The next morning, Mara asked to see Samuel again.
She was told he had not arrived.
At ten, she asked again.
At noon, the answer was the same.
By two, Mara knew something had happened.
Samuel always came when he said he would.
That evening, a prison counselor delivered a message.
“Your attorney was involved in a car accident.”
Mara stood beside her bunk.
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“Hospital.”
“Was it serious?”
“I wasn't told.”
Mara stared at the counselor.
“Was anyone else in the car?”
The woman hesitated.
“No.”
Mara understood the hesitation.
“You're lying.”
The counselor's face tightened.
“I didn't say that.”
“You didn't have to.”
The door closed.
Mara sat on the edge of her bed.
Someone had broken into Daniel's apartment.
Someone had left Lily's drawing.
Someone had frightened Daniel.
Now Samuel had been injured.
The pattern was becoming impossible to ignore.
But there was still one person who could tell her what happened.
Lily.
Mara needed to see her.
Three days later, the visit was approved.
The same room.
The same glass.
The same metal table.
But this time Lily did not enter crying.
She walked slowly beside her grandmother.
Her eyes were fixed on Mara.
Mara stood.
“Hi, baby.”
Lily ran toward the glass.
She pressed both hands against it.
Mara placed hers over them.
For the first time in eleven months, Lily smiled.
It was small.
It was enough.
“Mommy.”
Mara's eyes closed.
“I'm here.”
“I knew you would come.”
Mara swallowed.
“I told you.”
Lily looked around.
“Where's Daddy?”
Mara's expression changed.
“I'm not sure.”
“He said I shouldn't talk to you.”
“Why?”
“He said you'd make me remember.”
Mara's stomach tightened.
“Remember what?”
Lily looked toward her grandmother.
The older woman shook her head slightly.
Mara understood.
Something had happened.
Something the child had been carrying alone.
“Lily,” Mara said softly, “you don't have to tell me anything that scares you.”
“I want to.”
“Okay.”
Lily climbed onto the chair.
She leaned toward the glass.
“Daddy wasn't asleep that night.”
Mara felt every muscle in her body tense.
“What night?”
“The night you went away.”
Mara said nothing.
Lily continued.
“You thought he was sleeping.”
Mara remembered.
Daniel had been in the bedroom.
She had heard the shower running.
She had assumed he was asleep afterward.
“What did you see?”
“He came into the kitchen.”
“Daddy?”
Lily nodded.
“He had a black bag.”
Mara's pulse quickened.
“What was inside?”
“I don't know.”
“Did he put something somewhere?”
Lily nodded again.
“Behind the clock.”
Mara closed her eyes.
The compartment.
The missing box.
The photograph.
Everything moved into place.
“What happened next?”
Lily looked down.
“He talked to somebody.”
“On the phone?”
“No.”
Mara waited.
“Someone was in the house.”
The room seemed suddenly colder.
“Who?”
Lily's small fingers twisted together.
“A man.”
“What did he look like?”
“He had a scar.”
“Where?”
Lily touched the side of her own neck.
“Here.”
Mara knew that detail.
Elias Grant had a scar along the right side of his neck.
She had seen it in court.
Mara's mouth went dry.
“Was it Elias?”
Lily shook her head.
“I don't know his name.”
“What did Daddy call him?”
Lily looked toward the door.
“He called him Mr. Grant.”
Mara stopped breathing.
The guard behind Lily shifted.
Mara forced herself to remain calm.
“What did Mr. Grant say?”
“He asked Daddy if the box was gone.”
Mara's fingers pressed against the glass.
“What box?”
“The little wooden one.”
Mara leaned closer.
“What was inside?”
Lily's face crumpled.
“Mommy, I don't know.”
“That's okay.”
“He was angry.”
“Who?”
“Mr. Grant.”
“What did he say?”
Lily whispered.
“He said if the police found the notebook, Daddy would go to prison.”
Mara stared.
Daniel had blamed her.
Grant had testified against her.
But the notebook had apparently frightened both men.
“What happened to it?”
“Daddy gave it to Mr. Grant.”
Mara's mind raced.
“Then why did Daddy keep the key?”
Lily shook her head.
“He didn't.”
Mara frowned.
“You said Daddy gave you the key.”
“He gave it to me later.”
“Why?”
“He told me to hide it.”
“Where?”
Lily looked down at her pink dress.
“In my pocket.”
Mara felt a terrible ache in her chest.
“You kept it all this time?”
Lily nodded.
“Daddy said if Mommy ever came back, I had to give it to her.”
Mara looked toward the guard.
“Then why did he tell you not to show me?”
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
“He changed his mind.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
Mara's heart began pounding.
“Why?”
Lily's voice became barely audible.
“Because Mr. Grant came to the house.”
Mara went still.
“He came to your house?”
Lily nodded.
“He told Daddy he needed the key.”
Mara leaned forward.
“Did Daddy give it to him?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“Daddy said he didn't have it.”
“Then what?”
“Mr. Grant looked at me.”
Lily began crying.
Mara's voice softened.
“What did he say?”
“He said little girls remember too much.”
Mara's hand shook.
“Did he touch you?”
Lily shook her head.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Mara exhaled.
“Then what happened?”
“Daddy told me to go upstairs.”
“And you did?”
Lily nodded.
“I hid in the closet.”
Mara closed her eyes.
“What did you hear?”
“Daddy was yelling.”
“And Mr. Grant?”
“He said Mommy would never get out.”
Mara's eyes opened.
“Did he say why?”
Lily nodded.
“He said the judge already believed the story.”
Mara felt something inside her go cold.
This was not a misunderstanding.
It had never been.
Someone had planned it.
Someone had known exactly what evidence would matter.
Someone had counted on Mara being convicted.
The visitation clock showed eight minutes remaining.
Mara looked at Lily.
“Sweetheart, listen to me.”
Lily nodded.
“If anyone asks you about this, you tell the truth.”
“Even Daddy?”
“Even Daddy.”
“But Daddy is scared.”
“I know.”
“He said if I tell, he'll go away.”
Mara's heart broke.
“Sometimes telling the truth hurts.”
Lily wiped her face.
“But hiding it can hurt longer.”
The child stared at her.
Then she whispered, “Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“Did you really take the money?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Mara looked at the glass.
“I don't know yet.”
Lily reached into the pocket of her dress.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
The guard immediately stepped forward.
“What is that?”
Lily looked frightened.
Mara spoke quickly.
“Let her show me.”
The guard hesitated.
Then allowed it.
Lily unfolded the paper.
It was a drawing.
But this one was different.
It showed four people.
Lily.
Mara.
Daniel.
And a fourth man.
Above the man's head, Lily had written a single word.
GRANT.
But beneath the drawing was something else.
A string of numbers.
Mara stared.
She recognized them.
They were the last six digits of the bank account where the missing money had supposedly gone.
Her pulse thundered.
“Where did you get these numbers?”
Lily looked at her.
“Daddy wrote them on the paper.”
“Why?”
“He said if something happened to him, I should give them to you.”
The guard reached for the paper.
Mara quickly memorized the numbers.
Then Lily whispered one final sentence.
“Mommy, Daddy said the money was never stolen.”
Mara stared at her.
“Then where was it?”
Lily looked toward the hallway.
“In Mr. Grant's account.”
The door opened.
Two officers entered.
One carried a folder.
The other avoided Mara's eyes.
“Visitation is over.”
Mara stood.
“Wait.”
She looked at Lily.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Remember what I told you.”
Lily nodded.
As the guard led her away, Lily turned once.
Then she mouthed three words.
“Find the clock.”
Mara remained standing long after the door closed.
She knew where the clock had been.
She knew what had been hidden behind it.
And now she knew that the missing money might never have been missing at all.
But the numbers Lily had given her created a new problem.
The account belonged to Elias Grant.
And the transaction had been made two days before Mara was arrested.
Click Here to continue read next: PART4: The Bank Transfer Was Made Before Mara Was Arrested, Forcing Her to Question Who Had Been Planning Her Downfall
She Had Thirty Minutes to Convince the Child Behind the Glass That She Had Not Abandoned Her
Part 3 of 8
