Chapter 3 - The LieI sent Lily to my sister’s house that night.
I didn't explain much.
I only told her to take Lily and keep her with her.
She heard enough in my voice to stop asking questions.
Nora refused to leave.
She wouldn't even step outside.
“I don't like cars,” she said.
“Why?”
“He takes me in cars.”
Vanessa sat beside her on the sofa.
“I won't let him.”
Nora looked at her.
“You said that before.”
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
I stood near the kitchen counter, staring at the two of them.
They looked alike.
I had never noticed it before because I'd never seen them together.
Same small nose.
Same dark eyes.
Same habit of rubbing a thumb against an index finger when nervous.
Seven years of marriage, and I had never known my wife had a child.
“How old is she really?” I asked.
“Six.”
“And you gave her to someone?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I didn't.”
“Then what did you do?”
She was quiet.
“Tell me.”
“When I was nineteen, I was dating Marcus Hale.”
“Nora's father?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Vanessa looked toward the window.
“Marcus was charming when we met. He was funny. He brought flowers. He called me every night.”
“And then?”
“He changed.”
Nora pulled her knees to her chest.
Vanessa continued.
“After I got pregnant, he became controlling. He wanted to know where I was. Who I spoke to. What I bought. Everything.”
“Why didn't you leave?”
“I tried.”
“What happened?”
She rubbed her wrist.
“He found me.”
Her eyes met mine.
“Three days after Nora was born, Marcus came to the hospital.”
I stared.
“He took her.”
I felt my throat tighten.
“You let him?”
“No.”
She shook her head fiercely.
“I fought him. I screamed. I called security.”
“What happened?”
“His brother worked at the hospital.”
She hesitated.
“They told me Marcus had legal parental rights. They said if I caused another disturbance, the police would remove me.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“I know.”
Her voice became smaller.
“I was nineteen. I had no money. My parents told me not to embarrass them.”
“And Nora?”
“Marcus said he was taking her for one night.”
Vanessa stared at her hands.
“He never brought her back.”
I looked at Nora.
“Where was she for six years?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“I didn't know.”
“Then how did you find her?”
“Three weeks ago, I got a letter.”
“From whom?”
“The hospital.”
My jaw tightened.
“What did it say?”
“That a storage file connected to Marcus had been transferred to a county archive.”
She stood and crossed to a drawer.
She pulled out an envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Nora, as a baby.
And beneath it, a typed statement.
I read it twice.
The final line said:
CHILD REPORTED MISSING BY MOTHER. CASE CLOSED PENDING FURTHER EVIDENCE.
I looked at Vanessa.
“Case closed?”
“They said the file was incomplete.”
“Why did you bring Nora here?”
“Because two days after I found the file, I found Nora.”
“Where?”
“In an apartment six miles from here.”
“Alone?”
Vanessa nodded.
“She was living with Marcus.”
Nora's voice came softly from the sofa.
“He said Mommy forgot me.”
Vanessa looked shattered.
“I didn't.”
“Why did she have to hide?”
Vanessa didn't answer.
I did.
“Because Marcus found out she was here.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“He didn't know at first.”
“Then how did he find out?”
“I made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
She looked at me.
“I went to get her clothes.”
“From where?”
“The house where Marcus was staying.”
I stared.
“You went back there?”
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“I found something.”
“What?”
Vanessa's fingers tightened around the envelope.
“A ledger.”
The room fell quiet.
“What kind of ledger?”
“Names. Payments. Dates.”
“Payments for what?”
She didn't answer.
Nora did.
“Children.”
I looked at her.
“What?”
She stared at the floor.
“Daddy called them his little business.”
Vanessa's face went white.
I finally understood why she had been afraid to go to the police.
This wasn't only about a missing child.
I stepped toward her.
“Where is the ledger?”
She looked at me.
“Hidden.”
“Where?”
“Inside the wall.”
My eyes moved slowly toward our bedroom.
“The same wall Nora was hiding in?”
Vanessa nodded.
“I thought nobody would find it there.”
A floorboard creaked in the hallway.
We both turned.
Nobody was there.
Then a sheet of paper slid slowly from beneath our bedroom door.
I walked over and picked it up.
May you like
There was one sentence written across it.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT HER WHERE I PUT HER.
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