CHAPTER 2: The Bottle in the Cabinet
CHAPTER 2: The Bottle in the Cabinet
The next morning, I took a day off work.
I told Janice I had a meeting.
She didn’t question it.
She just kissed Lily on the forehead and said, “Grandma will pick you up after school, sweetheart.”
Lily hesitated.
Her small hand grabbed mine under the table.
I saw it then—the fear she had been trying not to show.
At exactly 2:30 PM, I went back home instead of work.
I let myself in quietly.
The house was empty.
Except for the kitchen light.
Open cabinet.
I found it within minutes.
A prescription bottle tucked behind vitamin jars.
Label removed.
But the pills inside matched the one Lily had saved.
White.
Small.
Harmless-looking.
Dangerous.
My hands shook as I took photos.
Then I heard the front door open.
Janice had returned early.
I slipped the bottle into my pocket.
She walked in, paused when she saw me standing in the kitchen.
“Oh,” she said lightly. “You scared me.”
“I forgot my bag,” I said.
A lie.
She smiled.
But didn’t blink.
Something in the air shifted.
Then she said something I will never forget.
“I’ve been helping you for years, sweetheart. Don’t make me the villain now.”
Helping.
My grip tightened around the bottle in my pocket.
May you like
That word no longer meant safety.
It meant control.
