Chapter 7: The Truth Behind The Locked Door
For several seconds after Megan’s words, I forgot how to breathe.
“Mommy pushed me before.””
The sentence repeated in my head.
Not Vanessa.
Not a stranger.
Mommy.
I looked across the room at Sophie.
She was asleep now, curled beneath the blanket on the couch, one hand wrapped around her stuffed rabbit.
She looked peaceful.
Too peaceful for everything that had happened.
“Daniel?”” Megan’s voice trembled through the phone.
“I’m here.””
“I should have told someone.””
The guilt in her voice was unbearable.
“You were a teenager,” I said.
“I was eighteen.””
“You were still a kid.””
“No.””
Her voice broke.
“I was old enough to know something was wrong.””
I leaned against the kitchen counter.
“Tell me exactly what happened.””
Megan took a shaky breath.
“Vanessa called me around nine that night. She sounded strange.””
“What do you mean?””
“She wasn’t crying.””
That stopped me.
“She wasn’t?””
“No.””
Megan swallowed.
“She sounded annoyed.””
The same tone Sophie had described.
Not panic.
Not fear.
Annoyance.
“What did she say?””
“She said Lily had been difficult all day.””
My hands curled.
“What else?””
“She said Lily was making everything harder than it needed to be.””
I closed my eyes.
“Then?””
“She told me there had been an accident.””
“Did she say Lily fell?””
“No.””
My eyes opened.
“What?””
“She never said that.””
The room felt colder.
“She only said accident.””
I looked toward Detective Ruiz.
He was watching me carefully.
I put the phone on speaker.
“Megan, Detective Ruiz is here.””
A pause.
“Police?””
“Yes.””
She hesitated.
Then said, “Good.””
Ruiz stepped closer.
“Megan, I need you to continue.””
Her breathing shook.
“After Vanessa called me, I drove over.””
“How long did it take?””
“About twenty minutes.””
“When you arrived, what did you see?””
“I saw Vanessa outside.””
“Outside where?””
“The driveway.””
“Was Lily there?””
“No.””
“Was anyone else there?””
“No.””
Ruiz wrote something down.
“What happened when you entered the home?””
Megan was silent.
Then she said, “I heard crying.””
My stomach tightened.
“From where?””
“Upstairs.””
Ruiz looked at me.
“Which room?””
“I don’t know.””
Megan’s voice became smaller.
“There was a hallway upstairs. Lily’s bedroom was at the end.””
“Did you go there?””
“Yes.””
“And?””
“I saw Vanessa standing near a door.””
“What door?””
“The guest room.””
My heart stopped.
“The guest room?””
“Yes.””
I looked toward the stairs.
Our guest room.
The same hallway where Vanessa had walked past Sophie’s room.
“What happened next?””
“I asked what was wrong.””
“What did Vanessa say?””
“She told me not to worry about it.””
“Did you see Lily?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“In the room.””
“How was she?””
Megan started crying again.
“She was sitting on the floor.””
I forced myself to ask.
“Was she injured?””
“She had a mark on her face.””
Ruiz immediately looked up.
“What kind of mark?””
“A red mark.””
“From what?””
“I don’t know.””
Megan’s breathing became uneven.
“She looked terrified.””
The word hung there.
Terrified.
A child’s fear.
The same fear I had ignored for months because I wanted my life to be normal.
“What did Lily say?”” I asked.
Megan went quiet.
“She said she wanted to go home.””
“But she was home.””
“No.””
Megan whispered.
“She said she wanted to go to Daddy’s house.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“Did Vanessa hear that?””
“Yes.””
“What happened?””
“Vanessa told Lily to apologize.””
“For what?””
“She didn’t say.””
Megan paused.
“Then Vanessa looked at me.””
Her voice lowered.
“And she smiled.””
Ruiz stopped writing.
“A smile?””
“Yes.””
“What kind?””
“The kind someone gives when they’re warning you.””
Silence.
Then Ruiz asked, “What happened after that?””
“I left.””
I stared.
“You left?””
The regret in Megan’s voice was immediate.
“I know.””
“Why?””
“Because Vanessa told me if I wanted to keep my job, I needed to stop asking questions.””
I looked at Sophie.
“What job?””
“I was her babysitter.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You were Lily’s babysitter.””
“Yes.””
“And Vanessa threatened you?””
“Yes.””
“What did you do?””
“Nothing.””
The word came out broken.
“I did nothing.””
Ruiz’s voice softened.
“You were afraid.””
“I should have been brave.””
“No,” I said.
Megan went silent.
“You should have been a witness,” I continued.
“Not another victim.””
She cried quietly.
Then Ruiz asked the question I had been afraid of.
“Megan, why did you contact Daniel tonight?””
A long pause.
“Because I saw Vanessa on the news.””
“What about her?””
“She looked exactly the same.””
Ruiz frowned.
“What do you mean?””
“She had the same expression.””
“Which was?””
Megan whispered.
“Like she was already planning what she would say.””
The room went silent.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
From the police evidence unit.
The video had been reviewed.
Ruiz saw my face.
“What happened?””
I looked at the screen.
One sentence.
Evidence confirms additional victim timeline.
I swallowed.
“What does that mean?””
Ruiz took the phone.
His eyes moved across the message.
Then he looked at me.
“We need to talk.””
My stomach dropped.
“About what?””
He looked toward Sophie.
Then lowered his voice.
“The video from Lily’s case is not the only recording.””
My blood ran cold.
“What else did you find?””
Ruiz handed the phone back.
“There are recordings of Sophie.””
I already knew that.
“Those were staged.””
“Yes.””
“Then what?””
He hesitated.
“There is one from last week.””
I stared at him.
“Last week?””
“Yes.””
“What happens in it?””
Ruiz looked at the sleeping child on the couch.
Then back at me.
“Your daughter asks Vanessa a question.””
My throat tightened.
“What question?””
Ruiz’s expression changed.
Like he hated having to say it.
“She asks why Vanessa did the same thing to Lily.””
The room disappeared.
Sophie knew.
Somehow, she knew.
“Why would she say that?””
Ruiz looked at me.
“That’s what we need to find out.””
I moved toward Sophie.
But before I reached her, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered immediately.
“Hello?””
A man’s voice spoke.
“Daniel?””
I froze.
I knew that voice.
Aaron.
But something was wrong.
“Where are you?””
A pause.
Then:
“I need you to listen carefully.””
“What happened?””
His breathing was uneven.
“Vanessa was not alone when Lily died.””
My hand tightened around the phone.
“What?””
“She had help.””
The lights flickered.
May you like
And then Aaron said the one thing I never expected.
“The person who helped her is someone you know.””
