Chapter 10: What Lily Saw on the Tablet
Daniel's final question followed me all the way to Lily's bedroom.
Ask her what she saw on that tablet before she picked up the knife.
I stood outside her door for nearly a minute, listening to the soft rustle of blankets and the quiet sound of her humming to herself. I wanted to ask her immediately. I wanted answers so badly that my hands were trembling.
But I remembered Ms. Collins's warning.
Don't ask leading questions. Don't make her repeat frightening memories unnecessarily. Let her speak in her own words.
So I knocked.
“Come in, Mommy,” Lily called.
She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, arranging colored pencils into little piles. Her stuffed rabbit rested against the pillow, its worn ears carefully folded.
“Hey, sweetheart.””
She looked up and smiled.
“I'm making a picture for you.””
I sat beside her.
“Can I see?””
She showed me a drawing of our house. There were flowers by the front door, a yellow sun in the corner, and two people holding hands in the garden.
One figure had long brown hair.
The other was much smaller.
“That's us,” she explained.
“I made the flowers purple because you like purple.””
My throat tightened.
“It's beautiful.””
She returned to her pencils.
I watched her for a moment, then spoke carefully.
“Daddy called me today.””
Her hand stopped.
“Is he mad?””
“I don't know, sweetheart. He sounded upset.””
Lily lowered her eyes.
“Because of the phone?””
“Because of some things that happened before he moved out.””
She said nothing.
I resisted the urge to fill the silence.
Finally, she asked, “Did he tell you about the tablet?””
“Yes.””
Lily's fingers tightened around a purple pencil.
“What did he say?””
“He said you might have seen something on it that night.””
She looked toward the window.
“Am I in trouble?””
“No. Not for telling the truth.””
She began peeling a small sticker from the pencil.
“I saw Daddy with another lady.””
My heart seemed to stop.
“What lady, sweetheart?””
“I don't know her name. She had yellow hair and a shiny necklace.””
Rachel was brunette.
Megan had dark hair, too.
This was someone else.
“Where did you see her?””
“On the tablet. Daddy was watching a video in the kitchen. He didn't know I was there.””
“What was happening in the video?””
Lily swallowed.
“The lady was giving Daddy money.””
I felt a cold sensation creep across my shoulders.
“What kind of money?””
“A big envelope. Like when people give birthday cards, but it was thick.””
She held her hands apart to show me.
“Daddy said he wasn't supposed to take it.””
I stared at her.
“Did you hear anything else?””
Lily nodded slowly.
“The lady said, 'You promised me she'd never see it.''”
I forced myself to breathe normally.
“Did Daddy answer her?””
“He said, 'She won't. I'll take care of everything.''”
My mind raced.
Who was the woman?
What had she given Daniel?
And what had he meant when he said I would never see it?
“Sweetheart, do you remember when you saw that video?””
“The night Daddy broke the tablet.””
“Before the argument?””
“Yes. I went into the kitchen because I wanted water. Daddy was watching the tablet, and he told me to go away.””
She paused.
“Then he saw me looking at the screen.””
“What happened?””
“He grabbed the tablet and said I wasn't allowed to tell you.””
I felt my fingers curl against the mattress.
“Did he explain why?””
“He said Mommy would get hurt if she knew.””
The room seemed to tilt.
Daniel had not merely been trying to cover up an argument.
He had been hiding something from me before the argument even began.
Something important enough to make him frighten our daughter into silence.
I kissed Lily's forehead.
“Thank you for telling me.””
She looked at me anxiously.
“Will Daddy go away forever?””
“I don't know what will happen, sweetheart. But you are safe with me tonight.””
She leaned into my shoulder.
“I wish Daddy would just tell the truth.””
“So do I.””
After she fell asleep, I went downstairs and called Ms. Collins.
She answered immediately.
“Did Lily remember something?””
“Yes. She says she saw a video on the tablet before the argument. A woman with blonde hair was giving Daniel an envelope of money. Lily heard the woman say something about making sure I never saw it.””
Ms. Collins was silent for a moment.
“Did Lily identify the woman?””
“No. She doesn't know her name.””
“Did she describe any other details?””
I repeated Lily's description of the necklace and the envelope.
Ms. Collins made notes.
“We need to preserve that information, but I don't want you questioning Lily further. I'll discuss it with the investigator and make sure any necessary interview is conducted appropriately.””
“What could the money have been for?””
“We can't assume. It could be related to the custody dispute, Daniel's business, or something entirely different. We need evidence.””
I looked at the photograph of our house that Lily had left on the kitchen table.
“What if it has nothing to do with custody?””
“Then we'll follow the evidence wherever it leads.””
The next morning, Ms. Collins contacted Detective Harris. He agreed to examine the security footage for any sign of the woman Lily had described.
Meanwhile, Rachel offered to help identify people who had visited Daniel's office in the weeks before the separation.
“I worked with him on some business events,” she explained during a meeting at Ms. Collins's office.
“I may recognize the necklace or the woman if I see a photograph.””
The detective provided several still images from the security company's footage, including a blurred image of a woman entering the house on the afternoon before the incident.
Rachel leaned toward the screen.
Then she went completely still.
“That's her.””
Ms. Collins looked at her.
“You recognize the woman?””
Rachel nodded.
“Her name is Vanessa Cole. She works for Daniel's largest business client.””
I searched my memory.
I had heard that name before.
Vanessa had attended our anniversary dinner two years earlier. She was an executive at a property investment company that had worked with Daniel's consulting firm.
I remembered her expensive jewelry and the way she had laughed at every one of Daniel's jokes.
But why would she be handing him money?
“Does she have any connection to the custody case?”” Ms. Collins asked.
“Not that I know of,” Rachel replied.
“But she and Daniel have been meeting privately for months.””
“Professionally?””
Rachel hesitated.
“I thought so.””
The detective enlarged the image.
A silver necklace caught the light at Vanessa's throat.
It matched Lily's description.
I felt sick.
“What does the security footage show after she enters the house?”” I asked.
“The available clip ends before she leaves,” Detective Harris explained.
“We're trying to obtain additional footage from nearby cameras.””
Rachel stared at the screen.
“Daniel told me Vanessa was helping him secure a major contract. He said she'd been giving him advice about the business.””
“Did he ever mention money?””
“No.””
“Did you know about the envelope?””
She shook her head.
Then she turned toward me.
“Ava, I think Daniel was lying to everyone. Not just you.””
Before I could respond, the detective received an update from another investigator.
The property investment company had reported a financial irregularity involving a payment made six months earlier.
The payment had been authorized by Vanessa.
The recipient was a consulting company linked to Daniel.
And the amount was large enough to trigger an internal audit.
Ms. Collins looked at me.
“We don't yet know whether this has anything to do with your custody case.””
I nodded.
But I remembered Lily's words.
Daddy said he wasn't supposed to take it.
That afternoon, Detective Harris called again.
They had obtained a copy of the original tablet backup from an old cloud account Daniel had forgotten to deactivate.
Most of the files were damaged.
One video, however, had survived.
It was timestamped two days before the night of the argument.
And the first frame showed Vanessa Cole placing a thick envelope on our kitchen table.
Then Daniel's voice came through the recording.
“Once Ava signs the transfer papers, nobody will be able to trace the money back to you.””
A woman's voice answered.
“That's not what we agreed.””
Daniel leaned closer to the camera.
“We agreed you'd get what you wanted. I get what I need.””
The video ended before either of them explained what they meant.
I stared at the blank screen.
For six months, Daniel had told everyone that he wanted our house because it was the best place to raise Lily.
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But now I was beginning to suspect that the house had never been the real prize.
And if Vanessa's money was connected to something Daniel had hidden from me, the custody battle might have been designed to accomplish something far more dangerous than taking my daughter away.
