Chapter 5 - GRANDMA WASN’T JUST WATCHING
Patricia came to Sarah’s house uninvited Thursday evening.
Sarah saw her through the doorbell camera and almost ignored her.
Then Patricia held up both hands.
No phone.
Sarah stepped onto the porch but did not invite her inside.
“Lily here?”
“Yes.”
Patricia glanced toward the front window.
“Can I see her?”
“She doesn’t want to see anyone right now.”
“You mean you don’t want her to.”
Sarah almost took the bait.
Instead she said, “Why did you hide her rabbit?”
Patricia stopped.
Sarah watched recognition cross her face.
“What?”
“When she was six.”
“Oh, for God’s sake.”
“Why?”
Patricia lowered her voice.
“It was a joke.”
“She was crying.”
“For maybe a minute.”
“And you kept filming.”
“Vanessa was filming.”
“You hid the rabbit.”
Patricia looked toward the street.
“Those videos paid for family things too, Sarah.”
There it was.
The first honest sentence.
“What family things?”
Patricia immediately regretted it.
“Parties. Trips. Christmas.”
“Vanessa paid for Christmas?”
“Sometimes.”
Sarah thought about the elaborate backyard parties.
The rented bounce house the year before.
The lake house weekend Patricia claimed was a gift.
The expensive children’s museum outing Vanessa had filmed from beginning to end.
“Were those sponsored?”
Patricia crossed her arms.
“Some.”
“Did you tell me?”
“You never asked.”
Sarah stared at her mother.
“I shouldn’t have to ask whether my daughter’s birthday is an advertisement.”
Patricia sighed.
“This is exactly why Vanessa doesn’t tell you anything. You turn every detail into a moral crisis.”
“Did the paint prank have a sponsor?”
Patricia said nothing.
“Mom.”
“The party did.”
“The prank?”
“It was content.”
Sarah felt suddenly cold despite the June heat.
“Was Lily supposed to cry?”
“No.”
“Then why did you say the campaign needed her reaction?”
Patricia’s eyes sharpened.
“You listened to the recording.”
“Yes.”
Patricia lowered her voice.
“Sarah, you do not understand how Vanessa’s business works.”
“Then explain it.”
“Brands pay for engagement. That doesn’t mean anyone wanted Lily hurt.”
“She wasn’t hurt because the paint was washable. She was humiliated because two adults kept filming after she asked them to stop.”
Patricia shook her head.
“You always make Vanessa sound predatory.”
“I didn’t say Vanessa.”
Patricia stopped.
Sarah looked directly at her.
“I said two adults.”
Patricia left six minutes later.
That night Sarah replayed the birthday livestream again.
This time she watched everything before the paint.
She noticed Patricia checking Vanessa’s phone repeatedly.
Asking about viewer count.
Moving Lily closer to the trellis.
Telling another child to step out of frame.
None of it looked sinister alone.
Together it looked like work.
Sarah opened Vanessa’s public business page.
At the bottom of an old press release was a name she had never paid attention to.
Business inquiries: Patricia Miller, Management.
Sarah stared at it.
May you like
Her mother was not merely defending Vanessa’s business.
She was part of it.
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