Chapter 3 - Elsie Had Found The Chip Three Days Earlier
Marcus did not question Elsie aggressively that night.
He called her pediatrician first.
Then a trusted friend who was a pediatric nurse.
Elsie’s scalp was unharmed.
Only the ends of one strand had been burned.
Physically, she was okay.
That mattered.
But she remained frightened.
Marcus sat beside her on the bed after Vivian had been told to stay downstairs.
He placed the black chip inside a clean envelope.
Then asked:
“How did you know that was inside your pillow?”
Elsie looked at the torn seam.
“I felt something.”
“When?”
“Tuesday.”
Three days earlier.
“What did you do?”
“I pulled the pillow open.”
“Did you take it out?”
“No.”
“Why?”
She hesitated.
“Vivian came in.”
Marcus’s stomach tightened.
“What happened?”
“She saw me looking.”
“And?”
“She yelled.”
“What did she say?”
Elsie looked down.
“She said it was nothing.”
Marcus waited.
“She told me not to touch it.”
“Anything else?”
Elsie’s lip trembled.
“She asked if I told you.”
“What did you say?”
“I said no.”
“Why?”
Elsie started crying again.
“Because she looked really scared.”
That answer confused him.
Children usually fear angry adults.
Elsie had noticed Vivian’s fear.
That meant the chip itself mattered enough to shake someone who normally controlled every room.
“What happened today?”
Elsie touched the burned section of her hair.
“I said I was gonna tell you.”
Marcus felt cold.
“About the chip?”
She nodded.
“What did Vivian say?”
Elsie whispered:
“She said nobody would believe me.”
Then:
“She told me I make things up when I’m upset.”
Marcus closed his eyes briefly.
That phrase sounded familiar.
May you like
Vivian had used it with him too.
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