Chapter 1: The Woman Who Wanted My Mother’s Place
“Happy birthday, Lily!”” my father said, raising his glass.
I was three years old, sitting in a pink dress at the head of a dining table covered with flowers, candles, and expensive silverware.
Everyone was smiling.
Everyone except Vanessa.
My stepmother sat across from me, holding a champagne glass between her perfectly manicured fingers. Her diamond bracelet caught the light every time she moved her wrist.
She had spent the entire afternoon telling the household staff how to arrange my birthday celebration.
And she had spent the entire evening reminding everyone that she was now the woman of the house.
I didn't know any of that.
I was three.
I only knew that Daddy had bought me a pink cake, that Max was waiting beneath the table for something to fall, and that I wanted to blow out my candles.
“Make a wish, princess,” Daddy whispered.
I closed my eyes.
I wished Mommy would come home.
Then I blew.
Everyone applauded.
Everyone except Vanessa.
She leaned toward my father.
“Marcus, darling, we need to discuss something after dinner.””
My father smiled at her.
“Can it wait until tomorrow? Tonight is Lily's night.””
Vanessa's smile remained in place.
“Of course.””
But beneath the table, her fingers tightened around her napkin.
I didn't understand why.
I only noticed that she wasn't eating her cake.
After dinner, Daddy carried me into the living room while the housekeeper, Mrs. Eleanor Hayes, collected the dishes.
Max followed us, his golden tail sweeping across the polished floor.
“Look what Daddy has for you,” my father said.
He placed a small wrapped box in my lap.
I tore at the paper.
Inside was a silver bracelet with a tiny heart-shaped charm.
I clapped.
“Pretty!””
My father laughed.
“It belonged to your mother.””
I stopped moving.
“Mommy's?””
“Yes, sweetheart. She wanted you to have it when you were old enough.””
I reached for the bracelet.
Max rested his head against my knee.
For a moment, the room felt exactly as it had before Vanessa arrived.
Then her voice cut through the silence.
“Marcus, why would you give her something that expensive?””
My father looked up.
“Because it belonged to Sophia.””
Vanessa approached us.
She glanced at the bracelet, then at me.
“She's too young to appreciate it.””
“She's Sophia's daughter,” Marcus replied quietly.
“I think she's old enough to have something from her mother.””
Vanessa laughed without warmth.
“I'm simply trying to be practical.””
She reached toward my wrist.
I pulled my hand away.
“Mine!””
Her expression hardened.
“Don't be rude, Lily.””
My father immediately intervened.
“Vanessa, she's three.””
“I know exactly how old she is, Marcus.””
She turned and walked away.
I watched her disappear down the hallway.
Then I looked at Daddy.
“Vanessa mad?””
He kissed my forehead.
“No, princess. Everything is fine.””
But everything wasn't fine.
And my father was beginning to notice.
Three weeks later, I woke up crying.
It was nearly midnight.
The hallway outside my bedroom was dark, and the little night-light beside my crib had stopped working.
I called for Daddy.
Nobody came.
Then I heard footsteps.
A door opened.
And someone entered my bedroom.
It was Vanessa.
She was wearing a silk robe and holding a glass of water.
“What is it now?”” she whispered.
I reached toward her.
“Mommy?””
She froze.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then she placed the glass on my dresser.
“I'm not your mother, Lily.””
My lower lip trembled.
“Want Mommy.””
Vanessa looked toward the door before stepping closer.
“Your mother is dead. You need to stop waiting for her.””
I didn't understand every word.
But I understood her tone.
I began crying harder.
She sighed.
“Honestly, you have no idea how exhausting this is.””
Then she picked up the blanket that had fallen beside my crib and threw it back over me.
“Go to sleep.””
She left without turning on the night-light.
I cried until Max appeared.
He had somehow pushed open the bedroom door.
He climbed onto the rug beside my crib and rested his head against the wooden railing.
I reached through the bars.
My fingers disappeared into his fur.
“Max…”
He gave a soft whine.
And I eventually fell asleep.
The next morning, my father found me playing with Max in the garden.
He noticed the dark circles beneath my eyes.
“Did you sleep badly, sweetheart?””
I nodded.
“Vanessa mad.””
My father's smile disappeared.
“What do you mean?””
I pointed toward the house.
“Vanessa say no Mommy.””
He crouched in front of me.
“What did she say about Mommy?””
I struggled to find the words.
“Mommy dead. No wait.””
My father went completely still.
Behind him, Vanessa stepped onto the terrace.
She was wearing a white blouse and carrying a cup of coffee.
“Marcus, are you coming inside?””
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at his wife.
“Did you go into Lily's room last night?””
Vanessa blinked.
“Of course. She was crying.””
“What did you tell her?””
“I comforted her.””
“That's not what she just told me.””
Vanessa placed her coffee on the table.
“Marcus, she's three. Children misunderstand things.””
My father stood.
“She told me you said she should stop waiting for her mother.””
Vanessa's face changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
“Someone has to help her accept reality,” she replied.
“We cannot keep living in the shadow of a dead woman.””
My father stared at her.
“Don't ever speak about Sophia like that again.””
Vanessa's jaw tightened.
Then she looked down at me.
Her eyes were cold.
“Of course, darling.””
She turned and walked back inside.
Max began growling.
My father glanced at him.
“What's wrong, boy?””
Max didn't stop.
He kept staring at the doorway Vanessa had disappeared through.
The following Saturday, my father's older sister, Margaret Carter, came to visit.
Aunt Margaret had always loved me.
She brought me picture books, knitted sweaters, and little stuffed animals.
But that afternoon, she brought something else.
A photograph.
It showed my mother standing in the garden, holding a golden retriever puppy.
Max.
I squealed when I recognized him.
“Max baby!””
Aunt Margaret laughed.
“Yes, sweetheart. Your mommy chose him for you.””
She handed the photograph to my father.
His expression softened.
“Sophia took this the week before Lily's first birthday.””
Vanessa, who had been sitting nearby, immediately looked up.
“Why are we bringing out old photographs again?””
Margaret frowned.
“Because Lily deserves to know her mother.””
“She has photographs in her bedroom.””
“Three photographs in a house with fifty rooms. How generous.””
“Margaret,” Marcus warned.
But his sister wasn't finished.
“I'm simply saying that Sophia shouldn't disappear because you married someone else.””
Vanessa put down her teacup.
“I'm not trying to erase anyone.””
“Then why did you remove her portrait from the staircase?””
“The frame needed restoration.””
“It's been six months.””
Silence.
My father looked at Vanessa.
“You told me it was in storage.””
“It is.””
Margaret shook her head.
“Marcus, you should ask where.””
Vanessa stood abruptly.
“I have a headache. Excuse me.””
She walked out.
Aunt Margaret watched her leave.
Then she leaned toward my father.
“Marcus, I don't like what I'm seeing.””
He sighed.
“I know she's struggling with Lily's attachment to Sophia.””
“That's not what I'm talking about.””
“What, then?””
Margaret lowered her voice.
“Have you checked the household accounts recently?””
My father frowned.
“What do the accounts have to do with this?””
“I don't know yet. But I found several payments to a law firm in Atlanta. Payments made through the company.””
“Which law firm?””
Margaret took a folded piece of paper from her purse.
“Wexler and Associates.””
My father's expression changed.
He knew that name.
It was the firm that had handled the original estate planning documents after Sophia's death.
“Why would Vanessa be paying them?””
“That's what I want you to find out.””
My father took the paper.
He looked toward the hallway.
Vanessa was standing there.
She had apparently heard the last few sentences.
Her face was perfectly composed.
But her hand was shaking.
“Marcus,” she said softly, “what is that?””
He folded the paper.
“Nothing important.””
Vanessa smiled.
“Then you won't mind telling me.””
For the first time since their wedding, my father didn't answer her.
That night, Vanessa made a telephone call.
She stood inside her dressing room with the door locked.
“I'm running out of time,” she whispered.
A man's voice came through the phone.
“You said you had everything under control.””
“I did.””
“Then what's the problem?””
“Margaret is asking questions. Marcus has started looking through the company records.””
There was a pause.
“Does he know about the document?””
“No.””
“Does the child?””
Vanessa glanced toward the bedroom door.
“No. She's too young to understand anything.””
“Then keep it that way.””
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“And what if Marcus finds out?””
The man answered with a sentence that made her close her eyes.
“Then you lose everything.””
She ended the call.
For several seconds, she stared at her reflection.
Then she opened the bottom drawer of her dressing table.
Inside was a small black folder.
She removed a document.
At the top were the words:
*THE CARTER FAMILY TRUST — AMENDMENT AND BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION.*
Her fingers moved across the paper.
Then she stopped at a name.
Lily Sophia Carter.
Vanessa stared at it.
And whispered:
“Not for much longer.””
Outside the dressing room, something scratched against the door.
She turned.
Max was standing in the hallway.
His brown eyes were fixed on the black folder.
Vanessa quickly closed the drawer.
“Get away from me!””
Max didn't move.
Instead, he gave a low, threatening growl.
And for the first time, Vanessa looked genuinely afraid of a dog.
Because Max had something she didn't know about.
May you like
He had been watching her.
And he had already seen where she kept the papers.
