Chapter 14 - Grace's Picture
Grace had laughed loudly and sung terribly. Lily used to fall asleep to her off-key humming. When Grace died, I worried my son would lose himself in grief. I hadn't imagined he would let another woman turn grief into a weapon against their little girl.
A child therapist explained why Lily might cling to her mother's photograph. It helped her remember a time when she felt protected.
Investigators recovered footage of Vanessa removing the picture from Lily's room and placing it in a box. Lily reached for it. Vanessa told her that "good girls don't make Daddy sad by talking about dead people."
The video did not show violence. It showed something quieter: a child learning she had to hide her sadness to keep the peace.
I cried after Tessa summarized the incident. Lily deserved to remember Grace without anyone punishing her for it.
Ethan was told about the recording during his interview. He admitted Vanessa had persuaded him that photographs were "holding Lily back." He had never asked Lily how she felt.
That weekend the therapist approved a gentle conversation about memory. Lily chose where to hang Grace's photograph in my guest room. She picked the wall beside her bed, at a height she could see from her pillow.
"Can Mommy stay there?" she asked.
"For as long as you want."
Lily thought for a moment. "Even when Daddy comes?"
"Even then."
A week later Paige was brought in for questioning. She denied falsifying records and said every recommendation came from Ethan. Then investigators showed her the dates of the fake appointments.
Her lawyer requested a break.
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Before leaving, Paige said something Shah later repeated to Carla: "You should check who first asked us to keep the cameras running."
For the first time, the investigation turned toward Ethan's own messages.
