Chapter 3
I woke up before my alarm went off.
I’d barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Margaret’s face.
I saw Lily chained to that step.
I heard the man on the phone saying Richard didn’t die of a heart attack.
I got up and made coffee.
I stared at the brass key sitting on the kitchen counter.
Lily stumbled in a few minutes later, rubbing her eyes, her favorite stuffed rabbit tucked under her arm.
“Morning, Mommy,” she mumbled.
I knelt and hugged her tight.
“Morning, baby girl.”
She pulled back and looked at my face.
“Did you cry?”
I wiped my eyes quick.
“Just allergies, honey.”
She didn’t believe me.
She never did.
She climbed onto my lap.
“Grandma is mean, isn’t she?”
My throat tightened.
“Yes, baby. She is.”
“Did she really lie about me?”
I took a deep breath.
I didn’t want to lie to her anymore.
She deserved the truth.
Even if it hurt.
“Yes,” I said. “Grandma told a very bad lie. She told everyone you weren’t Daddy’s little girl. But that’s not true. You are. More than anything. The papers I showed her last night proved it. You are 100% Daddy’s daughter. And mine. And nothing will ever change that.”
Lily was quiet for a second.
She twisted the ear of her stuffed rabbit.
“Then why does she hate me?”
That question broke me.
I held her so tight I was scared I’d squeeze the air out of her.
“She doesn’t hate you, baby,” I said, even though it was a lie. “She’s just a very sick, very sad woman. She cares more about money and power than she does about people. That’s her problem. Not yours. You are the kindest, sweetest, most perfect little girl in the whole world. And anyone who can’t see that is the one with the problem. Not you.”
Lily nodded, like she was trying to believe me.
“Can we go get ice cream later?”
I laughed through my tears.
“Absolutely. As much as you want.”
My phone buzzed.
It was Ben.
“Where are you?” he said. “We need to be at the courthouse in an hour.”
“I’m not coming yet,” I said.
“Clara, what are you talking about? If you don’t show up, the judge will grant Margaret temporary custody by default. She’ll take Lily today.”
“I have to go to the bank first,” I said. “Richard left me something. In a safe deposit box. I think it’s proof we need. I’ll be at the courthouse as fast as I can. Just stall her. Please.”
Ben sighed.
“I can stall for maybe an hour. Tops. After that, the judge is going to rule. Don’t be late, Clara. I’m serious. This is your only shot.”
“I won’t be late.”
I hung up.
I got Lily dressed.
I packed her a backpack with snacks and her rabbit.
I dropped her off at my best friend Mia’s house.
Mia opened the door, still in her pajamas, hair a mess.
She’d been my roommate in college.
The only person who’d had my back through everything.
She took one look at my face and pulled me into a hug.
“I saw the news,” she said. “That evil old witch. I swear to God, if she comes near Lily I will punch her so hard her pearls fly off.”
I laughed, a real one for the first time in days.
“I need you to watch Lily for a few hours,” I said. “I have to go to the bank, then the courthouse.”
“Say no more,” Mia said, picking Lily up and swinging her onto her hip. “We’re gonna make pancakes, watch Frozen, and paint our nails. Right, Lils?”
Lily grinned, the first real smile I’d seen from her in weeks.
“With glitter?”
“All the glitter,” Mia said.
I hugged them both.
“I owe you.”
“Shut up,” she said. “Go get that bitch. And text me the second you’re done.”
I drove to the bank as fast as the speed limit would let me.
I pulled into the parking lot at 8:42.
I had 18 minutes before the bank opened.
I sat in the car, tapping my foot, watching the front doors.
At 8:59, a black town car pulled up right in front of the entrance.
My blood ran cold.
Margaret stepped out.
She was wearing a tailored black suit, her hair perfectly coiffed, pearls around her neck like nothing had happened the night before.
She was holding a stack of papers.
She walked straight into the bank the second the manager unlocked the door.
No.
No, no, no.
How did she know?
I’d told no one about the key.
Not even Ben.
Not even Mia.
Only Richard and I had known.
I jumped out of the car and ran inside.
The manager looked up from behind the counter, surprised.
“Mrs. Hale,” he said. “We weren’t expecting you so early.”
“Safe deposit box 714,” I said, breathless. “I need access. Now.”
The manager’s face fell.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Hale. But that box was already accessed twenty minutes ago. By your mother-in-law. She presented a court order granting her emergency access to all of Mr. Richard Hale’s safety deposit boxes, due to the ongoing custody and estate litigation.”
I swayed on my feet.
I grabbed the counter to hold myself up.
“Did she take everything?”
“I’m afraid so, ma’am. She emptied the entire box. Left nothing.”
I stumbled back out to the car.
I felt sick.
She’d won again.
She’d known about the box.
How?
Had Richard told her?
No.
Never.
Unless…
Unless she’d had him watched.
Bugged his office.
Listened to every conversation we’d ever had.
I was so stupid.
I’d thought I was one step ahead.
I was always one step behind.
My phone rang.
It was Ben.
“Clara, where are you? The judge is about to call the case. Margaret is already here. She’s got her lawyer, three witnesses, and CPS is sitting right behind her. If you’re not here in five minutes, I can’t help you.”
I looked at my watch.
9:02 a.m.
The courthouse was 15 minutes away.
“I’m on my way,” I said.
I peeled out of the parking lot.
I ran every red light.
I cut off three cars.
I didn’t care.
I was not going to lose my daughter because I was two minutes late.
I pulled up to the courthouse at 9:16.
I ran inside, heels clicking on the marble floor.
I burst into the courtroom right as the judge opened his mouth to speak.
“Sorry I’m late, Your Honor,” I said, breathless.
The judge frowned.
He was an old man with white hair and a scowl.
Judge Alistair Crowe.
Ben had been right.
He looked exactly like the kind of man who’d been friends with Margaret for 30 years.
“Mrs. Hale,” he said. “This is highly irregular. We were just about to proceed in your absence.”
Margaret turned in her seat and smiled at me.
A cold, cruel smile.
She held up a small, familiar brass key on her keychain.
She winked.
I sat down next to Ben, my legs shaking.
“Too late?” I whispered.
Ben shook his head.
“Barely. But she’s already laid out her whole case. Clara, it’s bad. Really bad.”
I looked at the witness stand.
One of the mansion’s maids was sitting there, crying, telling the judge how she’d seen me grab Lily by the arm and drag her up the stairs just last week.
It was a lie.
I’d never laid a hand on Lily.
But the judge was nodding along like every word was gospel.
I looked at Margaret.
She was still smiling.
And I knew.
Right then and there.
If I didn’t find a way to take her down soon…
May you like
She was going to take Lily.
And she was going to get away with every single thing she’d done.
