Chapter 2: The List She Was Never Supposed to Show Anyone
Part 2 ⬇️
I picked up the folded paper slowly.
Zoe's handwriting.
Uneven letters, the kind an eight-year-old makes when she's trying very hard to get something right.
At the top she had written: *Things I want to tell Daddy but can't.*
There were six items on the list.
I couldn't finish reading past the third one.
I stood up and looked at Diana.
"How long has this been going on?"
She didn't flinch.
"She exaggerates.
You know how children are."
"She's eight, Diana.
She made a list."
"She's dramatic.
She gets that from—"
"Don't." My voice came out quieter than I expected.
"Don't finish that sentence."
Zoe hadn't moved.
She was sitting completely still, her textbook pressed against her chest, watching us the way a child watches something she's seen before and is afraid of.
That's when I noticed the marks on her wrist.
Not bruises.
Just red lines.
The kind that come from scrubbing a floor for too long with bare hands.
I crouched back down beside her.
"Zoe.
How long has Daddy been working late?"
She looked at her hands.
"Since before Christmas," she whispered.
Christmas was nine months ago.
Behind me, Diana's voice shifted.
Harder now.
Less bored.
"You're going to take a child's word over mine?"
I didn't answer her.
I was still looking at my daughter's hands.
---
What Mr.
May you like
Carter found next — and what Zoe finally told him when Diana left the room — will break your heart.
Click the link below to read the full story.
