Time stretched agonizingly. His legs cramped. He heard muffled voices, even Emily’s laughter, though it sounded strained. Finally, he heard Olivia approach Emily. “What do you want to do today? We can play dolls.” Emily replied quietly, “How about a cartoon?” Olivia agreed pleasantly and went to make tea.
In the dark closet, doubt gnawed at David. Why had Emily claimed abuse? Olivia seemed perfectly kind. After Olivia went to the bathroom, David felt he had seen enough. He slipped out, left the apartment, and re-entered loudly as if returning from work. “Hi! How was the day?”
“Wonderful!” Olivia beamed. Emily just nodded, avoiding his eyes. The tension was confusing. That night, after tucking Emily in, David asked, “Emily, I heard her being nice. Why did you lie?”
“I didn’t lie, Dad!” Emily cried. “She’s pretending! She knows something is up, or she’s just waiting!” David felt disappointed and confused. He apologized to Olivia later for his suspicion. “I just want to protect her,” he said. “I understand,” Olivia soothed.
But sleep eluded him. He decided to try one more time. The next morning, he placed a stool in the closet to avoid the cramping. He needed absolute certainty.
The morning began with the usual sweet talk. But an hour later, footsteps approached the bedroom. The door opened. Emily walked in, followed by Olivia. Emily sat on the bed. Olivia stood in the doorway, her expression dark and grim.
“Hi, Emily,” Olivia said. The voice was unrecognizable—cold, flat, cruel. “I think we need to talk.”
David felt his blood freeze. The mask had fallen. He raised his phone to record.
“About what?” Emily whispered, trembling. Olivia stepped forward, looming over the child. “About those lying stories you told your father.”
David was ready to burst out, but he needed the confession.
“You hurt me,” Emily said, backing away. Olivia smirked, a twisted expression. “Hurt? Darling, I haven’t even started hurting you.”
Olivia stepped closer, her voice dropping to a venomous hiss. “Listen here, you little liar. You are going to go to your father and tell him it was all a misunderstanding. That you made it up.” Emily shook her head, tears streaming. “No. I won’t lie to him.”
Olivia lunged, grabbing Emily’s wrist and twisting.
“This is like strawberry ice cream!” Emily screamed.
David exploded from the closet…
