Chapter 2
The room went silent.
Mason’s small voice had done what my anger could not.
It froze Vanessa completely.
I turned toward him.
“What do you mean?”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Mason, go upstairs.”
“No,” I said.
Mason looked terrified.
Not of me.
Of her.
Lily clung to my leg, still crying.
I knelt so both children could see my face.
“Mason, you can tell me.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“She says if I tell, she’ll send me away too.”
My blood turned cold.
“Send you where?”
He swallowed.
“To my old dad.”
Vanessa snapped, “Enough.”
I stood.
“Do not speak.”
She laughed like I had embarrassed her.
“You have no idea what it’s like here all day. Lily cries. She lies. She follows Mason around.”
“She’s hungry,” Mason whispered.
Vanessa turned on him.
“I said enough.”
I moved between them.
My hands shook, but my voice was calm.
“Where is the pantry key?”
Vanessa’s eyes flicked toward the vase on the sideboard.
I walked over and lifted it.
A small key sat beneath.
Lily whispered, “That one.”
I opened the pantry.
Inside were shelves full of food.
Cereal.
Crackers.
Fruit cups.
Granola bars.
Everything my daughter had begged for.
On the inside of the pantry door were scratches.
Tiny ones.
Low to the ground.
Lily’s height.
My chest tightened.
“She locks me in too,” Lily whispered.
May you like
I turned toward Vanessa.
She went pale.
