“I should have done more, Evelyn,” she whispered.

“When my brother died, I knew Marissa was cruel.”

“But I did not think she would leave them at an airport.”

“She wanted them gone,” I said.

“But she wanted the money first.”

“She is a monster,” Clara whispered, looking at Lily, who had curled up on a small armchair across the room.

Lily’s eyes were open, staring at the ceiling.

She looked so small in the oversized chair.

I got up and took a heavy wool blanket from the closet.

I walked over and draped it over Lily’s shoulders.

She didn’t move, but she looked at me with a tiny, fragile nod.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

My heart cracked a little.

I knelt by her chair.

“Are you hungry, sweetheart?” I asked.

She shook her head.

“I want my daddy,” she said.

I didn’t know what to say to that.

Their father had been gone for six months, and Marissa had spent every day since trying to erase his memory.

“We are going to find a way to make things right,” I promised her, keeping my voice soft.