Chapter 2 - The Invitation
Three days earlier, I'd found the invitation tucked into Sophie's backpack beside a drawing of a reindeer with too many legs.
Christmas Eve at Grandma's. Seven o'clock. Let's start over.
Margaret's handwriting was precise, like the woman herself. The final sentence was addressed to Sophie, not me: Daddy will be there, sweetheart.
"Can we go?" Sophie asked, looking up from the kitchen table. "I know Grandma doesn't like you, but maybe she likes Christmas better."
Children can make a grown woman cry without even trying.
"We can go for one hour," I said. "If anyone says something hurtful, we leave. Deal?"
She extended her pinky. "Deal."
After bedtime, I called my attorney, Nina Patel. "Tell me this isn't a trap."
"It's probably a trap," Nina said. "But the custody order allows supervised family visits by agreement, and your ex hasn't used his visits in weeks. Take your own car. Do not sign anything. Keep your phone charged."
"I want Sophie to have a normal Christmas."
"Then protect her from their version of normal."
The next morning I drove past Daniel's old office to collect a package he'd left in my name. We'd once shared a tiny printing business, putting our savings into an industrial press and delivering orders ourselves. When business improved, Margaret invested through a holding company. When our marriage fell apart, Daniel claimed the entire operation belonged to his family.
The package contained something stranger than the financial papers I'd requested: a red velvet ornament, broken at the clasp, and a note in the handwriting of our former bookkeeper, Elaine Mercer.
Ask your daughter about the silver star. Do not trust the holiday agreement.
Elaine had resigned the week the company records disappeared. I hadn't heard from her since.
I called the number on the package. Disconnected.
That afternoon, Sophie asked for red wrapping paper with white snowflakes. "I'm making Grandma a present," she announced.
"What kind?"
"A surprise. It's about being nice."
At seven, Sophie still believed a gift could fix a broken heart. I let her wrap an empty shoebox while I tried Elaine's number one more time.
May you like
This time someone answered, whispered, "They know I contacted you," and hung up.
Within a minute, a black SUV stopped across from our house. It stayed there until Sophie came out to get the mail.
