Chapter 2: The Notebook
Part 2 ⬇️
Lily's voice barely made it above a whisper.
"This isn't the first time.
She does it every time you leave.
And last Tuesday…" She stopped.
Swallowed hard.
"She told me if I ever said anything, she'd make sure I got deported."
The room went completely still.
I looked at Serena.
She didn't deny it.
She just tilted her head slightly, the way she always did when she was deciding how much she needed to say.
"She's an undocumented worker, Victor.
I was simply reminding her of her situation."
I heard myself say her name.
Just once.
Very quietly.
That was when Lily reached into her uniform pocket and placed something on the floor between us.
A small notebook.
Dates.
Times.
Descriptions.
Written in careful, shaking handwriting going back four months.
Every incident.
Every threat.
Every time Ethan had cried and Serena had been alone with him.
Serena's eyes dropped to that notebook.
And for the first time all evening, her composure cracked.
"Where did you get that?" she said.
Her voice came out wrong.
Too fast.
Too sharp.
May you like
Lily looked up at her with something I hadn't seen on her face before.
She wasn't afraid anymore.
