Chapter 12 - The Price of Speaking
On Monday, my office called before breakfast.
My manager sounded as though he were reading from a page he wished he'd never received. An anonymous sender had delivered documents claiming I'd abused Lily. Human resources had placed me on temporary leave while they reviewed the allegations.
"Aaron, we have to take a complaint about a child seriously," he said.
"You should," I answered. "Give the police copies of everything."
"You're not asking when you can come back?"
"My daughter has to be safe before I worry about my job."
I hung up with my hands shaking. Vanessa had not only tried to take Lily. She had tried to make everyone else afraid to help us.
Mara immediately contacted the company and Detective Park. My employer preserved the email, attachments, and headers. The forged statements used the same wording as the custody petition, including an incident on a date I had spent at a conference in another state.
At Elena's sister Rosa's apartment, Lily sat at the table with a bowl of strawberries. She ate one, then waited.
"You can have more," Elena said.
Lily looked at me first. "Even if I don't finish the first bowl?"
"Even then," I said.
She took another strawberry and began to cry without making a sound.
Rosa quietly took the dishes into the kitchen. Elena stayed beside Lily until the crying eased.
Later a caseworker contacted us about a new anonymous complaint accusing Elena of drug use and neglect. We cooperated through the proper process and gave the worker the available records.
"They're trying to make both parents look dangerous," Mara said.
Then Park called with the first results from my car's tracking device.
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Its account had been paid with the same prepaid card found in Vanessa's garage box.
And its location history showed one more destination: the hospital where Lily had been examined.
