nora.””
I turned.
His face was hard.
“You go after her blindly, you die. Then Lily loses you too.””
The words stopped me.
Ethan stood nearby, staring at the photograph.
“She won't hurt Lily.””
I looked at him.
“You don't know that.””
“I know Margaret.””
“You knew her eight years ago.””
“She hasn't changed.””
“People change.””
“Not her.””
Hale checked his phone.
“I traced the image.””
“And?””
“Metadata was stripped.””
“Of course it was.””
“But the background may tell us something.””
He enlarged the photograph.
A wooden wall.
A narrow window.
A brass lamp.
I stared.
“I know that room.””
Both men looked at me.
“Where?””
“My father’s lake house.””
Ethan shook his head.
“That's impossible.””
“Why?””
“Margaret sold it after Daniel died.””
“No.””
I remembered.
“The deed was transferred.””
“To whom?””
I looked at Ethan.
“Calvin.””
Hale's expression sharpened.
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
Ethan swore under his breath.
“Then that's where she took Lily.””
We drove there.
No lights.
No cars.
The house looked abandoned.
Hale checked the windows.
Locked.
He forced the back door.
Inside, dust covered everything.
But there were fresh footprints on the floor.
I followed them.
Down the hallway.
Past the kitchen.
Toward the basement.
A sound came from below.
Crying.
“Lily.””
I ran.
Hale grabbed my arm.
“Wait.””
“That's my daughter.””
He went first.
The basement was dark.
A single bulb hung from the ceiling.
Lily sat in a chair.
Alone.
I rushed to her.
She threw herself against me.
“Mommy!””
I held her so tightly she squeaked.
“I'm here.””
“I knew you'd come.””
“Are you hurt?””
She shook her head.
“Did Grandma hurt you?””
“No.””
“Did anyone hurt you?””
“No.””
I looked at Hale.
He examined the room.
“Where is Margaret?””
Lily pointed toward the door.
“She left.””
“When?””
“Just before you came.””
Hale frowned.
“Did she say where she was going?””
Lily nodded.
“She said she had to get Daddy.””
I froze.
“Calvin?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
Lily looked at me.
“The hospital.””
My blood ran cold.
Hale immediately called the station.
“Get units to St. Catherine's.””
Then Lily grabbed my sleeve.
“Mommy.””
“Yes?””
“She told me something.””
“What?””
“She said I was bad.””
My heart broke.
“You're not bad.””
“She said I made Daddy do it.””
“Do what?””
Lily looked down.
“Make you come home.””
I knelt.
“Lily, listen to me. None of this is your fault.””
She nodded.
Then she whispered:
“I remember Grandpa.””
I went still.
“What do you remember?””
“The night he disappeared.””
Hale crouched beside us.
“Lily, can you tell us what you saw?””
She nodded.
“Grandpa was in the kitchen.””
“When?””
“Nighttime.””
“Who was with him?””
“Grandma.””
“And Daddy?””
“No.””
“Was Mommy there?””
She looked at me.
“You were.””
I felt my breath catch.
“Lily, I wasn't there.””
“Yes, you were.””
She pointed toward the old television in the corner.
“On the screen.””
I understood.
A recording.
She remembered seeing my father on a video.
“What did he say?””
Lily closed her eyes.
“He said, ‘Nora, don't trust the man who wears my watch.’”
I looked at Hale.
The broken watch.
Calvin's watch.
Ethan's face tightened.
“What else?””
“He said someone was coming.””
“Who?””
“Daddy.””
My heart stopped.
“Calvin came?””
She nodded.
“He was crying.””
Ethan whispered, “That's what I remember.””
Lily continued.
“Daddy said he didn't want Grandpa to go.””
“Go where?””
“He said Grandma told him he had to.””
I swallowed.
“What happened next?””
“Grandpa gave Daddy a box.””
“What box?””
“A blue box.””
Hale looked at the ledger.
“Then what?””
“Grandpa hugged Daddy.””
Lily's voice trembled.
“Then Grandma came behind Grandpa.””
I felt sick.
“What did she do?””
Lily covered her ears.
“She hit him.””
“With what?””
“A metal thing.””
Hale asked gently, “Did Grandpa fall?””
“Yes.””
“Was he dead?””
“I don't know.””
“What happened after that?””
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
“Daddy picked him up.””
“Why?””
“He said Grandpa was still breathing.””
My heart pounded.
“Then what?””
“Daddy carried him outside.””
“Where?””
“To the lake.””
Ethan closed his eyes.
Lily suddenly looked at him.
“Uncle Ethan was there too.””
He opened his eyes.
“What?””
Lily nodded.
“You were hiding.””
Ethan's face went white.
“How could you remember me?””
“I saw your face.””
“When?””
“That night.””
I stared at Ethan.
“You were there?””
He nodded slowly.
“I came back.””
“Why?””
“To stop Margaret.””
“What happened?””
“I was too late.””
Lily grabbed my hand.
“Mommy?””
“Yes?””
“Grandpa told me something.””
“What?””
“He said your name.””
“What did he say?””
“He said, ‘Tell Nora I never stopped protecting her.’”
I closed my eyes.
For eleven years, I had believed my father was gone.
Now I was sitting in a basement with my daughter telling me he might have survived the night he supposedly died.
Hale stood abruptly.
“Wait.””
“What?””
He was staring at the ceiling.
“There's someone upstairs.””
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Then the basement door slammed shut.
A man's voice came through the darkness.
“You finally remembered.””
Lily screamed.
I pulled her behind me.
Hale raised his weapon.
“Police! Show yourself!””
The voice laughed.
“Still protecting her, Marcus?””
Hale froze.
I looked at him.
“You know him?””
His face had gone pale.
“Yeah.””
The footsteps came closer.
A shadow appeared beneath the basement door.
Then a key turned.
The door opened.
Calvin stood there.
Blood covered his shirt.
He looked at me.
Then at Lily.
“Nora.””
“What happened to you?””
He ignored the question.
“Where's Ethan?””
Ethan stepped forward.
“Right here.””
Calvin's face crumpled.
For a moment, the two brothers simply stared at each other.
Then Calvin whispered:
“You shouldn't have come back.””
Ethan answered:
“You shouldn't have stayed.””
Calvin looked at me.
“I tried to protect her.””
“You hurt her.””
“I had no choice.””
“You always have a choice.””
His eyes filled with tears.
“Nora, you don't understand.””
“Then explain.””
He stepped closer.
“Your father isn't dead.””
Everything inside me stopped.
Lily clutched my hand.
Calvin continued.
“He's alive.””
I stared at him.
“Where?””
Calvin looked toward the basement wall.
“He's been hiding for eleven years.””
“Where?””
Calvin's lips trembled.
“Under this house.””
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Then a woman's voice screamed:
“CALVIN!””
Margaret.
Calvin looked toward the ceiling.
And for the first time, pure terror crossed his face.
“She found us.””
The basement lights went out.
In the darkness, Calvin whispered one final sentence.
“Nora, your father wasn't hiding from Margaret.””
A gunshot exploded upstairs.
May you like
Calvin grabbed my arm.
“He was hiding from you.””
