Chương 5
Pictures of the three of them together.
But someone had folded them away and hidden them.
Corinne touched one drawing carefully.
It showed a little girl standing outside a house under a bright sun.
Next to her was a woman wearing a blue jacket.
"My mommy comes home," Casey had written in uneven handwriting.
Corinne felt tears forming in her eyes.
"Why were these hidden?"
Casey whispered.
"Aunt Gwen said they made me sad."
Corinne looked toward the doorway.
Gwendolyn was standing there.
Watching.
"You shouldn't be going through things that are not yours anymore."
Corinne turned around slowly.
"Not mine?"
Gwendolyn remained calm.
"This room belongs to Casey."
"Exactly."
Corinne held up the drawings.
"Which is why her memories belong here too."
Gwendolyn sighed.
"You don't understand."
"No."
Corinne looked directly at her.
"I understand more than you think."
Ross appeared behind Gwendolyn.
He looked at the open box.
His expression changed.
"What is all this?"
Corinne looked at him.
"You tell me."
Ross walked closer.
For a moment, he looked genuinely confused.
"I didn't know these were here."
Corinne studied his face.
She believed him.
That frightened her more.
Because it meant someone else had been controlling the story inside their home.
Casey moved closer to her mother.
"Aunt Gwen said Mommy didn't want my pictures."
Corinne immediately turned.
"She said that?"
Casey nodded.
"She said you liked being away more."
Corinne closed her eyes.
The words hurt.
Not because they were true.
Because a child had been forced to carry them.
She looked at Casey.
"Sweetheart, listen to me."
The little girl looked up.
"Nothing you drew was ever something I didn't want."
Corinne touched the drawing.
"I would have kept every single one."
Casey's eyes filled with tears.
"I saved them."
Corinne hugged her.
"I know."
The moment was interrupted by Ross's phone vibrating.
He looked down.
A message appeared on the screen.
Corinne noticed his reaction.
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
But his face said something else.
She stepped closer.
"Ross."
He looked at her.
For a second, he looked like he wanted to tell the truth.
Then Gwendolyn interrupted.
"We should leave this conversation for tomorrow."
Corinne looked at her.
"No."
The firmness in her voice surprised everyone.
"Tomorrow is what people say when they want time to hide things."
The room became still.
Ross looked uncomfortable.
Corinne continued.
"I came home tonight because I thought I was coming back to my family."
She looked at the hidden drawings.
"Instead, I found evidence that someone has been teaching my daughter to fear me."
Nobody answered.
Because nobody could.
Corinne walked toward Casey's bed.
She noticed something under the pillow.
A small folded piece of paper.
She looked at Casey.
"Can I see this?"
Casey slowly nodded.
Corinne picked it up.
The paper was old and wrinkled.
Inside was a child's handwriting.
Mommy, I miss you.
Corinne's breathing stopped.
There were more words underneath.
I don't think you forgot me but everyone says you did.
Her hands began shaking.
She looked at Ross.
"Who wrote this?"
Casey looked down.
"I wrote it last Christmas."
Corinne stared at the page.
"Why didn't you give it to me?"
Casey whispered.
"I couldn't."
"Why?"
The little girl looked toward the hallway.
"Because Aunt Gwen said you wouldn't come back."
Corinne felt something inside her break.
Not anger.
Something deeper.
The pain of realizing her daughter had been waiting for her while believing she was unwanted.
She folded the paper carefully.
Then she placed it against her heart.
"I came back."
Casey nodded.
"I know."
For the first time that night, Casey's voice sounded certain.
Gwendolyn stepped forward.
"This is getting ridiculous."
Corinne turned.
"No."
Her voice was calm.
"This is the first honest conversation we've had."
Gwendolyn's expression hardened.
"You think you can walk back in and fix everything?"
Corinne looked at Casey.
"No."
Then she looked back.
"I think I can start by believing my daughter."
Ross looked away.
That reaction told Corinne more than words.
He had heard things.
He had believed things.
But he had not looked closely enough.
Corinne walked back into the hallway.
"Where are my belongings?"
Ross frowned.
"What?"
"The things I left here."
He hesitated.
"Storage."
"Show me."
Nobody moved.
Corinne waited.
Finally, Ross walked downstairs.
The basement door opened with a heavy sound.
The air smelled like dust and old wood.
Ross turned on the light.
Boxes filled the room.
Corinne walked down the stairs slowly.
Her entire life seemed packed away.
Her books.
Her photographs.
Her daughter's childhood memories.
Everything placed into boxes like something that no longer mattered.
Then she saw a large black container in the corner.
Her name was written on it.
She opened it.
Inside were letters.
Hundreds of letters.
Letters she had written to Casey during deployments.
Letters she had never sent because Ross told her they would confuse Casey.
Corinne looked up.
"What is this?"
Ross froze.
"I thought it was better."
"For who?"
He had no answer.
Corinne picked up one letter.
The date was from three years earlier.
Casey was only one year old.
She had written about coming home.
About teaching her daughter to ride a bicycle.
About the future they would have together.
All of it had been hidden.
All of it had been kept away.
Corinne looked at Ross.
"You didn't just let her forget me."
Her voice broke slightly.
"You helped her forget me."
Ross looked devastated.
"I was wrong."
The words were quiet.
But they came too late.
Behind them, footsteps appeared.
Gwendolyn stood at the basement entrance.
And for the first time all night, she did not look calm.
She looked afraid.
Because Corinne had finally found the truth she had been hiding.
And now she had proof.
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And now she had proof.
Corinne stood in the basement holding the letters against her chest while the truth settled around her like the dust covering everything else in the room.
