Chapter 9 - The Truth in the Car
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The drive home was quiet, save for the rhythmic swish of the windshield wipers clearing a light, misty rain. The adrenaline that had carried me off the stage was beginning to fade, leaving behind a hollow, aching exhaustion.
I clutched the steering wheel, glancing over at Ellie in the passenger seat. She was staring out the window, her small hands folded in her lap.
“How long did you know, Ellie?” I asked, keeping my voice as gentle as possible. I needed to know how much of this burden my thirteen-year-old had been carrying alone.
Ellie sighed, resting her head against the cool glass of the window. “About a month. I came home early from soccer practice one day because practice was canceled. Dad’s car was in the driveway. I heard them laughing in the kitchen.”
My stomach churned violently. He had brought her into our home.
“I hid in the mudroom,” Ellie continued, her voice remarkably steady. “I watched them drinking wine out of your favorite glasses. They were kissing. She was wearing your bathrobe.”
I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second, fighting down a wave of nausea.
“I didn't know how to tell you,” Ellie said, turning to look at me, her eyes filled with a heavy, adult sorrow. “I knew if I just said it, Dad would lie. He always lies his way out of things. He would have told you I was confused, or making things up because I was mad at him. I needed proof. So, I bought a little Wi-Fi camera with my babysitting money and hid it behind the mirror in your bedroom. I figured they’d go back in there eventually.”
I reached across the console and squeezed her hand. I was horrified that she had to witness the destruction of our family, but I was in absolute awe of her intelligence. She had completely outsmarted a man twice her age.
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“When did you see the footage with the pearls?” I asked.
“Last night,” she replied. “I was going to show it to you this morning. But then he left for the hotel early, and I saw the program schedule for the gala on his desk. I saw what he was planning to do. I knew we had to do it there.”
