Chapter 3: Three Days of Silence
Claire kept her voice level.
She had to.
Lily was still pressed against her side, one small fist curled into the fabric of Claire's sweater.
"Noah." Claire spoke without turning around.
"Take Lily outside.
Please."
"Claire—"
"Now, Noah."
He crossed the room and crouched down in front of Lily.
"Hey.
You want to come find some birthday cake with me?
I think I saw chocolate."
Lily looked up at Claire.
Claire nodded once, and that was enough.
Lily let go of the sweater and took Noah's hand.
The glass door swung shut behind them.
The room was quiet.
Claire set the tablet down on the nearest table, screen facing up.
The security footage was still playing on a loop.
Evelyn's voice, thin and clear through the small speaker.
*She won't say anything after this.
Children like her never do.*
Amanda moved first.
"That footage is out of context."
"Which part?" Claire said.
"The scissors?
Or the part where Evelyn tells you a six-year-old won't talk?"
"We were disciplining her.
That is not—"
"You were cutting her hair while she cried and couldn't move." Claire's voice didn't rise.
It dropped.
"That is the context."
Evelyn hadn't spoken yet.
She was watching Claire the way someone watches a door they're deciding whether to lock.
"Where is Marcus?" Claire said.
The name landed in the room like something thrown.
Amanda's jaw tightened.
Evelyn's chin lifted slightly.
Neither of them answered.
"He has been missing for three days," Claire said.
"His daughter thinks he left because of something she did.
And the two of you are in here cutting that child's hair and telling her to stay quiet." She picked up the tablet.
"So I'm going to ask one more time.
Where is Marcus?"
"Marcus is handling personal matters," Evelyn said.
Her voice was smooth.
Practiced.
"He asked not to be disturbed."
"He asked you."
"He is my son."
"He is Lily's father." Claire looked at her steadily.
"And Lily is six years old and has been sitting in this house for three days believing she did something wrong."
Something moved across Evelyn's face.
Not guilt.
Something colder than that.
A calculation.
"You have always overstepped, Claire," Evelyn said quietly.
"From the very first day Marcus brought you into this family's life.
You were never part of this.
You were a convenience."
"Then it's a good thing I'm not here for your approval." Claire tucked the tablet under her arm.
"I'm here for Lily."
Amanda stepped forward.
"You can't take that footage anywhere.
That tablet belongs to this house.
You picked it up off our property."
"Noah brought it in from the hallway camera system," Claire said.
"Which means it was already recording.
Which means it already exists." She looked at Amanda.
"You can call your lawyer.
I'll wait."
Amanda's mouth opened.
Closed.
Evelyn's eyes moved to the tablet.
For the first time, something in her posture shifted.
Not much.
Just enough.
"You don't understand what you're getting involved in," Evelyn said.
"Then explain it to me."
Silence.
Claire walked to the glass door and pushed it open.
She stopped with one hand on the frame and looked back.
"If Marcus contacts you before he contacts me," she said, "you tell him his daughter asked about him four times today.
You tell him she thinks it's her fault he's gone." She paused.
"And you tell him I have the footage."
She let the door close behind her.
In the hallway, Noah was sitting on the floor with Lily, a paper plate with a slice of chocolate cake balanced between them.
Lily had a small smear of frosting on her chin.
She looked up when Claire came out.
"Is Daddy coming back?" Lily asked.
Claire sat down on the floor beside her.
"I'm going to find him," she said.
"Okay?
That's my job right now."
Lily considered this with the gravity only a six-year-old can manage.
Then she held out the fork with a piece of cake on it.
Claire took it.
Noah caught her eye over Lily's head.
He didn't say anything.
He didn't need to.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and held it up so only Claire could see the screen.
There was a text message.
Unknown number.
Sent forty minutes ago.
May you like
*Don't let them find out you have the video.
They already know about the other one.*
