Chapter 2: The Woman Who Had My Password
I didn't sleep that night.
At 6:12 Saturday morning, I was still sitting on the floor beside Lily's bed, staring at the threatening messages.
Danielle had fallen asleep downstairs.
I could hear the refrigerator humming and the occasional creak of the old staircase.
Everything in the house was exactly where it had been before I left.
Except Lily.
Her absence had become something physical.
It occupied the hallway. It sat in the kitchen. It waited beside the little chair where she used to put on her shoes.
I opened my phone again.
The unknown number had disappeared.
Not the messages.
The contact itself had no name, no photograph, and no visible information.
I took screenshots and sent them to my email before remembering Officer Brooks's warning.
Then I stopped.
I didn't want to accidentally destroy evidence.
At 8:40, I drove to the police station.
Officer Brooks was waiting in a small interview room.
She had a paper cup of coffee beside her laptop and a thick folder on the table.
“Mr. Reed, you're early.””
“I received another threat.””
Her expression changed.
“What kind of threat?””
I handed her my phone.
She read the messages without speaking.
When she finished, she placed the device on the table.
“Did you recognize the number?””
“No.””
“Did you tell anyone about Lily's death?””
“No.””
“Did you mention the investigation to anyone?””
“Only Vanessa.””
Officer Brooks looked up.
“When?””
“Last night. She was here when you arrived.””
“Did you tell her about the message?””
I shook my head.
“No.””
She typed something into her computer.
“Let's start with Friday.””
I explained the trip to Savannah.
The hotel.
The restaurants.
The meetings I had claimed to attend.
The fact that Vanessa had been with me the entire time.
Officer Brooks listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she folded her hands.
“Mr. Reed, your wife told us something important.””
“What?””
“Your daughter was using a tablet to communicate with you.””
I nodded.
“She had an old iPad. Mostly for games and video calls.””
“Was it connected to your account?””
“Yes. I set it up.””
“Did Vanessa know about it?””
I frowned.
“I suppose.””
Officer Brooks opened the folder.
“According to the school, Lily attempted to contact you through that device several times on Friday.””
My chest tightened.
“Did she get through?””
“Not initially. But there was a short call at 2:13 p.m.””
I leaned forward.
“Who answered?””
“Your account was used to answer.””
“What did she hear?””
Officer Brooks studied the report.
“That's what we're trying to establish. The call lasted twenty-seven seconds.””
“Twenty-seven seconds?””
“Yes.””
I remembered being in the hotel lobby around that time.
Vanessa had said she needed to go upstairs because she had forgotten something.
I'd stayed downstairs, answering emails.
My phone had been charging in the room.
“Could you determine who was holding the device?””
“Not from the call record alone.””
I rubbed my forehead.
“Can we listen to it?””
“Possibly. We're working with the relevant service provider and examining the devices.””
“Please.””
Officer Brooks leaned back.
“There's another matter.””
She opened a photograph on her laptop.
It showed a screenshot of a conversation between Lily and a contact labeled Daddy.
The first message was from Lily.
Daddy, are you coming home Sunday?
The reply:
No. Stop calling.
Then Lily had written:
Did I do something bad?
The reply came three minutes later.
You're annoying me. Don't contact me again.
I felt something tear inside my chest.
“Who wrote that?””
“We don't know yet.””
I pointed at the screen.
“That's not how I talk to her.””
“Can you prove that?””
I looked at her.
“What?””
“Can you show us how you normally communicate with Lily?””
I opened our old conversations.
There were hundreds of messages.
Photographs of school projects.
Voice notes.
Videos.
My favorite was a recording of Lily trying to pronounce the word spaghetti.
I played it.
Her tiny voice filled the room.
“Daddy, I made you spaghettiiii!””
I almost smiled.
Then the recording ended.
Officer Brooks watched me.
“Mr. Reed, do you normally use your daughter's name when texting her?””
“Sometimes. Mostly I call her princess or peanut.””
“Do you use complete sentences?””
I nodded.
“Usually.””
“Do you ever write in all capital letters?””
“Only when I'm joking.””
She made another note.
“Whoever sent these messages used a writing pattern that differs from your previous conversations.””
I stared at her.
“So you believe me?””
“I believe the evidence needs to be examined.””
It wasn't the answer I wanted.
But it was more than I had expected.
She asked for my phone.
I placed it on the table.
“Will I get it back?””
“Not immediately.””
“That's fine.””
As she prepared the paperwork, my phone vibrated.
A notification appeared on the screen.
Vanessa.
We need to talk. Please don't tell the police everything.
I turned the screen toward Officer Brooks.
She read it.
“Interesting.””
“What does she mean by everything?””
“That's a question you should ask her.””
I called Vanessa.
She answered on the second ring.
“Marcus?””
“Where are you?””
“Home.””
“Why did you send me that message?””
Silence.
Then she sighed.
“Because you're making a terrible mistake.””
“What mistake?””
“Going to the police.””
I looked at Officer Brooks.
She gestured for me to continue.
“Why?””
“Because they don't understand our situation.””
“Our situation?””
“Marcus, we were together in Savannah. We both know things happened that weekend.””
My jaw tightened.
“I'm talking about my daughter.””
“And I'm talking about us.””
I closed my eyes.
“Did you touch my phone Friday?””
“No.””
“Did you answer Lily's call?””
A pause.
A long one.
Then Vanessa said, “Why would you ask me that?””
“Because someone answered my daughter's call from my phone.””
“Maybe it was you.””
“I was downstairs.””
“You were drinking that morning. You might not remember.””
My stomach turned.
“I wasn't drinking.””
“Marcus, don't start.””
“Did you tell Lily I didn't want her calling me?””
Vanessa's voice dropped.
“Listen to me carefully. You need to stop blaming me for things you don't understand.””
“Then explain them.””
“Not over the phone.””
“Where are you?””
“I'm not meeting you.””
“Vanessa—”
She hung up.
Officer Brooks had been writing notes throughout the conversation.
“Did you record that?””
“No.””
“That's fine. We can document your account.””
I leaned forward.
“Can you bring her in?””
“We can request an interview.””
“She's lying.””
“Perhaps. But we need evidence.””
She closed the folder.
“Mr. Reed, I also want you to understand something. We're not treating this as a simple family dispute anymore.””
“What does that mean?””
“We're investigating whether someone deliberately impersonated you and interfered with your daughter's attempts to contact you.””
My throat tightened.
“And the threat?””
“That will be investigated separately.””
I left the station shortly after eleven.
When I returned home, Danielle was sitting at the kitchen table.
In front of her lay a small white envelope.
“What's that?”” I asked.
“Something the hospital gave me.””
I pulled out a chair.
Inside was a printed photograph.
It showed Lily sitting in a hospital bed, wearing a pale blue gown. Her hair was tied into two little puffs, and a bandage covered the back of her hand.
She looked tired.
But she was smiling.
I touched the photograph.
“When was this taken?””
“Friday.””
My eyes filled.
Danielle reached across the table.
“She asked me to take it.””
“Why?””
“She wanted to send it to you.””
I couldn't speak.
“She told me she wanted you to see she was being brave.””
I turned the photograph over.
There was a message in blue ink.
Daddy, I'm okay. Please don't be mad.
I pressed the picture against my chest.
Danielle stood and walked to the sink.
“There's something I haven't told you.””
I looked up.
“What?””
“Before Lily went into the ambulance, she said someone had promised to come see her.””
“Who?””
“I thought she meant you.””
“Why?””
“Because she said, 'Daddy said he's coming.''”
I stared at her.
“But I never said that.””
“I know.””
“Who told her?””
Danielle shook her head.
“I asked her. She was too weak to explain.””
A cold feeling spread through me.
“Was anyone else at the hospital?””
“Not that I knew of.””
“Did you see Vanessa?””
Danielle turned.
“No.””
“Think carefully.””
“I would remember seeing that woman.””
She pulled out her phone.
“Wait.””
She opened her photographs and scrolled.
“This was taken in the hospital waiting room.””
It showed Danielle sitting beside Lily's bed.
Behind her, near the glass entrance, stood a woman wearing a cream-colored coat.
I leaned closer.
The woman's face was partially turned away.
But I recognized the handbag.
Vanessa's handbag.
“That's her,” I whispered.
Danielle's face drained of color.
“What?””
“That's Vanessa.””
She zoomed in.
The woman was holding something in her right hand.
A small pink stuffed rabbit.
Lily's rabbit.
Danielle looked at me.
“Why was your girlfriend at the hospital?””
I had no answer.
Then my phone, which Officer Brooks had returned temporarily before completing the transfer, vibrated.
A message appeared from Vanessa.
I was at the hospital because Lily asked to see me.
May you like
Another message followed.
And there's something your wife doesn't know about her daughter.
