Chapter 3 - What Chloe Saw
I moved Mia behind my body and pressed the emergency-call button.
Diane grabbed my wrist.
“Do not do this.”
I jerked free.
“You lost the right to tell me what to do when you handed my child to Victor.”
“I did not hand her to anyone.”
Chloe’s crying grew harder.
“Yes, you did.”
Everyone turned toward her.
For most of her life, Chloe had survived our mother by becoming agreeable.
She learned when to laugh.
When to disappear.
When to help rewrite an event until Diane looked innocent.
That night, her silence finally failed.
“Victor was already at the beach when we arrived,” she said.
Diane moved toward her.
Robert stepped between them.
It was the first useful thing he had done all evening.
Chloe continued.
“Mom said it was a coincidence. She told me not to upset Harper by mentioning him.”
“Why was he there?” I demanded.
Chloe wiped her face.
“He wanted to meet Mia.”
My arms closed more tightly around my daughter.
Diane lifted both hands.
“He is her great-uncle. He only wanted to see her.”
“I told you he could never come near us.”
“You made that decision after hearing rumors.”
“There was a police investigation.”
“No charges.”
“Because the girl’s family moved away before the hearing.”
Diane’s mouth tightened.
She hated when I remembered details she preferred to bury.
Chloe looked toward Mia.
“Victor brought her an ice cream. Then he said he had something in his truck she would like.”
Mia shook in my arms.
“I told Mom we should stop him,” Chloe said. “She said he deserved a chance to prove everyone wrong.”
My voice became very quiet.
“And you let him take her?”
“I followed them.”
“How far?”
“To the service road.”
“What did you see?”
Chloe closed her eyes.
“Victor was holding both her wrists.”
The words hollowed out everything around me.
Mia pressed her face into my neck.
I forced my breathing to remain slow for her.
“Why?”
“She was trying to run back.”
Robert whispered, “Oh God.”
Chloe continued before fear could stop her again.
“She was crying. I told him to let go. Mom came over and said Mia was being dramatic.”
Diane snapped:
“That is not what happened.”
Chloe shouted back for the first time in her life.
“You told me he only needed a few minutes!”
The car beyond the dunes remained idling.
No one emerged.
Someone was listening.
I stepped toward Chloe.
“What happened next?”
“Dad came over. He told Victor this was a mistake.”
I looked at Robert.
He stared at the ground.
“Did you take Mia away from him?”
“No.”
The answer was barely audible.
“Why?”
Diane answered for him.
“Because Victor became upset.”
I stared at her.
“You were more concerned about upsetting Victor than protecting a six-year-old?”
“He has been through enough.”
Mia raised her head.
“He put me in the truck.”
Every adult froze.
My heartbeat became painfully loud.
“Were you inside the vehicle?”
She nodded.
“Did it move?”
“A little. Aunt Chloe stood in front.”
Chloe’s face crumpled.
“I blocked the truck. He got out and started yelling. Mom told me I was ruining everything.”
That was why the marks circled both wrists.
Victor had restrained Mia while trying to take her away.
The family stopped him only because Chloe stood in front of the vehicle.
Then they abandoned my daughter behind the snack shack.
May you like
Not forgotten.
Hidden.
