Chapter 3
Harrison walked down the path. His shoes crunched on the gravel. He moved like he owned every inch of this land.
Because he did.
"Give me my daughter," he said.
"She's my daughter too," I said, holding Elodie tighter.
Elodie buried her face in my neck. She was shaking.
Harrison stopped a few feet away. He looked at Celestine first. Concern flashed across his face.
"Are you alright?" he asked her.
Celestine nodded, wiping her eyes. She tried to look composed. Tried to look like the victim.
"She just showed up," Celestine said. "She scared Elodie."
Harrison turned his gaze back to me. His eyes were ice.
"You heard the courts, Maren," he said. "You have no rights here. No right to be on my property. No right to touch my daughter."
"Look at her wrist," I said, pushing Elodie's sleeve up again.
Harrison glanced down. His expression didn't change.
"Children fall," he said. "They get bruises. It doesn't mean anything."
"These aren't from falling," I said. "These are finger marks. Someone grabbed her. Hard."
"Maybe you did," Celestine said. Her voice was stronger now. "You just pulled her away from me. You probably hurt her yourself."
The accusation hung in the air.
I looked at Elodie. She was still hiding her face.
"Elodie," I said softly. "Can you tell me what happened to your wrist?"
The little girl shook her head against my shoulder.
"Don't make her talk," Harrison said. "You're upsetting her."
"I'm upsetting her?" I laughed. It was a bitter sound. "She's walking on eggshells around every adult in that house. She apologizes for things she didn't do. She's terrified of making mistakes."
"She's shy," Celestine said. "She's sensitive."
"She's abused," I said.
The word hung between us like a curse.
Harrison's face went red with anger.
"How dare you," he said. "You come here, you crash my sister's wedding, you accuse my wife of abuse?"
"Your wife?" I said. The words tasted like ash. "You married her?"
"Three months after you left," he said. "Elodie needed a mother. A stable one."
"I didn't leave," I said. "You pushed me out. You told everyone I was crazy."
"Because you were," he said. "You saw things that weren't there. You made up stories. You needed help."
He took a step forward.
"Now give me my daughter, or I'll call the police."
"Call them," I said. "I want them to see her wrist. I want them to ask her questions. I want them to look into who sent me that photograph."
Harrison froze.
"What photograph?" Celestine said. Her voice was too high.
"Someone sent me a picture of Elodie," I said. "Asleep in her bed. Wearing that bracelet." I held up the bloodied bracelet I'd found in the grass. "The same one that was lying there with blood on it."
Harrison's eyes flicked to the bracelet. Just for a second. But I saw it.
Recognition.
And fear.
"That's mine," Celestine said quickly. "I lost it earlier. And the blood... it's just a scratch. Elodie scraped her knee. I was helping her."
"The blood is on the inside of the bracelet," I said. "It would have to come from her wrist."
"Enough," Harrison said. He reached for Elodie.
I stepped back. We were too close to the edge. The wind howled. The waves crashed against the rocks hundreds of feet below.
"Don't touch her," I said.
"Or what?" Harrison said. "You'll throw yourself off the cliff? You've done dramatic things before for attention."
His words cut deep. Because they were based on lies he'd spread. Lies everyone believed.
I looked at Celestine. She was watching Harrison. Waiting.
I looked at Elodie. She finally pulled back from my shoulder and looked up at me. Her eyes were red from crying.
"Are you the bad lady?" she whispered.
My throat tightened.
"No, baby," I said. "I'm not the bad lady."
"Then why is everyone scared of you?" she asked.
I didn't have an answer she could understand.
Harrison used my hesitation. He lunged.
I twisted away, but he grabbed my arm. His fingers dug into my skin.
"Let go of me!" I screamed.
Elodie started crying again.
"Stop it!" she yelled. "You're hurting her!"
She was talking about me.
Harrison froze. He looked at his daughter in surprise.
Celestine moved forward.
"Elodie, sweetie," she said, her voice soft and coaxing. "Come to Mommy. Everything will be okay."
Elodie looked at Celestine. Then she looked at me.
And for the first time, she made a choice.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and held on tight.
"No," she said.
The word was small. But it was powerful.
Harrison released my arm. He looked shocked. Hurt.
"Elodie," he said. "Come here. Now."
Elodie shook her head against my neck.
"I want to stay with her," she said.
I held her tighter. Tears burned my eyes.
For three years, I'd been nothing to her. A stranger. A ghost story.
And now, somehow, she'd chosen me.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
May you like
Harrison and Celestine exchanged a look.
The police were coming.
