That afternoon, before the older girls got home, I moved the recorder to the living room shelf and hid it behind a stack of old magazines.
Then I asked Lily to set up her coloring books at the coffee table, just like she used to.
“I’ll be right here in the kitchen. You’ll be fine. Promise.”
When Ava and Sophie arrived home, Daniel had just finished work and was in the kitchen with me, scrolling on his phone.
At first, everything was normal.
Then Sophie walked into the living room and saw Lily coloring at the coffee table.
“Oh,” she said, her tone shifting immediately. “You’re in here.”
I nudged Daniel, put a finger to my lips, and gestured to the living room. He frowned, wondering why I was shushing him, but he nodded and lowered his phone.
“I was just drawing…”
“We use the living room after school. That’s the rule we gave you, remember? Go draw somewhere else.”
“And Lily, don’t forget to do our chores, either. Dad hates when the place is messy…”
“Dad will believe anything we say. So don’t even try to tell him or Mom about this.”
Daniel’s spine stiffened, his eyes widening.
Lily sniffed quietly and started gathering her crayons. She was giving up her space without even questioning it.
And that’s when I stepped out of the kitchen, Daniel right behind me.
“No. Lily can stay right where she is. You two can wait.”
“Sit down. All of you.”
I walked over to the shelf, pulled out the recorder, and pressed play.
The room filled with their voices from the previous day. When the recording stopped, Ava’s face was white, Sophie fidgeted with her sleeves, avoiding eye contact, and Daniel looked sick.
“Girls… is this… is this how you’ve been talking to Lily?”
