Chapter 2 - Lily Tried To Tell Her Father Before
The next morning, Lily tried to tell Daniel.
He was buttoning his white shirt for work when she tugged on his sleeve.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“I saw Nora do something to the cookies.”
Daniel looked down at her, distracted but gentle.
“What kind of something?”
Lily hesitated. She didn’t have the right words.
“She made one different.”
Daniel smiled faintly, assuming it was nothing.
“Maybe she burned one.”
Lily shook her head hard.
“No. She put something on it.”
That made him pause.
But just then Nora entered the room with coffee and a polished expression.
“What are you two talking about?”
Lily went quiet instantly.
Daniel glanced between them.
“Lily says she saw you doing something to cookies.”
Nora laughed softly, like the idea was adorable.
“Oh, Daniel. I was glazing them. I told you I was trying a new recipe.”
Then she crouched to Lily’s level and brushed a lock of hair behind the little girl’s ear.
“That’s what you meant, isn’t it, honey?”
Lily froze.
There was nothing openly threatening in Nora’s tone.
And yet the child felt something cold move through her.
She lowered her eyes.
Daniel, wanting peace, kissed Lily’s forehead and went on with his morning.
That should have been the end of it.
But two days later Lily saw Nora again.
This time in the pantry.
This time with another tiny vial.
This time Nora turned—and saw Lily watching.
The look on her face lasted less than a second.
But it was enough.
It wasn’t embarrassment.
May you like
It was panic.
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