Chapter 3 - The Drawing Nobody Was Allowed to See|
By the fourth morning, Norah had learned three things about Lily Ellery.
The little girl hated loud footsteps.
She refused to drink milk from a blue cup.
And every morning at exactly 8:15, she stood at the upstairs window and watched the driveway.
Norah initially assumed she was waiting for her father.
But Marcus left for work before seven.
Vivien rarely came downstairs before nine.
The family doctor visited twice a week, but his appointments were never scheduled at 8:15.
So Norah began watching too.
On Thursday morning, a black SUV stopped near the garden entrance.
A man stepped out.
He wore a dark coat and carried a leather case.
Lily immediately moved away from the window.
Her hands began trembling.
Norah knelt beside her.
"Do you know that man?"
Lily didn't answer.
The man entered through the side door.
A moment later, the housekeeper appeared.
"Miss Bellamy, Dr. Harlan is here."
Norah looked at Lily.
The child's breathing had become shallow.
"Is he coming upstairs?"
"Of course. He has an appointment with Lily."
Norah hesitated.
"Could you tell him to wait?"
The housekeeper looked uncomfortable.
"Mrs. Ellery insists that all appointments happen on schedule."
Before Norah could respond, Vivien appeared at the top of the staircase.
"Norah, bring Lily to the sitting room."
Lily grabbed the stuffed rabbit.
She shook her head violently.
Norah placed a hand near her shoulder without touching her.
"Let's take a minute."
Vivien descended the stairs.
"You're not here to negotiate medical appointments."
"I'm not negotiating. I'm asking for a moment."
"Dr. Harlan has treated Lily for eleven months."
"Then he can wait sixty seconds."
Vivien's expression turned cold.
"You have been here four days."
"And Lily has been frightened every time she sees his car."
The housekeeper looked down.
Vivien stepped closer.
"You are confusing attachment with understanding. Lily likes you because you indulge her. That doesn't mean you know what's best."
Norah held her gaze.
"Then perhaps we should ask Lily."
Vivien laughed without humor.
"She cannot answer."
Norah looked down.
Lily was holding her rabbit so tightly that the old stitching had begun to pull apart.
"She answers us every day," Norah said. "We just need to learn how to listen."
That afternoon, Norah discovered something unexpected.
Lily had drawn a picture.
It showed a black car, a woman in a long coat, and a small yellow figure standing beside a tree.
Above the car were three dark circles.
Norah examined the paper.
"Is this your mother?"
Lily nodded.
"And that's you?"
Another nod.
Norah pointed toward the woman.
"Who is she?"
Lily pressed her pencil against the paper.
Then she drew a red line across the woman's face.
Norah felt a chill.
She didn't want to interpret a child's drawing without professional guidance.
But she also didn't want to ignore it.
She took a photograph of the drawing and sent it to Dr. Elaine Foster, a child trauma specialist whose name had been recommended by the Delaney family.
The response came twenty minutes later.
Don't ask leading questions. Preserve the original drawing. I'd like to meet Lily in a neutral setting.
Norah agreed.
That evening, Marcus returned home and found her sitting with Lily in the library.
He noticed the drawing immediately.
"What's that?"
Norah handed it to him.
Marcus stared at the picture.
His face changed.
"Where did she get this?"
"She drew it herself."
He turned the paper over.
On the back were three words written in a child's uneven handwriting.
Not Daddy's car.
Marcus looked at his daughter.
"Lily?"
The little girl began crying without making a sound.
Marcus knelt.
"Sweetheart, what does this mean?"
Norah gently took the drawing from his hands.
"Please don't."
He looked at her.
"That could be important."
"It could. But she's frightened."
Marcus stood.
He walked to the window and remained there for a long time.
Then he turned around.
"Tomorrow, I want every security recording from the day of the accident."
Norah nodded.
But before he could leave, the housekeeper entered.
She looked pale.
"Mr. Ellery, there's something you should know."
Marcus frowned.
"What?"
"Dr. Harlan called. He says Mrs. Ellery has already arranged Lily's next treatment."
"When?"
"Tomorrow morning."
Marcus looked at his mother.
May you like
Vivien stood in the doorway.
And she was holding the original drawing.
