Chapter 3 - SOPHIE HAD ONLY BEEN THERE FOUR HOURS
The truth about the room came first.
And it was important.
Sophie had not been living behind Lily’s wall for months.
Or years.
She had been there less than four hours.
That did not make what Claire did acceptable.
But it changed what we were dealing with.
The hidden space was original to the house.
The previous owners had turned an old service passage into a children’s reading nook.
We knew it existed.
We simply hadn’t used it since moving in because the latch was awkward and Lily was too young.
Claire had placed a spare toddler mattress inside that afternoon.
Blankets.
Water.
A battery lamp.
Sophie’s backpack.
The drawings taped to the wall had come from Sophie’s own folder.
Claire had apparently tried to make the room feel less frightening.
That detail almost made it worse.
She had planned for Sophie to stay quiet.
The police took statements.
A child-welfare worker was contacted because nobody initially knew who had lawful custody.
Then my doorbell rang.
A woman in her early forties stood outside crying so hard she could barely speak.
“My daughter is here.”
Sophie heard her voice.
“Mommy Beth!”
She ran past me.
The woman dropped to her knees and caught her.
That explained Sophie’s language.
Beth Pierce was Sophie’s maternal aunt.
And, legally, her guardian.
Sophie called her Mommy Beth because Beth had raised her since infancy.
Her biological mother was Megan Pierce.
My mind reacted to that name before I could.
Megan.
A kitchen with green cabinets.
Dark red hair.
Bare feet.
Her laughing at me because I burned pancakes.
My vision blurred.
Beth saw my face.
“You remember her.”
“I don’t know.”
Claire spoke from behind the officer.
“Beth, don’t.”
Beth turned on her.
“You told me he knew.”
I looked between them.
“Knew what?”
Beth’s face changed.
“She called me six weeks ago.”
Claire shook her head.
“Stop.”
Beth continued.
“She said your memories were coming back and you wanted to meet Sophie.”
I stared at Claire.
“That’s a lie.”
Beth went pale.
“What?”
“I never knew Sophie existed.”
Claire started crying again.
Beth looked sick.
“She told me today was the first step. That you wanted Sophie brought here quietly because Lily didn’t know yet.”
My stomach turned.
“Why did you leave her with Claire?”
“Because she said you were stuck at work and would be home in an hour.”
Beth looked toward Sophie.
“I waited in a coffee shop nearby. Claire texted saying the reunion was going well and Sophie wanted more time.”
She pulled out her phone.
There were the messages.
Written by my wife.
Sophie is doing great.
Ryan is emotional but happy.
Give them another hour.
Beth whispered:
“When Claire stopped answering, I came here.”
Claire closed her eyes.
She had not built a secret prison.
She had done something more desperate.
She had arranged a reunion she never intended to let happen.
Then I asked Beth the only question that mattered.
“Why did you believe I already knew Sophie?”
Beth stared at me.
“Because five years ago Claire told us you remembered everything.”
My pulse quickened.
“And?”
“She said you wanted nothing to do with Megan or the baby.”
Sophie was standing close enough to hear.
I lowered my voice.
Beth understood.
She looked toward Rebecca.
“Can we talk somewhere else?”
I nodded.
As Rebecca took Lily and Sophie downstairs, Sophie suddenly turned back.
“Daddy?”
I froze.
She held up half the sandwich Lily had given her.
“Can Lily come too?”
It was such a normal question that it destroyed me.
May you like
Because somewhere inside those missing eighteen months, I had apparently once been her father.
And somebody had spent five years teaching both of us that the other one had disappeared willingly.
