Chapter 3 - The Story Brandon NeededNaomi Price arrived at ten the next morning.
Harper knew because Brandon had spent an hour preparing the house.
The locked door was opened at eight.
Lily flew into Harper’s arms.
Harper dropped to her knees.
“Are you okay?”
Lily nodded, crying.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
“Did he give you food?”
“Toast.”
Harper held her face.
“Did he tell you anything?”
Lily nodded.
“He said I have to say I like it here.”
Harper looked toward Brandon.
He stood at the hallway entrance.
Watching.
The servant-style dress felt scratchy against Harper’s neck.
Brandon had made her wear it after breakfast.
Lily wore ordinary clothes.
That difference bothered Harper.
“Why am I dressed like this?” she had asked.
“Because you’re the older one.”
That answer made no sense.
At 10:03, the doorbell rang.
Naomi Price was a woman in her forties with curly dark hair and a brown leather folder.
She did not look like a police officer.
She did not look like a social worker either.
She looked like somebody’s neighbor.
That seemed deliberate.
“Hi, Harper.”
Harper glanced at Brandon.
Naomi noticed.
“And Lily.”
Lily held Harper’s hand.
Naomi smiled gently.
“My job is to listen to both of you.”
Brandon stepped forward.
“I’ve already explained what they’ve been through.”
“I read your filing.”
“They’re traumatized.”
“I understand.”
“They may confuse things.”
Naomi looked at him.
“That’s why I need to hear from them without help.”
Brandon’s smile stiffened.
“Of course.”
Naomi asked to speak with Harper alone.
Brandon hesitated.
Only briefly.
They sat in the strange bedroom.
The interior door to Lily’s room was now open.
Naomi looked at the dress.
“That’s unusual.”
Harper looked down.
“My dad says I have to wear it.”
“Why?”
“He says structure.”
Naomi made no obvious reaction.
“What happened at Gregory’s house yesterday?”
Harper told her.
Not everything at first.
She described Gregory’s anger.
The daily money target.
The corner.
Shielding Lily.
Brandon arriving.
Naomi listened.
“Where were you getting the money Gregory wanted?”
“Outside stores. Sometimes we carried groceries. Sometimes people gave us dollars because Lily looked sad.”
Naomi’s face tightened.
“Did Gregory send you?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“About three months.”
“Why eighty dollars?”
“I don’t know.”
Naomi wrote something down.
“Now tell me about coming here.”
Harper looked at the open door.
Brandon stood somewhere beyond it.
She could not see him.
That did not mean he could not hear.
“He rescued us.”
The sentence tasted wrong.
Naomi’s eyes stayed on her.
“Is that how you feel?”
Harper remembered the paper.
BRANDON RESCUED US.
She looked toward the window.
Yellow curtains.
Claire had once told her something during a thunderstorm.
If you ever need to tell me something when someone else is listening, say something that doesn’t belong.
Harper had been six.
She had forgotten until now.
“The curtains are yellow,” Harper said.
Naomi looked toward the window.
They were blue.
“Are they?”
“Yes.”
A pause.
Harper’s pulse raced.
Naomi closed her folder.
“I’d like to speak with Lily now.”
Harper’s heart fell.
Had she understood?
Naomi stood.
At the doorway, she paused.
“What color did you say?”
“Yellow.”
Naomi nodded.
“I’ll remember that.”
Hope hit Harper so suddenly she nearly cried.
Lily entered next.
Harper waited in the hallway.
Brandon appeared beside her.
“What did you say?”
“The truth.”
“Which truth?”
“That Gregory hurt us.”
“And?”
“That you rescued us.”
His shoulders relaxed.
Then Harper asked, “How did you know eighty dollars?”
Brandon’s face became blank.
“You’re obsessed with that.”
“Because I never told you.”
“Gregory’s financial records were in the custody filing.”
“There aren’t records.”
Brandon’s eyes sharpened.
Harper had guessed.
She knew it.
He knew she knew it.
Naomi emerged from the bedroom.
“I’ll submit my preliminary recommendation tomorrow.”
Brandon walked her toward the door.
“What recommendation?”
“That the current arrangement requires additional review.”
His voice changed.
“Additional review?”
Naomi remained calm.
“There are inconsistencies.”
“I have a valid emergency order.”
“You do.”
“So what exactly are you suggesting?”
“That emergency custody is temporary.”
Brandon stared at her.
Naomi looked toward Harper.
Then Lily.
“I’ll be back.”
After she left, Brandon shut the front door.
He stayed facing it for several seconds.
Then turned.
“Yellow curtains?”
Harper’s blood went cold.
He had heard.
Brandon walked slowly toward her.
“Your mother taught you that, didn’t she?”
Harper stepped backward.
Lily clung to her hand.
Brandon’s expression became colder than it had been the night before.
“You really are Claire’s daughter.”
He pulled out his phone.
Harper saw the screen before he turned away.
One contact.
GREGORY.
Brandon typed:
SHE KNOWS SOMETHING.
A reply appeared almost instantly.
Then find out how much.
Harper stopped breathing.
May you like
Gregory and Brandon were not simply talking.
They were working together.
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