Chapter 8 - LILY'S STORY
A child interviewer met Lily in a neutral room.
No Natalie.
No Evelyn.
No Melissa.
Lily was asked simple questions.
“What happens when Grandma gets mad?”
“She gets loud.”
“Does she hit you?”
“Sometimes she squeezes.”
“Where?”
“My arms.”
“Does she call police?”
Lily nodded.
“Why?”
“So I stop being bad.”
“What do you think the police do?”
Lily’s eyes filled.
“Take bad kids.”
There it was.
The fear.
Not because Officer Daniels had threatened her.
Because Evelyn had built that association.
Lily continued:
“Grandma says if I make trouble, Mommy can’t keep the land.”
The interviewer stopped.
“What land?”
“The tree land.”
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A five-year-old did not understand trusts.
She understood enough to repeat the sentence.
