Chapter 2 - The Switch
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Eleanor bent down. Reached for the card.
I was faster.
My hand closed around it first. Small. Black. Unmarked. I shoved it into my pocket.
"Give it back."
"No."
"That doesn't belong to you."
"It doesn't belong to you either. It belongs to whoever's on it."
Her eyes narrowed. "You don't know what you're doing."
"I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm taking my daughter to the hospital. And then I'm finding out what's on this card."
"You can't—"
"Watch me."
I scooped Lily up. She was light—too light for a nine-year-old. Her hand was still bleeding. Her face was pale.
"Mommy, it hurts."
"I know, baby. We're going to the doctor. Right now."
Eleanor stepped in front of the door.
"You're not leaving."
"Get out of my way."
"Charlotte. Think about what you're doing. Think about your family."
"My family is bleeding in my arms. My family is a nine-year-old girl who trusted you. My family is not you. Not anymore."
I pushed past her. She grabbed my arm. Nails digging in.
"That card is worth more than you can imagine. People have died for it. People will die for it. Do you understand?"
I looked at her. Really looked.
"I understand that you just tortured a child to get it back. I understand that whatever's on this card is something you're willing to hurt your own granddaughter for. And I understand that I'm going to find out what it is."
I yanked my arm free. Walked out the door.
Eleanor didn't follow.
But I could feel her eyes on my back. Cold. Calculating. Like a snake watching its prey.
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The hospital was twenty minutes away.
Lily didn't say a word the entire ride. Just held her hand against her chest and stared out the window.
"Baby?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you tell me what happened? Before I got there?"
She was quiet for a moment. Then: "I was in the hallway. By the dining room. Grandma was fighting with Uncle Richard. About money. About something bad."
"What were they saying?"
"Uncle Richard said 'we can't keep doing this.' And Grandma said 'we don't have a choice.' And then she said something about... about a girl. A girl who died."
My blood went cold.
"A girl who died?"
"Grandma said 'the same thing happened to the Morrison girl.' And Uncle Richard said 'that was different.' And Grandma said 'it wasn't different. And now we have to clean it up.'"
"Did you see the card fall?"
"Yeah. It was on the floor. I picked it up. I was gonna give it back. But then Grandma saw me and her face got really scary."
"What did she do?"
"She grabbed me. Dragged me downstairs. Said I was a thief. Said I needed to learn a lesson."
"And then she put your hand in the machine?"
Lily nodded. Tears streaming again.
"She said she'd let me go if I told her where the card was. But I didn't have it anymore. I dropped it when she grabbed me."
"Where?"
"In the hallway. By the dining room."
I gripped the steering wheel. Hard.
The card had been on the floor. Lily had picked it up. Then dropped it. Then Eleanor had dragged her downstairs.
But Eleanor didn't know Lily had dropped it. Eleanor thought Lily still had it.
Which meant Eleanor had tortured a child for nothing.
Which meant whatever was on that card was worth more than I could imagine.
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