Chapter 4 - The Price of a Daughter
The answer came 3 days later.
Jason signed away his parental rights without arguing.
He didn’t ask to see Lily one last time.
He didn’t ask how she was.
He didn’t attempt to negotiate a repayment plan.
He chose the money.
When Margaret called Allison with the news, Allison closed her eyes.
She had expected it.
But that didn’t make it hurt less.
There are some truths suspicion can never fully prepare you for.
That afternoon, Lily sat on the carpet of their temporary apartment drawing a house with a red roof.
In front of it, she drew 2 figures holding hands.
“This is you,” Lily said proudly, pointing to one. “And this is me.”
Allison smiled sadly.
“Isn’t someone missing, sweetheart?”
Lily thought for several seconds.
Then she shook her head.
“No. You and me are enough.”
Allison pulled her daughter into her arms and cried silently.
But she wasn’t crying for Jason anymore.
She was crying because her daughter had just given her permission to begin again.
Marcus appeared a week later at a quiet café in Old Town Scottsdale, where Allison and Lily were sharing a slice of chocolate cake.
“Who exactly are you, and why do you keep looking for us?” Allison asked without softening her voice.
Lily stared at him seriously.
“Are you going to make my mommy cry too?”
Marcus lowered himself slightly so he was closer to her height.
“No.”
Lily pointed toward the thin scar beside his temple.
“Did that hurt?”
“A long time ago.”
“My mommy has a big hurt too, but you can not see hers.”
Marcus went still.
Allison pulled Lily closer.
“What do you want from me?”
Marcus placed a business card on the table.
“I was at that birthday party. I saw what Jason did. And I watched 47 adults stand there and do nothing. For a few seconds, I was one of them. Then I realized I couldn’t stay that way.”
“So you destroyed Jason?”
“No. Jason destroyed his career through his own crimes. I found evidence and gave it to the people who needed to see it.”
Allison studied him suspiciously.
“You also know who I am.”
“Yes.”
Marcus paused.
“I knew your father years ago. I recognized your mother’s ring.”
Allison’s hand immediately moved toward the silver chain around her neck.
“Did my father send you to find me?”
“No. Your father respected the promise he made to you. When I told him what happened, he asked me for one thing only: not to decide anything for you.”
“Then what do you want?”
Marcus held her gaze.
May you like
“Nothing. I only wanted you to know that you don’t have to believe you’re alone anymore.”
He stood and walked away.
