The truth came slowly. Vanessa had grabbed her, punished her for small things, hidden family photos of Claire because they made the house “live in the past.” Once she forced Sophie to sleep without her blanket. Another time she warned that no one would believe her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Michael asked after the social worker left.
Tears filled Sophie’s eyes. “Because you kept saying she was trying.”
By afternoon, child protective services had opened an investigation. When Michael returned home alone, the house felt unfamiliar.
In Sophie’s room he found a small box hidden in the closet.
Inside were photographs.
Pictures of Sophie—sleeping, doing homework, standing outside. None were family photos. Many had been taken secretly through partly opened doors. Beneath them was a notebook.
Michael opened it.
Vanessa’s entries filled the pages. At first they sounded frustrated. Then resentful. Then cruel.
I try to care about her but I can’t stand how he looks at her.
She keeps her mother alive in every room.
This house was never meant for me.