Chapter 3 - The Box in Vanessa's Closet
Sofia asked for Bunny Rose three times before Mateo realized the rag doll was missing. Mariana had sewn it from yellow scraps when Sofia was little. One ear drooped, and its red yarn smile leaned crookedly. Sofia had carried it through her mother's funeral and every storm since.
"Vanessa said I lost her," Sofia whispered. "But I didn't."
Beneath it lay photographs. Sofia crying in the pantry doorway. Sofia curled beside an empty plate. Sofia covering her ears while Vanessa stood over her. One picture had been taken that very evening, through the kitchen doorway, while Sofia sat beside the trash can.
A black notebook lay beneath the photographs. The first pages listed chores. Farther in, the handwriting became clipped and cold: "Still asks for her mother." "Uses father as a shield." "Cries when corrected." Then Mateo read: "Must stop believing he will always come to save her."
Below it was another line: "If she brings up the night of the accident, redirect her. She is too young to know what she saw."
A floorboard creaked. Vanessa stood in the doorway, pale and furious.
"You had no right to go through my things."
Mateo held up the notebook. "Why are you taking pictures of my daughter crying? And what does Mariana's death have to do with this?"
"You don't understand what you're looking at. Give it to me."
"Then explain it."
Her eyes flicked to Bunny Rose. For a moment, she looked frightened. "Put that back."
"Why?"
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"Because you have no idea what it means."
From the hall, Sofia called for him. Mateo turned toward her voice. When he looked back, Vanessa was staring at the notebook as if the words inside could send her to prison.
