Chapter 4 - THE SECRET UNDER THE FLOORBOARDS
That evening, Daniel found Lily sitting beneath the window in her bedroom, holding a stuffed rabbit with one ear missing.
She had barely touched dinner.
When he entered, she quickly slid something beneath her pillow.
Daniel noticed but didn't reach for it.
Instead, he sat on the carpet beside her.
“Can I ask you something?”
Lily nodded cautiously.
“Have you been hiding something in your room?”
Her shoulders stiffened.
“I'm not in trouble?”
“No, sweetheart. You're not in trouble.”
She studied his face as if searching for a reason to distrust him.
Then she reached beneath the pillow and removed a folded piece of paper.
It was a drawing.
A woman lay on a bed. Another woman stood beside her holding a bottle. A little girl watched from a doorway.
Above the drawing, Lily had written three words in uneven letters.
GRANDMA. MOMMY. MEDICINE.
Daniel felt cold.
“Can you tell me about this picture?”
Lily pressed the rabbit against her chest.
“Grandma said Mommy was sick.”
“She was sick.”
“But Mommy said the medicine made her feel funny.”
Daniel remained still.
“When did she say that?”
“The night before she went to the hospital. Mommy was sitting in her room, and Grandma brought her something to drink.”
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
“I wasn't supposed to be awake. But I heard Mommy say she didn't want it.”
Daniel's voice softened.
“What happened next?”
“Grandma said Mommy was being difficult. Then she made her drink it.”
Daniel closed his eyes briefly.
He knew he had to be careful. A child's memory could be incomplete, and he couldn't allow his fear to turn uncertainty into certainty.
“Did you see what was in the glass?”
Lily shook her head.
“No. But the next morning, Mommy was shaking.”
“Did you tell anyone?”
“Grandma said Mommy was tired because she didn't love us enough to take care of herself.”
Daniel's heart broke.
“Oh, Lily.”
He gathered her into his arms.
“You should never have had to carry this by yourself.”
She began to cry.
“I wanted to tell you. But Grandma said if I did, she'd send me away to a place where nobody would know my name.”
Daniel held her until the sobs subsided.
Then Lily whispered, “There's something else.”
She pointed toward the hallway.
“Mommy hid a box in the music room. Grandma tried to find it, but she couldn't.”
Daniel followed her downstairs.
The music room had not been used in months. Emily's piano stood beside a wall of tall windows, and an old rug covered most of the hardwood floor.
Lily walked to the piano bench.
“Mommy used to say that music helps you remember things.”
She knelt and lifted the corner of the rug.
Beneath it was a narrow wooden floorboard that looked slightly different from the others.
Daniel carefully lifted it.
Inside the hollow space lay a small metal box.
The lock was broken.
Within it were a flash drive, several folded letters, and a child's drawing of three people holding hands.
Daniel recognized Emily's handwriting on the first letter.
Daniel, if you're reading this, I wasn't able to explain everything to you myself. I need you to know that I never wanted to leave you. I was trying to protect you and Lily.
He read on.
I discovered irregular payments through the foundation. At first, I thought someone was stealing from your company. Then I found records suggesting that some of the money was being used to pay people who could make inconvenient questions disappear.
Your mother insists she is protecting the family. Richard insists that I don't understand the business. But I know what I saw.
I am afraid, Daniel. Not because I believe you would abandon me, but because I know how fiercely you protect the people you love. If you confront them without proof, they may use your anger against you.
Daniel lowered the letter.
Emily had known.
She had known enough to be afraid, yet she had tried to gather evidence before involving him.
He plugged the flash drive into his laptop.
Most of the files were financial records. One folder contained photographs and short audio recordings.
Another was labeled LILY—IMPORTANT.
Daniel clicked it.
A video appeared.
Emily sat at her desk, looking directly into the camera.
“Daniel,” she began, “if Lily ever gives you the key, please listen to her. She may have seen something I couldn't prove.”
Emily took a deep breath.
“I don't know whether Margaret is involved in everything I've discovered. I don't want to believe she would deliberately hurt our family. But she knows more than she admits.”
The recording ended.
Daniel sat motionless.
Then another file appeared.
It was a recording from a security camera in the hallway outside Emily's study.
The timestamp showed the night before her death.
Margaret entered the room carrying a glass.
Emily followed her.
Their conversation was difficult to hear, but one sentence came through clearly.
“You have no idea what you're risking by protecting that child.”
Daniel replayed it.
Again.
And again.
Then Lily touched his arm.
“Daddy?”
He looked at her.
“Grandma said Mommy was a bad person because she wanted to tell the truth.”
Daniel closed the laptop.
“Your mother was brave.”
Lily began to cry again, but this time she leaned into him without hesitation.
He held her tightly.
A noise came from the front door.
Then a voice echoed through the house.
“Daniel! We need to talk!”
Margaret.
She had returned despite his instructions.
Daniel rose and went downstairs, leaving Lily with Mrs. Alvarez.
His mother stood in the foyer, her face flushed with anger.
“I have been trying to reach you all day.”
“I know.”
“You've embarrassed me in front of the staff. You've questioned people at the hospital. And now I've heard you're digging through Emily's belongings.”
Daniel said nothing.
Margaret's eyes narrowed.
“What have you found?”
The question told him more than any confession could have.
He stepped closer.
“What happened to my wife?”
Margaret's expression hardened.
“Your wife was unstable. You know that.”
“Did you give her something the night before she died?”
For the first time, his mother looked genuinely frightened.
Then the fear vanished.
“You are making a terrible mistake.”
“No. I think I've been making one for eighteen months.”
Margaret moved toward him.
“Daniel, listen to me. Everything I did was to protect this family.”
He stared at her.
“From what?”
She opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, a crash came from the upper floor.
Daniel turned.
Lily stood at the top of the stairs, holding the metal box.
Her face was white.
“Daddy,” she whispered. “I remember where Grandma put the other papers.”
Margaret's eyes widened.
“Lily, don't you dare!”
The little girl began descending the stairs, one careful step at a time.
May you like
Then she said the words that made Daniel realize the mystery was far from over.
“Grandma put them in Mommy's coffin.”
