PART 2: That was when Donovan stepped forward from the hedges. “Lily.”
The girl froze. Slowly she turned. “Daddy,” she breathed, disbelief filling her eyes. “Is it really you.”
Donovan dropped to one knee and gathered her into his arms. He felt the thinness of her body, the trembling in her shoulders, the faintness of her breath. She tried to hide her torn dress with her hands.
“Daddy, let me change first. And please do not tell Serena anything.”
His heart broke again. “Why would you say that.”
Lily lowered her gaze. “She told me that if I tell you, you will send me away to a school where children never see their parents. She said you traveled because you needed a break from me.”
Donovan held her face gently. “Listen to me carefully. You are the most important person in my life. Nothing she said is true.”
At that moment Serena’s voice echoed from above. “Lily. Come upstairs right now.”
The child stiffened. “I have to go.”
Donovan shook his head. “No. You stay with me. I will speak to Serena.”
He carried Lily inside, past marble floors and tall windows that reflected a home that now felt unfamiliar. Serena met them at the foot of the stairs, phone still in hand, smile fading as surprise crossed her face.
“Donovan,” she said, forcing brightness. “You should have told us you were returning.”
“I wanted to surprise my daughter,” he replied. “Instead I found her dragging garbage across the yard like a servant.”
Serena lifted a shoulder. “Children need structure. She was misbehaving.”
Donovan lifted Lily’s hands. Blisters had formed across her palms. Some had broken. His jaw tightened.
“Is this your idea of structure.”
“You are overreacting.”
“I heard your conversation on the balcony. I heard what you said about my daughter.”
Serena’s expression hardened. “You always spoiled her. That is why she is weak.”
Donovan stared at the woman he had married, as though seeing a stranger.
“Weak. She is underweight. How often have you withheld her meals as punishment.”
Serena looked away. “Sometimes.”
“How many times,” he repeated, voice rising.
