Chapter 9 - Lily’s QuestionLily woke from a nightmare at 3:06 AM.
Marcus was beside her before the first full cry left her throat.
“You’re safe,” he said. “Hospital room. Asheville. Dad’s here.”
Her breathing hitched.
He repeated it again.
“Hospital room. Asheville. Dad’s here.”
Dr. Archer had taught him the grounding phrases. Short. Present tense. True.
Lily blinked until the terror in her eyes slowly recognized the room.
“Did I scream?”
“A little.”
“I’m sorry.”
Marcus leaned closer. “You never have to apologize for being scared.”
She looked toward the door. “Are they coming?”
“No.”
“Grandma said police listen to her.”
“Not these police.”
Lily studied his face with the heartbreaking seriousness of a child trying to decide whether hope was safe.
“Did Mom know?”
Marcus had prepared for pain.
He had not prepared for that question.
He could have said Miranda was afraid. He could have said adults make mistakes. He could have wrapped the truth in soft cloth until it no longer looked sharp.
But Lily had been lied to enough.
“She saw,” Marcus said quietly.
Lily turned her face toward the ceiling.
One tear slid into her hair.
“She closed the curtain.”
“I know.”
“Maybe she was scared.”
“Maybe.”
“Were you scared when I called?”
Marcus swallowed.
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t sound scared.”
“I wanted you to feel safe.”
Lily closed her eyes. “I tried not to cry because Uncle Rowan said crying made it more fun.”
Marcus felt something ancient and violent rise in him.
He breathed through it.
He counted.
One. Two. Three. Four.
The audit, he reminded himself.
Not revenge.
Justice.
Lily opened her eyes again. “Dad?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Can bad people still love you?”
Marcus looked at his daughter, at the casts and bandages and the brave little face asking a question too heavy for childhood.
“Sometimes people call it love when what they really want is control,” he said. “Real love protects you. Real love doesn’t ask you to be hurt so someone else can feel powerful.”
She thought about that.
“Do you love me real?”
Marcus pressed his forehead carefully near her hand.
“Always real.”
Lily finally slept again just before dawn.
Marcus did not.
He sat in the chair and watched the sky brighten behind the blinds.
May you like
By morning, he had made one decision.
No matter what happened to the Sterlings, Lily would never again have to wonder whether love was supposed to hurt.
