Chapter 2
I had the cup removed for private examination by someone I trusted.
No one else touched it.
Meredith protested.
Spencer stopped talking entirely.
Good.
Silence makes guilty people useful eventually.
I took Iris upstairs first.
Breakfast waited.
Family did not.
She sat on my bed while Julia brought fresh bread and fruit.
Iris ate too quickly.
I noticed.
“How long has Meredith been making you wait?”
She looked down.
“Until Daddy drinks.”
Every morning?
She nodded.
“What if I’m late?”
Her lower lip trembled.
“No food.”
My jaw tightened.
Julia looked sick.
“I didn’t know that part.”
I believed her.
Meredith had apparently arranged breakfast whenever Julia was sent for laundry, clothing, or toys.
Small errands.
Perfect timing.
Iris whispered:
“She said good girls help Daddy.”
There it was.
Not just withholding food.
Moral framing.
If Iris obeyed, she protected me.
If she refused, she was selfish.
A four-year-old turned into a delivery mechanism through love.
I held her hand.
“You never have to give me food or drink because someone tells you Daddy needs it.”
She frowned.
“What if thirsty?”
“I can get my own.”
That seemed to impress her.
Then:
“Meredith said Daddy tired.”
Interesting.
“What else did she say?”
Iris thought.
“Daddy sleeps better after tea.”
My blood went cold.
So whatever was in the cup likely affected alertness.
Not necessarily lethal.
Enough.
Then Iris added something stranger.
“Uncle Spencer comes after Daddy sleeps.”
I looked at Julia.
She stared back.
“How often?”
Iris held up both hands.
Numbers had become decorative.
Julia answered.
“I thought Spencer came for family meetings.”
I had no memory of several.
That mattered.
If I had been unusually tired after breakfast and Spencer arrived during those windows, this was no longer about one cup.
It was about access.
I returned downstairs.
Meredith looked at me.
Spencer looked at the floor.
I sat across from both.
“How many mornings have you been drugging me?”
Meredith flinched.
No denial.
Then Spencer whispered:
“Not drugging.”
I smiled faintly.
“Good.”
May you like
I leaned forward.
“Then tell me what word you prefer.”
