Chapter 2: Eleven Photographs
Inside the purse was a photograph.
Lily.
Alone.
Taken through a window.
My daughter had never posed for that picture.
She didn't even know it existed.
"Explain this." My voice came out quieter than I expected.
Marlene's eyes went flat.
"I was keeping an eye on her.
That's what grandmothers do."
"You were watching her through a window.
Without telling anyone."
"You're overreacting."
Lily made a small sound from the corner.
I turned.
She had pulled her knees to her chest and was staring at the purse like it might move on its own.
"Lily." I kept my voice steady.
"Has Grandma done this before?"
She didn't answer.
But she nodded.
Something shifted in my chest.
I reached back into the purse.
There wasn't just one photograph.
There were eleven.
Different days.
Different windows.
Different outfits Lily had worn over the past two months.
Marlene had been watching her for weeks.
"Who else knows about this?" I asked.
Marlene straightened.
"You don't understand what I was protecting her from."
"Protecting her." I couldn't keep the edge out of my voice.
"From what?"
She looked at me for a long moment.
May you like
Then she said a name.
A name I hadn't heard in six years.
