Chapter 2: The Notebook in the Apron Pocket
Thomas crossed the kitchen in four steps.
He cupped Lily's face in both hands, tilting her cheek toward the light.
The handprint was dark now.
Unmistakable.
"Vanessa." His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Did you do this?"
Vanessa straightened.
"Thomas, she broke one of your father's plates.
The Limoges set.
The one your mother brought from France."
"I asked you a question."
"She needs to learn that actions have consequences."
Thomas let go of Lily's face very slowly.
He turned to face his wife.
Nobody in that kitchen had ever seen Thomas Whitaker look like that.
"How many times?" he asked.
Vanessa blinked.
"What?"
"How many times, Vanessa."
Lily's hands were shaking.
She pressed them flat against her apron.
Grant watched his father and saw something he hadn't seen in twenty years.
The old man was fighting to stay calm.
Then the housekeeper, Mrs.
Dolan, spoke from the corner.
"Mr.
Whitaker." Her voice was careful.
Measured.
"There's something I think you should see."
She reached into her apron pocket and placed a small notebook on the counter.
Lily's eyes went wide.
Vanessa's face went still.
"Where did you get that?" Vanessa said.
Mrs.
Dolan didn't answer her.
She looked only at Thomas.
---
What's inside that notebook — and why is Vanessa so afraid of it?
May you like
What Lily had been hiding all along will break your heart.
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