Chapter 7 - The Blue Box
The basement wine room had three locked cabinets.
The brass key opened none of them.
Lily stood at the stairs with Maria.
She pointed toward a storage shelf.
“Behind Christmas.”
Behind them sat a blue metal cash box.
Vanessa had learned not to keep originals.
A draft guardianship petition.
WITHDRAWN.
FIXATED ON FOOD.
EMOTIONAL VOLATILITY.
“This is deliberate.”
Then they found a voice recorder.
Vanessa’s voice:
“Lily, tell me why you hate living here.”
“I don’t.”
“Tell me why Daddy scares you.”
“He doesn’t.”
“Then why did you cry when he left?”
“Because I missed him.”
Vanessa stopped the recording.
“Would you rather live with me?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I want Daddy.”
“Keep listening.”
The final recording was not with Lily.
“Once you have the temporary guardianship order, the trust court becomes easier.”
Vanessa:
“Daniel won’t cooperate.”
Man:
“He doesn’t need to if the evidence makes him look absent.”
“Who is that?”
“I know.”
“Eric Sloan.”
A private attorney Vanessa once introduced as a friend from college.
Rachel called him immediately.
The blue box also held checks.
Payments from Vanessa to Sloan.
Then one payment from an account Daniel did not recognize.
HARBOR FAMILY SERVICES.
Rachel searched corporate records.
Harbor Family Services was a private “family stabilization” company.
Its website promised emergency placements, behavioral evaluations, and guardianship support.
“Placement?”
“She was going to send Lily away.”
“No.”
“No, Daddy.”
“No one is sending you anywhere.”
“Vanessa said bad girls go to Harbor.”
Rachel whispered:
“We need to find out whether she already opened a file.”
She had.
May you like
Under Lily’s name.
And the intake date was Monday.
