Chapter 3
The interior of the house smelled faintly of expensive lavender and old polish, a curated facade masking the rot underneath. Arthur carried Lily straight up the winding staircase to her bedroom, bypassing the master suite where Elena’s influence felt most oppressive. The hallway was silent, lined with framed family photographs that now appeared deeply sinister—smiling faces captured on vacations, all orchestrated to project a flawless upper-class life that never truly existed.
Setting Lily down gently on the edge of her pastel-pink bed, Arthur knelt before her. He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a small travel pack of antiseptic wipes he had grabbed from the airport lounge.
"Let me look at your wrists, sweetheart," Arthur murmured, his voice soft and steady.
Lily extended her arms slowly, wincing as the antiseptic touched the raw, chafed skin. The tape had broken the surface in several places, leaving tiny beads of crimson. It was an act of deliberate cruelty disguised as domestic training. Arthur cleaned the wounds with meticulous care, whispering gentle reassurances to calm her trembling breaths.
"Did she say why?" Arthur asked quietly, keeping his eyes fixed on her wrists.
Lily stared down at her lap, her long light brown hair falling forward to shield her face. "She said I spoke to the neighbor across the fence yesterday," Lily whispered, her voice barely audible. "She said talking to outsiders is dangerous. She said if I couldn't learn to keep my mouth shut, she had to seal it permanently next time."
Arthur felt a cold stone drop in his stomach. The isolation was absolute. Elena had systematically cut off Lily from school friends, neighbors, and extended family members under the guise of homeschooling and health precautions. Only Arthur had been permitted a window into the outside world, and even he was constantly funneled away on manufactured business trips that conveniently kept him thousands of miles away for weeks at a time.
"You did nothing wrong by talking to someone, Lily," Arthur said firmly, meeting her wide, fearful eyes. "You are never wrong for wanting to connect with the world."
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Suddenly, a soft click echoed from the hallway outside the bedroom door. The handle turned an inch, then stopped. Arthur stood up instantly, stepping in front of Lily’s bed. The door slowly pushed open to reveal Elena, her expression entirely neutral, her white dress swaying slightly as she stepped over the threshold.
"I brought some ointment," Elena said, holding up a small glass jar of medical cream. Her eyes scanned the room, lingering on Arthur’s tense posture and the discarded antiseptic wipe on the floor. "You always make such a dramatic mess of simple things, Arthur."
