“She knows something, Nathan,” I said. “And you’re using those chemicals to wipe her memory.”

He grabbed both of my arms, his fingers digging deep into my skin.

“I did what I had to do,” he hissed. “For this family. For us.”

“Let me go,” I gasped, struggling against his grip.

“If you breathe a word of this to anyone, they will take Lily,” he said.

I froze, the breath leaving my lungs.

“What?” I breathed.

“They will look at this house, they will look at me, and they will declare us unfit,” he said.

His face was inches from mine, his eyes wide and dark.

“Do you want to lose our daughter?” he asked.

I stared at him, horror washing over me.

He was using Lily to threaten me, leveraging our child to keep his secret safe.

“You wouldn’t,” I whispered.

“I will do whatever it takes to keep this family together,” he said.

He let go of my arms suddenly, leaving red marks on my skin.

He walked over to the bed and smoothed the blanket over Eleanor’s shoulders.