Chapter 10 - The Script
Police found six handwritten pages in Evan's apartment.
Each page contained questions and desired answers.
DID DAD YELL?
YES.
DID DAD SCARE YOU?
YES.
DID DAD EVER HIT THE WALL?
SAY YOU DON'T REMEMBER.
DID CLAIRE PROTECT YOU?
YES.
At the bottom of the last page was a note:
LILY EASY. NOAH RESISTS. USE MEDAL BOX.
Daniel read the copy his attorney showed him and had to put it down.
"I can't read this."
"You don't have to right now," attorney Grace Patel said.
"I made him apologize for that box."
"Daniel."
"I looked my son in the eye and told him trust mattered."
Grace leaned forward.
"Then show him what trust looks like now. Believe him now. Protect him now. That's what matters."
Daniel knew she was right.
That evening, he cooked pancakes for dinner because Lily requested them and Noah said syrup made bad days smaller.
For forty minutes, the house felt almost normal.
Then Lily asked, "Is Claire going to come back?"
Daniel set down his fork.
"Not unless it's safe and the right people say she can."
"Can she make you leave?"
"No."
Noah stared at his plate.
"She said she was going to get a new daddy for us."
Daniel felt cold.
"Who?"
Noah shrugged.
"The man from the car."
"What man?"
"He came when you were away. Claire told us to stay upstairs."
Daniel and Rachel exchanged a look.
"Did you see him?"
Noah nodded.
"One time."
"What did he look like?"
"Gray hair. Big watch. He called Claire 'C.'"
Lily suddenly spoke.
"He gave her the yellow envelope."
Daniel turned to her.
"What yellow envelope?"
She pointed toward the hallway.
"The one she hid in your Navy coat."
Daniel stood so fast his chair scraped the floor.
His formal Navy coat was hanging in the locked wardrobe upstairs.
May you like
He had not worn it in six months.
And inside the inner pocket, he found an envelope containing twenty thousand dollars in cash.
