Chapter 2: The Return of Marcus Bennett
“Marcus?””
Vanessa said his name again, this time barely above a whisper.
She had imagined his return a hundred different ways.
Sometimes she pictured him arriving unexpectedly at the office, furious and demanding answers. Sometimes she imagined him discovering the affair and throwing her out. Other times, she reassured herself that he would remain overseas until she had secured everything she wanted.
But she had never imagined him standing in the penthouse dressed as Santa Claus.
And she had certainly never imagined him holding Lily.
“What are you doing here?”” Vanessa demanded.
Marcus finally turned.
He didn't shout.
He didn't move toward her.
He simply looked at her.
“It's Christmas,” he said.
“I came home to see my daughter.””
Vanessa glanced at Lily's face, still buried against his shoulder.
Her expression changed instantly.
“Oh, darling,” she said, forcing a sweet smile.
“You must have misunderstood something. Lily has been helping me with a little cleaning. Children need responsibilities.””
Marcus looked down at the wine-soaked dress.
“Is that what you call this?””
Vanessa laughed nervously.
“She spilled wine. She's always so clumsy.””
Lily tightened her arms around her father.
Marcus noticed.
“Did she spill it on herself?””
Vanessa hesitated.
“Well, I didn't see exactly what happened.””
Derek stepped forward.
“Marcus, right? I'm Derek.””
Marcus looked at him.
“I know.””
Derek extended a hand.
Marcus didn't take it.
The hand remained suspended between them for an uncomfortable moment before Derek lowered it.
“Your wife has been telling me a lot about you,” Derek said.
Marcus looked at Vanessa.
“I'm sure she has.””
Vanessa moved toward them.
“Marcus, you're making this awkward. Why don't you put Lily down and come inside? We can discuss everything privately.””
“No.””
The single word stopped her.
“What?””
“I'm not putting my daughter down.””
Vanessa swallowed.
“Marcus, please. This is not how we should handle things.””
“Then tell me how we should handle the fact that my eight-year-old daughter is wearing cleaning gloves and covered in wine.””
“She offered to help.””
Marcus looked at Lily.
“Princess, did you offer to clean the floor?””
Lily didn't answer immediately.
She looked at Vanessa.
Marcus gently turned her face toward him.
“You're safe. Just tell me the truth.””
Lily's voice was tiny.
“She told me to.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Marcus, she's exaggerating.””
“Did you pour the wine on her?””
“No!””
Derek shifted uncomfortably.
“Look, man, I think everyone needs to calm down.””
Marcus's eyes moved to him.
“Did you call my daughter a parasite?””
Derek opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Vanessa answered quickly.
“Of course not. Marcus, she's eight. She doesn't understand adult conversations.””
Lily lifted her head.
“He said you were an idiot.””
Marcus looked at her.
Her little face was wet with tears.
“And I told him not to say that.””
A long silence followed.
Then Marcus stood upright.
He was a tall man, broad-shouldered, with dark hair beginning to gray at the temples. Without the Santa beard, there was nothing soft or playful about his expression now.
“Derek,” he said, “get out of my house.””
Derek gave an incredulous laugh.
“Excuse me?””
“You heard me.””
Vanessa rushed between them.
“Marcus, you cannot just throw people out!””
He looked at her.
“People?””
Her face drained of color.
“I mean—Derek is a guest.””
“Then he can leave like one.””
Derek grabbed his jacket from the sofa.
“This is ridiculous. Vanessa told me you were practically never coming back.””
Marcus didn't blink.
“And you believed her.””
Derek glanced at Vanessa.
She was staring at him, silently begging him not to say anything else.
Marcus noticed that look.
He filed it away.
“Now,” Marcus said.
Derek buttoned his jacket.
“Fine. I'm leaving.””
He walked toward the entrance, but as he passed Marcus, he leaned closer.
“You have no idea what you've walked into.””
Marcus turned his head slightly.
“Then you'd better hope I find out before you become part of it.””
Derek stopped.
For a moment, neither man moved.
Then Derek stepped away and hurried toward the elevator.
The doors closed behind him.
Vanessa watched them disappear.
Then she turned back to Marcus.
“Are you happy now?””
Marcus said nothing.
“You embarrassed me in front of him. You walked in here like some kind of hero.””
Marcus looked at Lily.
“Go stand by the Christmas tree, sweetheart.””
Lily shook her head.
“I don't want to.””
“That's okay. You don't have to. Stay with me.””
Vanessa's eyes narrowed.
“Don't make her afraid of me.””
Marcus looked at her.
“I didn't have to.””
The words landed harder than a scream.
He carried Lily into the living room.
Up close, the damage was worse than he had first realized.
There was a red mark on her knee. The sleeve of her dress was damp, and the little girl kept rubbing her wrists together beneath the rubber gloves.
“Can you take these off for me?”” he asked.
Lily nodded.
Marcus helped her peel them away.
Her fingers were pale from being trapped inside the gloves.
He examined her hands carefully.
“Do they hurt?””
“A little.””
“Did you wear these all day?””
She nodded.
Marcus closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them, Vanessa was standing near the fireplace.
“Stop treating her like she's been through some terrible ordeal,” she said.
“She's always dramatic.””
Marcus didn't look up.
“Go to your bedroom, Vanessa.””
“This is my home.””
“Not while we're having this conversation.””
Vanessa laughed.
“You can't just decide that.””
Marcus reached into his coat and pulled out his phone.
“Then I'll call the building manager and security.””
She stopped laughing.
He continued.
“And after that, I'll call my attorney.””
Her lips tightened.
“You wouldn't.””
Marcus looked directly at her.
“Try me.””
Lily tugged his sleeve.
“Daddy?””
He immediately softened.
“Yes, princess?””
“Are you mad at me?””
The question struck him so deeply that, for a moment, he couldn't speak.
“No.””
“But I broke the Christmas cleaning.””
Marcus knelt in front of her.
“Listen to me.””
Lily stared at the floor.
“You did not break anything.””
“But Vanessa said—”
“Vanessa was wrong.””
Lily's mouth trembled.
“I'm sorry I made her angry.””
Marcus gently wiped a tear from her cheek.
“You don't have to make yourself smaller to keep someone else happy. And you never, ever have to apologize because someone hurt you.””
Lily looked at him.
“Promise?””
“Promise.””
She slipped her little hand into his.
Marcus stood and removed his dark wool coat, wrapping it around her shoulders. It swallowed her small frame, but she held the lapels together as though it were armor.
Then he turned toward the kitchen.
“I'm getting you something to eat.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Marcus, please. We need to talk.””
“Not now.””
“You have been gone for months. You can't come back and start giving orders.””
He stopped.
“Months?””
Vanessa nodded quickly.
“Exactly. You've been away. You don't know what happens here. Lily needs discipline, and I've had to manage everything alone.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Where is the housekeeper?””
Vanessa blinked.
“What?””
“The housekeeper. Where is she?””
Vanessa folded her arms.
“She left.””
“When?””
“Recently.””
“Why?””
“She couldn't handle the household.””
Marcus glanced at the cleaning supplies near the tree.
“Did she leave because you expected an eight-year-old to do her work?””
Vanessa's face flushed.
“Don't be absurd.””
Marcus picked up the bottle of water from the kitchen counter.
Then he noticed a small object beneath the edge of the cabinet.
A broken silver picture frame.
He crouched and picked it up.
Inside was a photograph of him and Lily from the previous Christmas. Marcus was holding her on his shoulders, both of them smiling in front of the tree.
The glass had cracked diagonally across his face.
He turned the frame over.
A small handwritten message was still attached to the back.
Daddy, you are my favorite Christmas present.
His throat tightened.
Vanessa moved toward him.
“Give me that.””
Marcus held it away from her.
“Why is this broken?””
“It fell.””
“From where?””
“I don't remember.””
He looked at the photograph again.
Lily had appeared in the corner of it, wearing the same little silver star necklace he had given her when she turned six.
He handed the frame to her.
“Do you remember this picture?””
Lily nodded.
“You took it.””
“I did.””
“You said I was the best Christmas present.””
Marcus smiled sadly.
“You are.””
Vanessa rolled her eyes.
“Must we turn everything into a sentimental performance?””
Marcus placed the frame carefully beside Lily.
Then he looked toward the tree.
Something else caught his attention.
The silver star ornament was missing.
He remembered hanging it there himself.
“Where's the star?”” he asked.
Vanessa frowned.
“What star?””
“The silver star we bought last year. The one Lily hung near the top.””
“Oh. It probably broke.””
Lily shook her head.
“No, Daddy.””
Both adults turned toward her.
The little girl hesitated.
“Mrs. Bennett put it away.””
Vanessa's face hardened.
“Lily.””
Marcus raised one hand.
“Let her speak.””
Lily looked at the tree.
“She said it made the house look cheap.””
Marcus's eyes shifted toward Vanessa.
For a moment, the silence was absolute.
Then he looked back at his daughter.
“Where did she put it?””
“In the storage room.””
Marcus nodded slowly.
“All right.””
It wasn't really about the ornament anymore.
It was about the fact that his daughter remembered every little thing she had lost because someone had told her it didn't belong.
A few minutes later, Marcus carried Lily upstairs.
He didn't take her to the bedroom Vanessa had chosen for her.
He walked straight to the old nursery.
He opened the door.
The room was almost exactly as he remembered it. Pale blue walls, a small bookshelf, stuffed animals, and glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling.
Lily stepped inside.
Her eyes widened.
“You kept it?””
Marcus smiled.
“Of course.””
The little girl walked to the bed and touched the soft blanket.
“I thought you sold it.””
“Never.””
He helped her sit.
Then he found a clean sweater and a pair of warm socks in the dresser.
“Let's get you comfortable.””
While he carefully helped her change out of the stained dress, she kept watching him.
“Daddy?””
“Yes?””
“Are you staying?””
His hands paused.
He looked at her through the mirror.
“Yes, sweetheart.””
“Tonight?””
“Tonight.””
“Tomorrow?””
He knelt beside her.
“Tomorrow, too.””
Her face brightened.
“And Christmas morning?””
Marcus kissed her forehead.
“Especially Christmas morning.””
She threw her arms around him.
He held her for a long time.
Then a small voice whispered against his chest.
“Daddy, I need to tell you something.””
Marcus leaned back.
“What is it?””
Lily looked toward the closed bedroom door.
“Mrs. Bennett told me not to tell you about the room.””
Marcus's expression changed.
“What room?””
“The room downstairs.””
“Where?””
Lily pointed toward the hallway.
“Behind the big wooden door.””
Marcus knew every room in the penthouse.
There was a storage room, a laundry room, and a small office beside the service elevator.
But the big wooden door?
He couldn't immediately picture it.
“What is inside?””
Lily shook her head.
“I'm not supposed to go in.””
“Did you ever go inside?””
Her eyes filled again.
“Once.””
Marcus gently took her hand.
“What did you see?””
Lily leaned close and whispered something that made the blood drain from his face.
Then she added one more sentence.
“And Daddy?””
May you like
“Yes?””
“I think Mrs. Bennett knows you were coming tonight.””
