Chapter 2: The Notebook Nobody Was Supposed to Read
The clinic smelled of disinfectant and warm plastic.
I sat on the examination bed wearing a soft cotton shirt Dad had bought from a nearby shop. My sweater was sealed in a plastic bag, and Rose sat beside me, holding my hand while a nurse checked the irritated patches on my chest.
Dad stood near the window, speaking quietly with the clinician.
“Will she be all right?”” he asked.
“We've treated the affected areas,” the clinician replied.
“Follow the care instructions, keep an eye out for worsening symptoms, and seek further medical attention if any warning signs develop.””
Dad nodded, but his fingers kept opening and closing.
When he returned to my side, he knelt so our eyes were level.
“I'm sorry, sweetheart.””
I looked at the floor.
“For what?””
“For not seeing what was happening in my own house.””
I wanted to tell him that it wasn't his fault.
I wanted to make him feel better.
Instead, I asked the question that had been burning inside me since lunch.
“Are you going to make Celia leave?””
His face tightened.
“You won't have to stay near her tonight. I'm taking you somewhere safe while I work out what happened.””
“That's not what I asked.””
Dad looked as though I'd struck him.
“No,” he admitted.
“It isn't.””
Rose squeezed my hand.
“Your father is listening now, Wren. That's important.””
I stared at her.
“Why didn't anyone listen before?””
Neither adult answered immediately.
That silence hurt almost as much as the soup.
Twenty minutes later, we left the clinic. Dad called his cousin Hannah, who lived twenty minutes away with her partner, Daniel.
“Hannah, I need a favor,” he said.
His voice cracked on the second word.
I had never heard my father cry before.
“Bring Wren here,” Hannah replied.
“I'll make up the guest room. Is she safe to travel?””
“The clinician says she can come with us, provided we follow the instructions.””
“Then stop apologizing and get here.””
When Dad ended the call, he wiped his face with his sleeve.
Rose sat in the front passenger seat while I curled up in the back.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Dad glanced at Rose through the rearview mirror.
“You said you wrote things down.””
Rose turned toward him.
“Yes.””
“What things?””
“Incidents involving Celia. Things she told me to do. Things I heard when she thought nobody was listening.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“I tried.””
Dad frowned.
“When?””
“The first time was in February. I told you Celia wanted me to keep Wren upstairs whenever her friends visited, even when Wren wanted to join you.””
“I thought you meant she needed quiet time.””
“I know. Celia explained it that way after you asked her.””
Dad's hands tightened on the steering wheel.
“What else?””
Rose hesitated.
“She told me to say Wren had eaten dinner when she hadn't. She told me not to let Wren into your study. She also asked me to remove letters from the desk before you came home.””
“What letters?””
“I don't know. She put them in an envelope and told me to take them to the outside bin.””
Dad pulled into a parking space beside the road.
He turned off the engine.
“Rose, I need you to tell me everything.””
“Not with Wren listening.””
“I'm right here,” I protested.
Rose turned around.
“Sweetheart, I don't want you to feel that you have to remember every frightening thing tonight. You can tell us what you remember when you're ready.””
“But I heard the man.””
Dad looked at me.
“What man?””
My stomach twisted.
“Last night. I went downstairs for water. The study door was open a little.””
Dad waited.
“I heard somebody say my name.””
The car seemed to shrink around me.
“What exactly did you hear?”” he asked gently.
“A man said, ‘She still has the original.’ Then Celia said, ‘She doesn't know what it is.’”
Dad went completely still.
“Did you see the man?””
I shook my head.
“Did you hear anything else?””
I closed my eyes, trying to remember.
“He said something about the anniversary. And then Celia told him you would never find out.””
Dad looked toward the windshield.
The color had drained from his face.
“Why didn't you tell me last night?””
“Because Celia came upstairs after I went to bed. She stood in my doorway and asked if I'd been downstairs.””
Rose leaned forward.
“What did you say?””
“That I was thirsty.””
“And what did she do?””
I swallowed.
“She smiled. Then she said good girls don't make trouble for their families.””
Dad covered his mouth with one hand.
For a moment, he looked so devastated that I wished I could take the words back.
Then he started the engine.
At Hannah's house, warm light spilled across the front porch. Hannah hurried outside before Dad had even finished parking.
She wrapped me in a careful hug, avoiding my injured skin.
“Oh, Wren,” she whispered.
“Come inside, sweetheart.””
Daniel had prepared the guest room with fresh sheets, a lamp, and a stack of children's books. There was even a small stuffed fox on the pillow.
“You can keep the door open or closed,” Hannah told me.
“Whatever makes you comfortable.””
“Can Rose stay with me?””
“Of course.””
Dad kissed my forehead.
“I'll be downstairs if you need me.””
I caught his sleeve.
“Don't go back to Celia.””
He crouched beside the bed.
“I won't leave you unprotected again.””
I wanted to believe him.
After Rose helped me settle into bed, Dad went downstairs with her. I heard their voices through the floorboards.
“Show me the notebook,” Dad said.
Rose hesitated.
“There's something you should know first.””
“What?””
“The man in the study wasn't the first person Celia met in secret.””
Dad's footsteps stopped.
“What do you mean?””
“Three weeks ago, I found a photograph in her handbag. It showed Celia standing beside a man outside a courthouse.””
“Who was he?””
“I didn't recognize him. But I saw the name written on the back.””
A long silence followed.
Then Dad asked, “What name?””
Rose answered so quietly that I had to press my ear against the bedroom door.
“Thomas Vale.””
Dad made a sound I had never heard from him before.
“No. That's impossible.””
I knew that name.
Not because I'd met Thomas Vale.
Because it was written on the back of the only photograph my mother had left me.
May you like
And when I crept to the top of the stairs, I heard my father whisper the words that changed everything.
“Thomas Vale died before Wren was born.””
