She entered Daniel’s study, opened the safe, reviewed the financial accounts, changed codes, and called a man named Victor. In a voice colder and more confident than anything Lily had ever heard, she said, “You were right. He trusts me completely. The transfer can begin.”
Lily overheard part of that conversation. She did not understand the details, only that something bad was happening and her father was far away.
The next day Vanessa announced that renovations were happening upstairs and Lily would stay temporarily in the little space beneath the stairs. “Just for a few days,” she said. It was dark, cramped, and frightening. When Lily protested, Vanessa told her the paint fumes outside were dangerous and she must stay there for her own safety.
Those few days stretched into weeks.
The small space beneath the stairs became Lily’s prison. Vanessa left trays of food outside the door, changed the house phone number, intercepted gifts and messages, and answered Daniel’s calls with smooth lies. “She’s doing wonderfully.” “She’s reading more.” “She’s resting.” “She’s asleep.” Meanwhile, Lily sat in the dark, counting days by scratching tiny lines into the wall with a hairpin.