Chapter 6
The house exploded into motion.
Police blocked the street.
Neighbors were questioned.
Security footage was collected.
I stood in Lily’s bedroom holding her blanket.
I could still smell her shampoo.
Ryan was downstairs shouting into his phone.
“How does someone take a child from a house surrounded by police?”
An officer answered calmly.
“We’re reviewing everything.”
“That’s my daughter!”
“I understand.”
“No, you don’t!”
I walked downstairs.
“Ryan.”
He turned.
The rage disappeared when he saw my face.
I showed him Lily’s tablet.
“It was under her pillow.”
The screen was unlocked.
A video was paused.
Ryan pressed play.
The recording had been made that morning.
Lily’s face filled the screen.
She whispered.
“If Mommy finds this, Grandma has a friend.”
Ryan looked at me.
The video continued.
“She comes when Mommy is working.”
Lily glanced toward her bedroom door.
“Grandma calls her Aunt Susan.”
I froze.
I knew a Susan.
Diane’s cousin.
She had attended Christmas dinner.
She had hugged Lily.
She had brought her dolls.
Ryan whispered, “Susan Miller.”
The police immediately searched the name.
They found an address.
Twenty minutes away.
Officers left.
I wanted to go.
They ordered us to remain home.
I hated them for it.
I hated the walls.
I hated the waiting.
I hated every second Lily was somewhere without me.
Then my mother called again.
I told her Susan’s name.
She went silent.
“You know her too?”
“Yes.”
“Who is she?”
“Diane’s younger cousin.”
“We know that.”
“No, Emily.”
Mom’s voice shook.
“She’s more than that.”
“What does that mean?”
“After Claire died, Susan gave Diane an alibi.”
Ryan grabbed the phone.
“She lied?”
“Yes.”
“She told police Diane had been with her all afternoon.”
“And she wasn’t?”
“No.”
Ryan cursed.
It all connected.
Susan had helped Diane escape consequences once.
Now she was helping her again.
The detective returned.
“We found Susan’s car.”
“Where?”
“Abandoned near the highway.”
My legs nearly gave out.
“Was Lily inside?”
“No.”
Ryan held me up.
The detective continued.
“We found a child’s jacket.”
I knew before he showed me.
Pink.
Small.
Lily’s.
I pressed it against my chest.
“Where is she?”
“We’re working on that.”
Ryan’s phone buzzed.
A photograph.
Lily sitting in a chair.
Alive.
Terrified.
Behind her was a wooden wall.
A digital clock showed the current time.
Under the picture:
Stop the investigation into Claire.
I stared at it.
“They want something.”
Ryan nodded.
“That means Lily is leverage.”
The detective asked us not to respond yet.
Then a second message appeared.
Tell police Diane was disciplining Lily with your permission.
I felt sick.
Ryan read it twice.
“They want us to clear Mom.”
“Or weaken the case.”
The detective nodded.
“Reply that you’ll cooperate.”
Ryan looked at him.
“You want me to lie?”
“We need time.”
Ryan typed:
I’ll do anything. Just let Lily go.
A response came immediately.
Come alone.
Then an address.
Ryan recognized it.
His face changed.
“What is it?” I asked.
“My grandparents’ old property.”
The place where Claire died.
The freezer.
“No.”
Ryan looked at the detective.
“I’m going.”
“So am I.”
“Emily—”
“She’s my daughter.”
The detective interrupted.
“Neither of you are going alone.”
The property was forty-five minutes away.
Police prepared quietly.
Ryan and I rode in an unmarked vehicle.
Every mile felt endless.
Finally, we reached an old rural road.
The house had been abandoned for years.
Windows broken.
Grass waist-high.
The detective pointed toward a detached shed.
Ryan whispered, “That’s where Claire died.”
My skin went cold.
Then we heard it.
A child crying.
“Mommy!”
I opened the car door before anyone could stop me.
“Lily!”
Officers ran.
The shed door opened.
Susan stepped outside.
She held Lily by the shoulder.
“Stay back!”
Ryan stopped.
I stopped.
Lily screamed.
“Mom!”
Susan looked terrified.
Not powerful.
Terrified.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“What wasn’t?” Ryan shouted.
“She said you would cooperate!”
“Who?”
Susan’s eyes filled with tears.
“Diane.”
“But Diane is in custody.”
Susan laughed wildly.
“You think that matters?”
Then Lily shouted something.
“Mom! Grandma has another phone!”
The detective looked at me.
May you like
Susan’s face collapsed.
And from inside the shed, a phone began ringing.
