Chapter 5 - Chloe’s Secret
Vanessa claimed she had never officially submitted Lily for the EverBelle campaign.
She said an agency representative had seen Lily in older promotional photos.
They wanted her.
Not Chloe.
According to Vanessa, the offer had been worth nearly $250,000 over two years.
Diane had convinced herself that the money belonged to the family because Vanessa’s photographs had attracted the agency.
I could barely process the logic.
“So you punished my daughter because strangers liked her picture?”
Vanessa glared at me.
“You don’t understand what Chloe has been through.”
“Then help Chloe.”
I pointed toward her.
“Don’t hurt Lily.”
Vanessa’s eyes flashed.
“You always think Lily is perfect.”
“No.”
“I think she’s five.”
The meeting collapsed after that.
Thomas demanded access to financial records.
Diane refused.
Ryan told his mother he would not speak to her again without Monica present.
We left.
That evening, there was a knock at our door.
Eric stood outside.
Beside him was Chloe.
She was carrying a pink backpack.
My heart started pounding.
“Where’s Vanessa?”
Eric looked behind him.
“Losing her mind.”
Ryan came to the doorway.
“What happened?”
Eric lowered his voice.
“Chloe called me from the neighbor’s house.”
Chloe looked smaller than I remembered.
No fancy dress.
No styled curls.
Just pajamas beneath a jacket.
I knelt.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded.
Then shook her head.
Then started crying.
I opened my arms.
She stepped into them.
For ten minutes, she couldn’t explain anything.
Finally, sitting at our kitchen table with warm milk untouched in front of her, she whispered.
“Mom said Lily ruined everything.”
Ryan’s jaw tightened.
“What everything?”
Chloe stared at her fingers.
“My jobs.”
I looked at Eric.
He looked sick.
Chloe continued.
“Mom makes me practice smiling.”
“How long?”
“Until I do it right.”
My chest hurt.
“And if you don’t?”
Her eyes lifted toward me.
“She gets mad.”
I didn’t push harder.
Not then.
Instead, I asked the question that mattered most.
“Did you see what happened to Lily?”
Chloe nodded.
“Grandma told me to stay upstairs.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
She swallowed.
“I watched from the stairs.”
Tears rolled down her face.
“I wanted to help Lily.”
I took her hand.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Mom said it was because of me.”
“No.”
I said it more firmly.
“None of this is because of you.”
Chloe began crying harder.
Then she reached into her backpack.
She pulled out a small silver phone.
“I took this.”
Ryan stared at it.
“Whose is it?”
“Grandma’s.”
She pushed it toward me.
“I heard Grandma tell Mom they had to delete the messages before Uncle Ryan found them.”
The screen was locked.
But Chloe knew the code.
She entered six numbers.
The phone opened.
There were hundreds of messages.
And at the top of the most recent thread was a name none of us recognized.
Martin Vale - BrightHouse.
The latest message read:
May you like
If Claire discovers the original audition footage, we all have a problem.
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