Chapter 4 - The Denial
The next morning, while Lily was in surgery, my phone exploded.
My father left six voicemails. My mother sent a dozen text messages. They vacillated between demanding I drop the charges to gaslighting me into believing I was remembering the event wrong.
Vanessa was just trying to help Lily be independent! my mother texted. You are destroying this family over a misunderstanding.
They hadn't even asked how Lily was doing. Not once.
I blocked both of their numbers.
At noon, Dr. Evans came out of the OR with a small, tired smile. "She did great. We stabilized the fracture and reinforced the joint. She's resting in recovery. But she's going to be in a non-weight-bearing cast for another eight weeks."
Relief washed over me like a tidal wave. "Thank you. I don't know how I can ever repay you."
"You protect that little girl," Dr. Evans replied firmly. "I spoke with the detectives this morning. I gave them my official medical statement as a witness and as her attending physician. Your sister isn't going to be able to talk her way out of this."
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Just then, the TV in the waiting room, tuned to the local news channel, caught my eye. There, in high definition, was footage of Vanessa. She was being escorted out of her high-end real estate office in handcuffs, sobbing hysterically while her coworkers stared in shock.
The police hadn't waited. They had arrested her at work.
