Chapter 7 - Lila’s QuestionAt 3:17 in the morning, Evelyn sat on the edge of a hotel bed watching her daughter sleep.
Lila’s curls spilled across the pillow. Her cheeks were still pink from crying. One small hand clutched the stuffed rabbit Rosa had retrieved from the coatroom before they left the estate.
Outside the window, Manhattan glittered like nothing had happened.
But everything had happened.
Evelyn’s phone had not stopped buzzing.
Reporters.
Attorneys.
Old friends pretending they had always believed her.
Enemies pretending they had never doubted her.
She ignored almost all of them.
Only one message mattered.
Mara Duvall: The footage is secured. Witnesses cooperating. Vivian requested counsel. Julian is asking for a deal.
Evelyn stared at the last sentence.
Of course he was.
Julian had never stood for anything once standing became uncomfortable.
Behind her, Lila stirred.
“Mommy?”
Evelyn immediately set the phone down.
“I’m here.”
Lila sat up, rubbing her eyes.
“Are we poor again?”
The question broke Evelyn more than any insult in the ballroom.
She sat beside her daughter and pulled her close.
“No, sweetheart. We were never poor in the way they meant.”
“But Grandma Vivian said people like us steal because we don’t belong.”
Evelyn breathed carefully.
“That woman is not your grandma.”
“She said Daddy would take me if I was bad.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Another piece of cruelty.
Another sentence Lila had carried alone.
“Baby, look at me.”
Lila did.
“No one is taking you from me.”
“But Daddy has money.”
Evelyn touched her daughter’s cheek.
“Money can buy a lot of things. It cannot buy the truth forever.”
Lila thought about that.
“Did I help?”
Evelyn smiled sadly.
“You were brave.”
“I was scared.”
“Brave people are scared. They just tell the truth anyway.”
Lila leaned against her.
“Are you going to kick Daddy again?”
Despite everything, Evelyn laughed.
“Only if he grabs me again.”
Lila nodded solemnly.
“Good.”
A knock sounded at the door.
Evelyn stiffened.
Mara’s voice came from the hallway.
“It’s me.”
Evelyn checked the peephole, then opened the door.
Mara entered holding a sealed evidence envelope and a look Evelyn did not like.
“What happened?”
Mara glanced at Lila.
Evelyn whispered, “She’s awake.”
Mara lowered her voice anyway.
“Julian is offering testimony against Vivian.”
Evelyn felt no surprise.
“And?”
“He says Vivian has something bigger hidden. Something involving Lila.”
Evelyn’s blood turned cold.
Lila sat up straighter.
“Me?”
Mara hesitated.
Evelyn’s voice sharpened.
“Say it.”
Mara handed her the envelope.
Inside was a photocopy of an old legal document.
A custody transfer draft.
Prepared before Lila was born.
Signed by Vivian Sterling.
Signed by Julian.
And beneath the signatures was a third name Evelyn had never seen.
Intended Guardian: Cassandra Vale.
Evelyn stopped breathing.
May you like
Her sister.
The sister who had supposedly died five years ago.
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