Chapter 6 - Lily’s Drawing
Lily did not want to talk about the pool.
I let her choose the pace.
Three days later, she drew a picture.
Blue water.
Grey dress.
Tall woman.
Then a black rectangle near the doors.
“What’s that?”
“A bag.”
“Whose?”
“Victoria’s.”
I looked closer.
A red shape came from the bag.
“What is that?”
“Paper.”
“What paper?”
“She showed me.”
My chest tightened.
“What did it say?”
Lily shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
“Did she say anything?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Lily looked down.
“She said Mommy lied.”
I felt cold.
“What else?”
“She said I stole her little girl’s place.”
I stopped breathing.
Victoria had a daughter?
Samuel didn’t know.
Neither did I.
A private investigator found the answer in less than forty-eight hours.
Victoria had given birth at twenty-two.
Baby girl.
Sophie.
Six months later, Sophie died from a congenital heart condition.
The medical bills were enormous.
Charles Monroe had secretly paid them.
But even then, he never publicly acknowledged Victoria as his daughter.
After Sophie died, the remaining medical trust reverted to Charles.
Victoria lost her child.
Then watched the father who denied her leave almost everything to Claire.
Years later, Claire gave a huge portion to Lily.
Suddenly Victoria’s words made terrible emotional sense.
You stole her place.
Not rationally.
Not legally.
May you like
But grief rarely follows accounting rules.
Still, none of it excused the push.
