Chapter 2 - The Confrontation in the Kitchen
The smell of floral perfume and expensive hairspray drifted up from the main hallway as we reached the bottom of the stairs. Meredith was standing by the kitchen island, checking her watch, dressed in a stunning emerald-green cocktail dress she had bought specifically for Chloe’s debut recital.
— Harrison, what on earth are you two doing? Meredith snapped, turning around with a bright, impatient smile that instantly vanished when she saw our faces. You’ve been up there twenty minutes! The auditorium opens in half an hour, and—
She stopped. Her eyes flicked from my rigid posture down to Chloe, who was clutching my sleeve so tightly her knuckles were translucent.
— Why isn't Chloe in her dress? Meredith demanded, her voice rising in a sharp crescendo. Harrison, answer me! What is going on?
— The recital is cancelled, Meredith, I said. My voice was chillingly flat.
Meredith let out an incredulous laugh, shaking her head. — Cancelled? Are you out of your mind? My mother and your entire extended family are already driving to the North Shore Auditorium! Your father is already there holding front-row seats!
— Oh, I know my father is there, I replied, walking slowly toward the kitchen island until I stood directly across from her. I know exactly where Richard Vance is.
Meredith’s expression flickered—just for a microsecond—with something resembling panic before she quickly masked it behind aggressive annoyance.
— Stop being dramatic, Harrison. Go upstairs right now and get her dressed. We are leaving in five minutes. If you ruin this for Chloe—
— She showed me her back, Meredith.
The three words dropped into the kitchen like a grenade.
Meredith froze. The color drained from her face so fast her foundation suddenly looked gray against her skin.
— What... what are you talking about? she stammered, her voice pitching upward.
— Don't play stupid with me, I snarled, slamming my hand down on the marble countertop so hard the crystal water pitcher rattled. She has handprints carved into her ribs. Deep purple bruises. For three months. And you told her she was slouching. You covered for a monster because you were terrified of what the country club would say if the great Richard Vance was exposed as a child abuser!
— That is a lie! Meredith shrieked, her hands flying to her mouth. That’s insane! Chloe, tell your father you fell off that playground equipment last month—tell him!
Chloe pressed her face against my leg, sobbing quietly.
— You knew, Meredith, I whispered, stepping around the island until I towered over her. You knew every single time he came over. You looked the other way while my own father assaulted my little girl.
Meredith backed away until her spine hit the pantry door. Her eyes darted toward the front hallway, looking for an escape route.
— Harrison, listen to me... your father has influence. He has connections with the board, with the judges, with the police commissioners downtown. If you make a scene, if you go public with this, he will destroy you. He’ll take your job, he’ll take our assets, he’ll paint you as an unstable, violent lunatic in custody court. We have to... we have to handle this quietly. Family stays in the family—
— Family? I laughed, a harsh, humorless sound. My family ended the second I saw those handprints.
I pulled my phone out, tapping the screen to bring up the encrypted voice-recording app I had started running the moment I entered Chloe’s room.
— Every word you just said, Meredith, is recorded. The panic, the cover-up, the admission that you knew.
May you like
Her face turned the color of ash.
— And right now, I continued, pocketing my phone, — your precious father is waiting at an auditorium full of four hundred people. It’s time for his curtain call.
