I stood up.
Because suddenly this wasn’t a misunderstanding.
It wasn’t a scared girl remembering things incorrectly.
Someone had a reason to hide the truth.
And I was about to find out why.
A message.
From Claire.
My ex-wife.
I opened it.
Please don’t make this worse. Ryan is already upset. Lily probably misunderstood what happened.
I stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
She’s always had a difficult relationship with him. Maybe she’s blaming him because she’s scared.
I looked at my daughter.
The girl who had called me at 2:47 in the morning because she was afraid nobody would believe her.
And suddenly I understood something.
This wasn’t just about what happened at the dock.
Someone was already trying to rewrite the story.
I put my phone away.
“Lily,” I said quietly.
“Yes?”
“Did anyone else see what happened?”
Her eyes moved away.
