Chapter 3 - The Trip He Wanted Me to Take
The business trip to Chicago was supposed to last four days.
Marcus encouraged me to go.
“You keep turning down opportunities because you’re afraid to leave Lily.”
“She’s only five.”
“And I’m her father now.”
He insisted I needed to trust him.
The first evening, Lily called from her tablet.
She whispered instead of speaking normally.
“Can you come home?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Marcus says I’m being bad.”
Before I could ask more, he appeared on the screen.
“She’s overtired.”
The call ended.
I tried again twice.
No answer.
The next morning, Marcus texted that Lily had lost screen privileges because she threw a tantrum.
Something inside me tightened.
I canceled the final meetings, changed my flight, and returned a full day early without telling him.
The house was strangely quiet.
My suitcase rolled through the entryway.
Then I heard the broken, frightened sounds coming from the living room.
Later, doctors determined Lily had suffered a severe reaction after being kept near an allergen Marcus knew she had to avoid.
Her prescribed rescue medication was still inside the locked kitchen cabinet.
Marcus had not called for help.
He told police he was waiting to see whether she calmed down.
The timeline suggested something worse.
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He expected me to return the following evening.
Without my early flight, Lily might have remained alone with him for another twenty-four hours.
