Chapter 4 - VIVIAN AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRSThe accusation might have confused me on another day.
Not with the suitcase open at my feet.
“Explain.”
“You’ve been unstable since Amelia died.”
“Do not use her death to justify this.”
“You work constantly. You leave Lily with staff. You barely know what happens in this house.”
That part contained truth.
My business trips had increased.
I believed Vivian created stability while I was away.
I mistook control for care.
Lily held the framed photograph against her chest.
It showed Amelia, Lily, and me beside the lake behind our first home.
Lily had been three.
Amelia’s dark hair moved in the wind.
Her smile was not directed at the camera.
It was directed at our daughter.
“Why does she have that photograph?” I asked.
“She refused to leave without it.”
“Leave for how long?”
Vivian looked toward the passport wallet in her hand.
“Temporarily.”
“With a one-way ticket?”
“The return depended on Lily’s adjustment.”
“To what?”
She did not answer.
I noticed a second passport behind her own.
Lily’s.
It had been stored inside my locked office safe.
I had not given Vivian the combination.
“How did you get her passport?”
“You told me the code.”
“No.”
“You forget what you say after drinking.”
I rarely drank.
The lie came too easily.
Lily leaned closer.
“Dad, Mom was going to take me away.”
Vivian descended another step.
“I am her mother now.”
Lily shook her head.
“No.”
The single word wounded Vivian more than my correction had.
Her expression became cold.
“You begged me not to leave you alone.”
Lily began crying.
I stepped in front of her.
“Stop.”
Vivian tightened her grip on the passport wallet.
“Daniel, we can discuss this after Lily goes upstairs.”
“She is not going anywhere with you.”
“You’re making a mistake.”
“I’m calling the police.”
Panic crossed her face.
She ran toward the rear hallway.
I did not follow.
Leaving Lily alone, even for seconds, was no longer possible.
I activated the emergency button beneath the entrance table.
The mansion security company responded through the wall panel.
I requested police and medical assistance.
Vivian’s car started outside.
Security gates closed automatically.
The engine stopped.
She had nowhere to go.
Lily tugged at my sleeve.
“The picture.”
“What about it?”
“Mom wrote something.”
“Vivian?”
She shook her head.
“My real mom.”
I turned the photograph over.
Words covered the back.
Amelia’s handwriting.
May you like
The first line read:
Daniel, if I am dead when you find this, do not let Vivian take Lily to Switzerland.
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