Chapter 4 - Lily’s Secret
I drove to Megan’s apartment.
Dad stayed on the phone the entire way.
Karen stayed in the house.
Not because I trusted her.
Because Dad told her if she left, he would call the police.
When I arrived, Lily was coloring at the kitchen table.
I crouched.
“Did Karen give you this?”
Lily nodded.
“When?”
“Last night.”
“What did she say?”
Lily kept coloring.
“She said it was a game.”
“What kind of game?”
“A secret game.”
Megan looked at me.
I swallowed.
“What were the rules?”
Lily’s crayon stopped.
“I had to hide it. And if you asked, I had to say I found it.”
Then opened them.
“You are not in trouble.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
She looked at me.
“Grandma Karen said grown-ups lie when they have to.”
That sentence felt like a door opening into a room I did not want to enter.
Megan loaded the card.
There were three video files.
The first was ordinary.
The second showed Karen covering the lens with a dish towel.
Apparently the camera had been uncovered but disconnected from Wi-Fi.
Karen stood at the kitchen table with a man I did not recognize.
He wore a delivery uniform.
Cash.
Dad’s checkbook.
Megan whispered, “What is that?”
I leaned closer.
Karen opened the folder.
One had my signature.
The man said, “Once Richard signs the property transfer, your stepson won’t have any claim.”
Karen answered, “He won’t know until it’s done.”
My blood went cold.
Dad heard every word through the phone.
Then the man on video said something worse.
“What about the kid?”
Karen looked toward the staircase.
The video ended.
Dad whispered, “I need to get home.”
“Where are you?”
“Twenty minutes away.”
“Do not confront her alone.”
“I’m not.”
May you like
His voice changed.
“I’m calling my attorney.”
