PART 13 – The Longer I Waited for Answers, the More I Realized Nobody Had Actually Explained Who Had Been Around My Daughter

I had stopped trying to convince Daniel that I hadn't hurt Lily.

There was no point repeating the same words.

I had told him what happened that night.

I had told the officers what I knew.

And I had given them information about the dining room camera.

Now I needed to wait for the investigation to move forward.

But waiting didn't mean my mind was quiet.

I kept returning to the same question.

Who had been with Lily before she became sick?

The surgeon had explained that the magnets had been inside her body for more than a full day.

That detail stayed with me.

It meant the incident had happened before the night I drove her to the hospital.

I tried to remember the ordinary hours leading up to that emergency.

The meals.

The time spent at home.

The people who had been around.

I wanted to be certain I wasn't overlooking something important.

But I couldn't reconstruct every moment.

Nobody could.

That was why we had a security camera.

I looked toward Officer Carter.

"Have you been able to review the information about the camera?"

He listened to my question.

I explained again that it covered the dining room.

I wanted the officers to examine the recording from the relevant period.

I wasn't asking them to accept my suspicions.

I wasn't accusing anyone.

I simply wanted them to establish what had happened.

Daniel looked uncomfortable whenever I mentioned the camera.

I noticed it, but I didn't comment.

I didn't know what his expression meant.

I had already learned that guessing could lead nowhere.

Patricia remained close to him.

She wasn't crying anymore.

She was quiet.

I looked at her briefly.

I remembered how quickly she had suggested that my online classes had distracted me.

That comment still bothered me.

I had spent years caring for Lily.

I had never thought of my ordinary activities as something I needed to apologize for.

Yet that night, Patricia had made them sound like evidence of neglect.

I felt angry.

Not because she had criticized me.

Because she had done it while her granddaughter was recovering from surgery.

I turned away.

I didn't want to spend another minute arguing about my character.

I wanted answers.

The officers continued handling the information I had provided.

I knew they had to establish the circumstances carefully.

I also understood that a recording needed to be examined rather than interpreted through somebody's memory.

I tried to remain patient.

Then I asked about Lily.

I wanted to know whether I could see her.

The hospital staff explained that her recovery and medical care had to come first.

I understood.

I didn't want to interfere with anything the doctors needed to do.

I only wished I could sit beside her.

I imagined her waking up and looking around for me.

I imagined her wondering why I wasn't there.

That thought was difficult to bear.

I had promised her we would get help.

I wanted to be there when she needed reassurance.

I looked at the blanket I had brought from home.

It was folded nearby.

I recognized the corner where Lily had held it during the drive.

I touched the fabric.

It reminded me of the moment she had come into my bedroom.

I could still hear her voice.

She had been so frightened.

I wished I could go back and make the pain disappear before it ever started.

But I couldn't.

All I could do now was stay and make sure the truth was not lost among the accusations.

Click here to continue reading: PART 14: Patricia Had Been Quick to Question My Parenting, but Nobody Had Yet Established What Happened Before Lily Became Sick