Chapter 2
Ava ate three sandwiches.
Then hid half of the fourth under her sweatshirt.
I pretended not to notice.
For about ten seconds.
“You can keep it.”
Her little body froze.
“For later?”
“Yes.”
“No bad?”
My chest tightened.
“No.”
She stared at me as if I had just explained gravity differently.
Lily climbed onto the chair beside her.
“Ava likes cheese.”
I looked at my three-year-old.
“How long have you known Ava?”
Lily held up three fingers.
“Three sleeps.”
Three nights.
I looked at Emily.
My household manager looked horrified.
“I didn't know.”
Mara laughed from across the room.
She and Marco were now under guard.
“Of course she didn't.”
I turned.
Mara smiled.
“Emily notices flowers out of place. Apparently starving children are harder.”
Emily flinched.
I stared at Mara.
“You don't get to insult anyone in this room.”
Her smile widened.
“Why?”
She looked toward Ava.
“Because your little ghost finally crawled out?”
Ava stopped chewing.
I stood.
Mara saw the movement and laughed.
“See?”
She pointed.
“One trembling lip and Ryan Carter becomes a father instead of a boss.”
“Yes.”
Her smile faltered.
I looked at Lily.
“Tell me what happened.”
My daughter pointed toward the wall.
“I heard crying.”
“When?”
“Night.”
“She opened it?”
Ava shook her head.
“Lily did.”
Three years old.
Loosened panel.
Sandwiches.
My chest hurt.
Lily said:
“Ava hungry.”
I looked at Mara.
She rolled her eyes.
“She had food.”
Ava whispered:
“Once.”
Silence.
“How long were you inside?”
She looked confused.
Children don't count confinement in hours.
“Many darks.”
Lily corrected:
“Three sleeps.”
Mara sighed.
“She wasn't dying.”
I stared.
“You put a six-year-old inside a service cavity for three days.”
“I kept her hidden.”
“Why?”
“Because she showed up without explanation.”
“She is my daughter.”
Mara's face hardened.
“You didn't know that yesterday.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You did.”
Silence.
Marco laughed.
“Mara saw a bracelet.”
I turned.
Wrong move.
Ava's bracelet had been inside the rabbit until tonight.
“How did Mara know?”
Marco stopped smiling.
Mara stared at him.
There.
First crack.
I looked at Ava.
“When you arrived, did Mara see your bracelet?”
She shook her head.
“Bunny had it.”
“Did she know your name?”
Ava nodded.
“How?”
She pointed at Mara.
“She said, ‘Grace should've kept you gone.’”
The room froze.
Mara's face changed.
I stared.
“You knew before the bracelet.”
She said nothing.
Emily stepped forward.
“Boss…”
I turned.
Her expression was pale.
“What?”
“Four nights ago, an older woman came to the side gate.”
Mara's jaw tightened.
Emily continued.
“She had a little girl with her.”
My eyes went to Ava.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
Ava whispered:
“Miss Ruth.”
I crouched.
“Who is Ruth?”
“She took care of Mommy.”
Emily looked at me.
“Marco met them.”
Silence.
“What happened?”
Emily swallowed.
“He told staff they were trespassers.”
Marco smiled.
“They were.”
Emily stared at him.
“You dragged the woman into the utility car.”
My body went cold.
Ava started crying.
“Where is Ruth?”
Marco shrugged.
“She left.”
Emily shook her head.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
She continued.
“I saw the car come back.”
Marco stopped breathing.
May you like
“Without her.”
And suddenly there was another missing woman tied to the child Mara had hidden inside my wall.
