His face hardened. The old expression returned, the one he had worn when Eleanor challenged him about the bank statements and the forged signatures. Anger first. Explanation later. If explanation became inconvenient, accusation.
“You sold the house without telling me,” he said.
“I sold my house.”
“You’re not capable of making decisions like this.”
“I made the decision that kept your daughter alive.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know the hospital called me when your wife stopped answering. I know the transplant coordinator told me Lily was on the waiting list. I know you had signed forms saying there were no available relatives willing to help. I know I paid the deposit two days before the surgery.”
Daniel’s eyes moved toward the truck.
A woman sat in the passenger seat. Eleanor recognized her from the hospital: Daniel’s wife, Marissa. Her face was pale behind the glass. She had not stepped out.
Lily saw her and lifted a hand.
“Mom?”
Marissa turned her face away.
That small movement broke something in the child. Her shoulders collapsed, and Eleanor felt her lean more heavily against her.
Daniel saw it too. For the first time, shame reached his face before anger could cover it.
“Marissa didn’t know,” he said.
From the truck, Marissa gave a short, broken laugh.
“I knew enough.”
Daniel spun around.
She opened the passenger door and stepped onto the pavement. She wore a gray coat over hospital clothes, and a plastic bracelet still circled her wrist. Her hair was pulled back carelessly. She looked exhausted, not frightened.
“I knew you told your mother the baby died,” Marissa said. “I knew Lily was alive. I knew you had been taking money from your mother’s accounts.”
“Get back in the truck.”
“No.”
The movers shifted farther away, but none of them left. The silver-haired man put the clipboard under his arm.
Daniel’s face turned red.
“Marissa, this is not the time.”
“It is the only time.” Her voice shook, yet she kept walking until she stood beside Lily. “You said the house was already yours. You said your mother had signed everything over. You said the hospital payment came from an inheritance.”
Eleanor looked at her.
“Why did you let him bring Lily here?”
Marissa swallowed.
“Because he said he was taking her to a different hospital. He said he needed to move her records. Then I heard him telling someone that once you were declared incompetent, he could sell the property and pay off the loans.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re lying.”
“I have the recordings.”
The driveway seemed to contract around them.
Marissa reached into her coat and removed her phone. Her fingers were shaking so badly that she had to try twice to unlock it.
Daniel moved toward her.
The silver-haired mover stepped between them.
“Sir,” he said, “don’t.”
Daniel stared at him.
“What did you say?”
