I stepped closer. “Honey, whatever it is, we’ll handle it as a family.”
But before Lily could speak, Vanessa interrupted again—pushing, insisting, framing things dramatically—but Lily stood her ground.
And what came out next was not dramatic, or scandalous, or anything that belonged in a scene of chaos. It was simply a truth a young girl should never have been forced to hold on her own.
The Secret She’d Been Carrying
“It started in September,” Lily said. “I needed help with algebra. Aunt Vanessa offered to take me twice a week on her way to work.”
Not one of us had known about this arrangement. My heart ached that Lily had been embarrassed to tell us she needed help.
She continued, voice trembling. “But she didn’t take me to the tutoring center. Not once.”
The room buzzed with disbelief.
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