The secret of the family photo
Chapter One
It all started with a drawing my daughter, Lily,
made a family portrait.
My husband, Charles’s, adopted sister, Chloe,
saw it. She had a full–blown panic attack, ran
up to the roof, and threatened to jump.
Charles, in a fit of rage, sent Lily to that
–
hellhole “The Bad Girls‘ Academy.”
Lily cried until her throat was raw. I begged
Charles, I fell to my knees, pleaded with him
not to send her to that place. He just sneered.
“Actions have consequences,” he spat. “Lily
deliberately drew that disgusting picture,
causing Chloe’s panic attack. You spoiled her
rotten!”
He was adamant. Two weeks later, I got the
news. Lily was dead.
Charles? He was busy at an auction,
bewering Chloe with gifte bidding on a
r
showering Chloe with gifts, bidding on a
ridiculously expensive necklace she’d had her
eye on. He even posted on social media: “Anything for you, Chloe. Even the moon.”
I found a desperate note in Lily’s things, a cry
for help. I confronted Charles, only to see his
latest social media update.
At the funeral, Charles’s family showed up.
His mother, Grandma Evelyn, wept and tried
to comfort me. My heart shattered. Kneeling
by Lily’s ashes, I bowed my head three times.
“Grandma,” I choked out, “Lily doesn’t belong
here. Please, let me take her away from this
family.”
I’d just heard about Lily’s death. The drive
here was a blur; I’d crashed my car, my body
bruised and bleeding. My clothes were ripped,
blood staining the fabric.
Grandma Evelyn looked at me with such pity.
“Life’s cruel, ain’t it? Who could have ever
imagined this? Honey, please, get up.”
I was numb, empty. The tears had long since
dried.
Grandma Evelyn sighed, her eyes red-
rimmed. “What happened? Lily was such a
sweet child. Why was she sent to that awful
place?”
My hands trembled as I pulled out Lily’s
drawing. It was abstract, childlike, but clear
enough: Lily and me holding hands, Charles
looming over Chloe.
My face went white. Chloe had flipped out, a
full–blown panic attack, threatening suicide.
Charles had rushed to the roof, comforting
her.
“Chloe, don’t! I’ll punish her!” he’d shouted.
Back inside, Lily was sobbing. Charles didn’t
let her off. He made her stand in the sun,
called her vicious, spiteful. She didn’t
understand, begging for forgiveness.
“Daddy, I’m sorry! Please don’t hit me!”
Within hours, he’d enrolled her in “The Bad
Girls‘ Academy.” I begged him, knelt at his
feet. “Lily didn’t do anything wrong!”
He was furious, his face twisted with anger.
“Consequences! That horrible drawing
caused Chloe’s attack! You’ve spoiled her
rotten!”
“If it weren’t for that dirty picture, Chloe
wouldn’t have even fallen! She deserved it!”
“She’s shameless! What’s she gonna be like
when she grows up? Running off with some
loser, disgracing the family name?!”
I shook my head. It wasn’t like that. Lily hadn’t
lied. She’d just seen…everything.
Chloe’s birthday party. Charles had brought
her home. We were in the living room, and
they… disappeared into the bedroom.
Lily had been going to deliver Chloe’s
birthday cake. The door wasn’t quite closed.
She saw it all.
I found her later, confused. “Mommy, what
were Daddy and Aunt Chloe doing? Were they
playing a game?”
I’d choked back my tears, hugged her.
