For the first time, I saw something different in my ex-husband’s face.
Guilt.
Deep, unbearable guilt.
Then he said something that made my heart stop.
“Mallory didn’t just give Brynn the money.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“She took her there.”
Brynn closed her eyes.
I felt the room tilt.
“You said she gave you the money.”
“I didn’t lie.”
“You let me believe you went by yourself.”
“I was scared.”
“Scared of what?”
Brynn looked at Colin.
Then at me.
And whispered:
“Because Mallory said if I told you, you’d take me to a doctor.”
I frowned.
“What doctor?”
Brynn started crying.
“The kind who asks questions.”
I looked at Colin.
He nodded.
“She was afraid someone would find out why she really wanted the fillers.”
“What does that mean?”
Neither of them spoke.
Then Colin reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a small envelope.
He placed it on the kitchen counter.
“I found this in Mallory’s car.”
I stared at it.
“What is it?”
“That’s what I need you to tell me.”
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a printed photograph.
Not of Brynn.
Not of Mallory.
It was a photograph of me.
Taken from across the street outside my house.
On the back, someone had written a date.
Three days before Brynn ever mentioned lip fillers.
And beneath the date were four words:
She still doesn’t know.
Part 3 — The Truth
Part 3 — The Truth
For several seconds, I couldn’t move.
I kept staring at the photograph.
It was me.
Standing outside my house.
Holding grocery bags.
Completely unaware that someone had been watching.
“Who took this?”
Colin didn’t answer.
“Who took it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
His honesty frightened me more than an excuse would have.
I turned the photograph over again.
The handwriting was neat.
Almost too neat.
“She still doesn’t know.”
My voice came out barely above a whisper.
“Know what?”
Colin looked at Brynn.
Then he looked at me.
“That was the question I was trying to answer.”
I felt anger rising again.
“You’ve known about this for three weeks?”
“I’ve been trying to figure out who was behind it.”
“And you thought you could do that without me?”
“I thought I could protect both of you.”
“You failed.”
“I know.”
Brynn suddenly spoke.
“Mom.”
I turned.
She was crying again.
“I didn’t get the fillers because I wanted to look like those girls online.”
“Then why?”
She stared at the floor.
“Because Mallory told me they would make it stop.”
My stomach dropped.
“Make what stop?”
“The messages.”
I looked at Colin.
He closed his eyes.
Brynn continued.
“She said whoever was sending them wanted me to feel ugly. She said if I changed something they kept making fun of, maybe they’d leave me alone.”
“And you believed her?”
“I wanted to.”
Her voice broke.
“I wanted something to make it stop.”
I walked over and pulled her into my arms.
