CHAPTER 2 — THE PERFECT STEPMOTHER'S SECRET
Rebecca recovered almost instantly.
"Oh goodness!" she laughed.
"I've been looking everywhere for you two."
Her smile looked flawless.
But her eyes...
They weren't smiling.
Not at all.
Lily immediately climbed out of the bathtub and stood perfectly still.
Like a frightened soldier.
Rebecca gently brushed wet hair away from Lily's forehead.
"You've been playing in here again?"
Lily nodded silently.
No words.
No smile.
Nothing.
Later that afternoon, I couldn't stop thinking about her whisper.
Maybe she meant shampoo.
Maybe perfume.
Maybe something completely innocent.
I desperately wanted another explanation.
That night I tucked Lily into bed.
As I kissed her forehead, she grabbed my wrist.
"Grandma..."
"Promise you won't tell Daddy."
"About what?"
She glanced toward the bedroom door.
Then whispered.
"When Daddy works nights..."
"Someone comes."
My heart nearly stopped.
"Who?"
"The man Rebecca says is her friend."
Friend?
Rebecca had never mentioned anyone visiting.
"What happens when he comes?"
Lily squeezed her teddy bear until her knuckles turned white.
"He doesn't like when I talk."
"He says good girls stay quiet."
My stomach twisted.
I kept my voice calm.
"Did he hurt you?"
Lily hesitated.
Then slowly pulled up one sleeve.
Tiny purple fingerprints wrapped around her upper arm.
I couldn't breathe.
The next morning I searched the house while Rebecca took Lily to school.
Everything looked normal.
Until I noticed the hallway security camera.
It had been unplugged.
Not broken.
Unplugged.
Only the hallway camera.
Nothing else.
That afternoon I visited the neighbors.
One elderly man frowned.
"I thought your son hired a babysitter."
"What babysitter?"
"The tall man."
"He parks across the street almost every Thursday."
"He has a key."
I drove home with shaking hands.
That night Ethan insisted everything was fine.
Rebecca cried.
She claimed Lily had been traumatized by losing her mother.
"Children imagine terrible things," she sobbed.
Even Ethan began doubting me.
Then...
Around 2:17 a.m...
Unable to sleep...
I heard the front door unlock.
Soft footsteps.
A man's voice.
And Rebecca whispering...
"Hurry."
"She's asleep."
I quietly stepped into the hallway...
Only to see a stranger carrying something wrapped inside a black blanket toward Lily's bedroom.
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And when he looked up...
He smiled directly at me.
