CHAPTER 1: The Smile That Didn’t Match the Truth
CHAPTER 1: The Smile That Didn’t Match the Truth
I didn’t tell my mother I knew.
Not yet.
That night, I brought Lily home and stayed awake beside her bed, watching her breathe like I was afraid sleep itself might take her away.
At 3:12 AM, I heard the front door open.
My mother, Janice.
She came in quietly, like she always did—keys placed gently on the counter, shoes aligned perfectly by the door.
Then she smiled when she saw me.
“Why are you still up, dear?”
Her voice was calm. Too calm.
I watched her carefully.
Lily stirred in her room behind me.
“I just wanted to make sure she was okay,” I said.
Janice nodded slowly, as if that answer made perfect sense.
“She’s a sensitive child,” she replied. “Needs structure.”
Structure.
That word now felt like poison.
I noticed something in her handbag.
A small pill bottle.
She saw me looking—and closed her bag a little too quickly.
“You look tired,” she said softly. “I can give her something tomorrow to help her sleep earlier.”
My stomach tightened.
“No,” I said.
Just that.
One word.
May you like
Her smile didn’t change—but something behind her eyes did.
A calculation.
