PART 2 — THE FAMILY STORY FALLS APART

I had been awake almost twenty-two hours when I reached the hospital.

Lily looked smaller than I remembered.

One arm was secured. Her ankle was immobilized. Bruising showed above the blanket near her shoulder.

For several seconds, I couldn’t enter the room.

Then her eyes opened.

“Mom.”

That was all it took.

I crossed the room carefully and bent over her.

Her good arm wrapped around my neck.

“I knew you’d come.”

I pressed my face against her hair.

“I’m here.”

For the first time since seeing those missed calls, I stopped being a soldier.

I stopped thinking about evidence, tactics, and consequences.

I was simply a mother holding her injured child.

After Lily fell asleep again, I found Derek in the corridor.

He looked wrecked.

I felt nothing for him.

“How long have you been leaving her with your parents?”

He stared at the floor.

“Sometimes.”

“How long?”

“A few weeks.”

“You told me she was staying with you.”

“She was with family.”

“She was supposed to be with her father.”

He flinched.

I stepped closer.

“Why did Blaire and Kelsey want Lily to make that video?”

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