Chapter 3 - THE FIRST LIE
Emma slipped the recorder into the pocket of her dress before rising.
Renata’s eyes followed the movement.
“That belongs to Lily,” Emma said.
“Everything in this house belongs to the Vale family.”
“Lily is part of the Vale family.”
Renata closed the bedroom door.
The soft click of the latch sounded more threatening than a slam.
“You have no idea what you are handling.”
“A recording made before Claire died.”
For the first time, Renata’s composure cracked.
Not completely.
Only enough for Emma to see recognition.
“You listened to it.”
“Yes.”
“Then you know it proves nothing.”
“I didn’t tell you what was on it.”
Renata stared at her.
Emma continued.
“But you already know.”
The bedroom seemed to shrink around them.
Renata crossed to the locked drawer and looked inside. Her hand moved over the raincoat and damaged photograph.
“Lily was not supposed to keep these.”
“Why?”
“They feed her obsession.”
“With what?”
“The accident. Her mother. Imaginary enemies.”
Emma removed the photograph from the drawer.
“Who is the woman standing behind Claire?”
“An employee.”
“What was her name?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Her face was scratched out.”
“Lily destroys photographs when she is upset.”
“Lily didn’t write the warning on the back.”
Renata’s gaze flicked toward the handwriting.
She held out her hand.
“Give me the recorder.”
“No.”
“You are an employee in my home.”
“And I am responsible for Lily’s safety.”
Renata moved closer.
“If Grant hears that recording without context, it will destroy him.”
“What context makes it harmless?”
“There was a dispute over Claire’s trust. She became paranoid after Lily’s birth. She believed everyone wanted her money.”
“The woman accused Claire of refusing to sign a transfer.”
“A business document.”
“And who was Daniel?”
Renata’s expression became still.
“I don’t know.”
It was the first obvious lie.
Emma saw it immediately.
So did Renata.
Before either woman could speak again, the bedroom door opened.
Lily stood there with Mrs. Cole.
Her hair was damp from rain. A white adhesive patch had been placed inside her left elbow.
Emma knelt beside her.
“What happened to your arm?”
Renata stepped between them.
“Routine blood work.”
Lily’s eyes met Emma’s.
Two taps.
Pause.
Three taps.
The same pattern from the conservatory.
“What clinic did you visit?” Emma asked.
Renata removed Lily’s coat.
“That is none of your concern.”
Mrs. Cole looked uncomfortable.
Emma turned to her.
“Where did they take her?”
“I drove them to St. Orison’s private wing,” Mrs. Cole said.
Renata glared at the housekeeper.
“Thank you, Mrs. Cole. You may leave.”
When the door closed, Renata took Lily by the shoulder.
The child stiffened.
Emma noticed.
“Don’t hold her like that.”
“I am guiding her.”
“You’re hurting her.”
Renata released Lily abruptly.
A red fingerprint mark remained above the collar of the child’s dress.
Emma photographed it before Renata could react.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Documenting an injury.”
Renata reached for the phone.
Emma stepped away.
Lily moved between them.
Her small face was pale, but she lifted both hands toward Renata as though trying to stop her.
Renata looked down.
Something cold entered her expression.
“Go to your room, Lily.”
The child did not move.
“Go.”
Emma touched Lily’s shoulder.
“It’s all right. I’ll come with you.”
“No,” Renata said. “You and I are not finished.”
“We are for now.”
Emma led Lily into the corridor.
Behind them, Renata spoke quietly.
“You think you are protecting her.”
Emma looked back.
Renata stood beside the open drawer, holding Claire’s photograph.
“You are teaching her to repeat her mother’s mistakes.”
Later that evening, Emma examined Lily’s arm beneath the light.
The puncture site was larger than a standard blood test mark. A faint yellow bruise surrounded it.
She took another photograph.
Lily sat silently on the bed, holding the wooden bird.
Emma drew two dots and three dots on a sheet of paper.
“Does this mean something?”
Lily nodded.
Emma wrote several possibilities.
Two people.
Three rooms.
Two days.
Three nights.
Each time Lily shook her head.
Finally Emma wrote the alphabet and numbered the letters.
Two was B.
Three was C.
“B and C?”
Lily shook her head again.
She took the pencil and added a space.
Two.
Pause.
Three.
Then she drew a rectangle with a small circle in the center.
A camera.
Emma understood.
“Camera two. Camera three?”
Lily nodded.
“Are there cameras in the house?”
Another nod.
“Do they watch your room?”
Lily’s pencil snapped.
She crawled off the bed and crossed to the dollhouse near the window. It was an exact miniature of Vale House, complete with tiny furniture and working lights.
Lily opened the back panel.
Inside the miniature version of her bedroom, a black dot had been drawn above the mirror.
Emma examined the real mirror.
Nothing appeared unusual.
She dragged a chair across the carpet and climbed onto it.
At the top of the ornate frame, almost invisible among the carved flowers, was a pin-sized glass lens.
A hidden camera.
Emma took a photograph.
Then she searched the room.
A second lens was concealed inside the smoke detector.
Lily pointed toward the dollhouse again.
The rooms were numbered beneath the roof.
Her bedroom was marked two.
The bathroom beside it was marked three.
Camera two.
Camera three.
Emma felt a chill.
“How long have they been watching you?”
Lily looked toward the door.
Then she held up two fingers.
“Two days?”
She shook her head.
“Two weeks?”
Another shake.
“Two years?”
Lily nodded.
The bedroom lights went out.
The entire upper floor became dark.
Footsteps sounded in the corridor.
Emma switched on her phone flashlight.
Lily grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the wardrobe.
“Should we hide?”
Lily nodded urgently.
Emma climbed inside with her and closed the doors.
Through the narrow gap, she watched the bedroom entrance.
The door opened.
A beam of light moved across the carpet.
Someone entered.
They walked directly to the mirror and reached behind its frame.
A woman whispered into a phone.
“She found camera two.”
May you like
Emma recognized Mrs. Cole’s voice.
Then the housekeeper added, “Tell Eleanor we need to move the files before Grant comes home.”
