Chapter 5 - The Resort ReckoningThe resort was even more luxurious than the brochure had suggested.
As Grant’s SUV approached the entrance, Daisy saw children running toward the pool with inflatable rings around their waists. Music played near an outdoor restaurant. A hotel employee carried a tray of drinks decorated with tiny umbrellas.
Daisy pressed her forehead against the window.
“Is Toby having fun?”
Grant kept his eyes on the driveway.
“Probably.”
“Is it bad that I wanted him to have fun?”
“No.”
“I just wanted to be there too.”
“You deserved to be there.”
Daisy shook her head.
“I deserved not to be left alone. That doesn’t mean they had to take me.”
Grant understood the difference she was trying to create. She was lowering her expectations because expecting love had become painful.
“They adopted you,” he said. “They promised to care for you exactly as they cared for Toby.”
“People say lots of things in offices.”
Grant parked near the entrance.
Before they exited, he turned toward her.
“You do not have to prove anything today. You don’t have to be brave for me, the police or anyone else.”
“I want them to see me.”
“They will.”
“What happens after?”
“You come home with me.”
The words seemed to settle her.
When they stepped from the SUV, they found Daniel and Melissa preparing for an evening boat tour.
Their luggage had been brought outside because Daniel had angrily threatened to check out after the resort manager informed him that police wanted to speak with them.
Toby stood nearby with his souvenir bag.
The moment Daisy asked why they had left her, the performance of a happy family collapsed.
Daniel tried to blame school.
Melissa tried to blame Mrs. Alvarez.
The recorder exposed both lies.
Then Toby revealed what he had heard.
“Mom said Daisy would ruin the pictures.”
Melissa ordered him to be quiet.
But Toby had been silent for twelve hours.
He could not remain silent anymore.
“Dad said Daisy wasn’t really part of the family until she learned to be grateful,” he continued.
Daniel stepped toward him.
“Toby.”
The police officer moved between them.
“Let the child speak.”
Toby wiped his face.
“They told me not to answer if Daisy called. Dad put my tablet in the hotel safe.”
Daisy looked at him.
“Did you want me to come?”
Toby nodded.
“I asked if we could bring you. Mom said this was a real-family trip.”
Melissa’s shoulders dropped.
For the first time, she seemed to understand that Toby was not protecting her.
The child-services investigator separated the children from the adults.
While the officers questioned Daniel and Melissa, Toby sat beside Daisy near the fountain.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“You didn’t leave me.”
“I got in the car.”
“You’re ten.”
“I could’ve yelled.”
“Would they have listened?”
Toby looked toward their parents.
“No.”
Daisy opened her hand.
The plastic dolphin from Toby’s souvenir bag rested in her palm. She had picked it up from the pavement.
“You dropped this.”
“I bought it for you.”
She stared at him.
“Really?”
“I didn’t know if they’d let me give it to you.”
Daisy closed her fingers around the dolphin.
Nearby, Daniel’s voice rose.
“You cannot take our children because of one misunderstanding!”
Rebecca remained calm.
“This was not a misunderstanding. You knowingly left a child without adult supervision for several days and falsely claimed a neighbor had agreed to care for her.”
“She’s adopted,” Daniel said. “She has emotional problems. She exaggerates.”
Grant heard him.
So did Daisy.
Grant crossed the driveway before Rebecca could stop him.
“You will never use the fact that she was adopted as an excuse to treat her as less than your child.”
Daniel glared at him.
“You always cared more about Daisy than your own son.”
Grant stared back.
“My son was an adult who knew better. Daisy was a child who needed someone to protect her.”
An officer informed Daniel and Melissa that they would be taken to the station for formal interviews. Their vehicle would remain at the resort.
Toby was temporarily released to Melissa’s sister, who lived two hours away. Daisy would remain with Grant.
When the adults were led toward the patrol vehicle, Melissa turned to Daisy.
“We love you.”
Daisy did not answer.
Grant expected her to cry.
Instead, she looked down at the small plastic dolphin in her hand.
“They only said that because people were watching,” she whispered.
May you like
Grant placed his arm around her.
“One day, sweetheart, you’ll live in a home where nobody needs an audience to choose you.”
Related Stories
