Chapter 5: Two Lawyers and a Little Girl
Marcus turned to look at Claire.
"You called your lawyer before you called anyone to check on that child."
Claire didn't answer him.
She was looking at Ryan.
"Her name is Emma," Ryan said.
"She's five.
She's been living in that space for seven months.
She was hungry enough that our four-year-old was sneaking her food." He paused.
"And the first thing my wife did when I found her was call a lawyer."
"I'm protecting us," Claire said.
"You keep saying that word." Marcus stepped fully into the room.
He was a big man, broad-shouldered, and he moved carefully around Emma as he crossed to stand beside Ryan.
He crouched down to Emma's level.
"Hey there.
I'm Marcus.
I'm Ryan's brother."
Emma looked at him with those steady dark eyes.
"Are you nice too?"
"I try to be." He glanced at Ryan.
Then back at Emma.
"You warm enough?"
She nodded.
"Good." He stood up.
He looked at Claire.
"How did she get in there?"
"There's a maintenance access panel," Claire said.
"Behind the bookshelf in Lily's room.
It connects to a crawl space.
I — I had it cleaned out.
I put in a small mattress.
A lamp."
"You prepared it," Ryan said.
"I didn't know what else to do.
Dana called me from the hospital.
She had no one.
Emma had no one.
I couldn't just—" She stopped.
"You couldn't just tell me," Ryan said.
"That's the part you couldn't do."
Claire's jaw tightened.
"If I had told you, you would have wanted to be involved.
You would have wanted to meet her.
And then everything between us would have—"
"Ended," Ryan said.
"You could have just said that."
The doorbell rang.
Claire's sister Joanna arrived with a leather bag over one shoulder and the brisk, composed energy of someone who billed by the hour.
She took in the room quickly — Ryan, Marcus, Emma on the floor, the open panel in the wall — and her expression gave away nothing.
"Claire." She touched her sister's arm briefly.
Then she looked at Ryan.
"I understand this is an extremely difficult situation.
I want to help find a resolution that protects everyone, including the child."
"Her name is Emma," Ryan said.
For the second time that night.
Joanna nodded.
"Emma.
Of course." She set her bag down.
"Ryan, I want to be transparent with you.
My first concern, as it should be everyone's, is Emma's immediate welfare.
The second concern is making sure that whatever steps are taken tonight don't create legal complications that harm anyone in this family unnecessarily."
Marcus made a quiet sound that was not quite a laugh.
"Unnecessarily," he repeated.
Joanna looked at him.
"And you are?"
"The person in this room who's going to make sure Ryan doesn't agree to anything tonight that he'll regret in the morning." He crossed his arms.
"So go ahead."
Joanna turned back to Ryan.
"Has anyone contacted child protective services?"
"Not yet."
"I would strongly advise against doing so tonight.
If you call them now, this becomes an investigation.
Claire could face serious consequences — consequences that would affect Lily too.
Your daughter.
Your home."
Ryan looked at Emma.
She had finished eating and was sitting quietly, the rabbit in her lap, watching the adults talk about her as if she were used to being talked about and not spoken to.
He crouched down in front of her.
"Emma.
Is there anything you need right now?
Anything at all?"
She thought about it with great seriousness.
"I need to use the bathroom," she said.
"Of course." He stood and held out his hand.
She took it without hesitation.
He walked her to the bathroom in the hall.
He waited outside the door.
He heard the tap run.
She was washing her hands.
Something about that small, ordinary sound — a child washing her hands in the dark of the night — made his chest tighten in a way he hadn't expected.
She came out and looked up at him.
"Dana is my mom," she said.
"She told me if I ever got scared I should say your name.
She said you would help."
Ryan stood very still.
"She told you my name?"
Emma nodded.
"She said, say Ryan.
She said you were safe."
He walked her back to Lily's room.
He got her settled with the blanket.
He turned the small lamp on low.
When he came back to the hallway, Joanna was waiting.
"Ryan," she said quietly.
"I want you to hear me out before you make any calls tonight."
He looked at her.
Then past her, at Claire, who was standing at the end of the hall with her arms wrapped around herself.
"Dana told Emma to say my name if she was scared," he said.
"She told a four-year-old that I was safe.
She trusted me with her daughter even though she had no reason to believe I even knew Emma existed." He looked at Joanna.
"And you want me to protect the woman who made sure I didn't."
Joanna opened her mouth.
"I'm calling Dana back," Ryan said.
"And then I'm calling my own lawyer."
May you like
Claire made a sound at the end of the hall.
Small and sharp, like something breaking.
