Chapter 2: What Was Written on the Rabbit's Ear
Part 2 ⬇️
I turned to Evelyn.
"How long has she been using that entrance?"
"Since Anna joined the household.
Five years is the standard—"
"How long has Lily been wearing the brace?"
Evelyn paused.
Just half a second.
But I caught it.
"Approximately three years."
Three years.
A child had been catching that same metal edge against that same strip of marble for three years.
And nobody had moved the plaque.
Nobody had changed the route.
Nobody had asked me.
I looked at Marco.
He found something urgent to stir.
I looked at Norah.
She studied her clipboard.
"Was a request ever made to change the route?"
Silence.
Then Anna spoke.
Quietly.
Almost to the floor.
"Yes."
Evelyn's head turned slowly toward her.
"Anna."
One word.
A warning dressed as a name.
Anna kept her eyes on me.
"I submitted it in writing.
Fourteen months ago.
Through the household request system."
I looked at Evelyn.
"I never received that request," she said.
"I have the confirmation number," Anna said.
"I kept it."
The kitchen went completely still.
Evelyn smiled again.
The same smile as before.
But her gloved hands had closed into fists at her sides.
And that was when Lily tugged my sleeve.
I looked down.
She held up her stuffed rabbit with both hands.
On its worn left ear, written in faded marker, were two words I wasn't supposed to see.
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What Anna buried in that request — and what Lily's rabbit revealed — changes everything.
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