Chapter 8 - The School That Stopped Asking QuestionsOn Monday morning, Daniel drove Naomi to school himself.

It was the first time he had done so that year.

Naomi sat quietly in the back seat, clutching her backpack.

"Does Vanessa know you're taking me?" she asked.

"She knows."

"Will she be angry?"

"That's not something you need to worry about."

Naomi looked out the window.

Daniel checked the rearview mirror.

"Has anyone at school asked if you're all right?"

She hesitated.

"Ms. Carter did."

"What did you tell her?"

"I said I was fine."

"Why?"

"Vanessa told me not to embarrass the family."

Daniel tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

At school, the principal, Mrs. Whitfield, greeted them with a strained smile.

"We weren't expecting you, Mr. Oleso."

"I'd like to speak with Naomi's teacher."

Ms. Carter arrived carrying a folder.

She was a warm-faced woman in her early forties who had taught second grade for sixteen years.

The moment she saw Daniel, her expression changed.

"Thank you for coming."

They sat in a conference room while Naomi joined her classmates.

Ms. Carter opened the folder.

"Naomi is intelligent, kind, and exceptionally observant," she began. "But we've noticed significant changes."

She showed Daniel drawings from earlier in the school year.

Bright houses.

Flowers.

A little girl beside two smiling adults.

Then she presented a drawing from three weeks earlier.

It showed a large dining table.

An adult woman sat at one end.

A tiny girl sat underneath it.

"Naomi told me she was practicing being invisible," Ms. Carter said.

Daniel looked away.

"Did anyone contact me?"

"I submitted concerns to the school counselor. We attempted to reach the numbers on file."

"Which numbers?"

Ms. Carter showed him.

The primary contact belonged to Vanessa.

The secondary number was an old office line Daniel no longer used.

"Did Vanessa come here?"

"Twice."

"What did she say?"

"That Naomi was undergoing behavioral treatment. She gave us paperwork saying we should redirect certain complaints to her."

Daniel studied the folder.

He recognized Julian Vale's name.

Ms. Carter lowered her voice.

"Mr. Oleso, I did not feel comfortable accepting that explanation."

"What did you do?"

"I filed a report with Georgia's child protective services."

Daniel went still.

"When?"

"Last Thursday."

"Was there an investigation?"

"I cannot tell you what the agency has done. But I wanted you to know I reported my concerns."

Daniel nodded slowly.

He appreciated that she had acted, but the knowledge also deepened his shame.

A teacher had recognized his daughter's distress.

He had not.

Before he left, Ms. Carter handed him an envelope.

"Naomi asked me to keep this in case she needed it."

Inside was a drawing of a little girl holding a phone.

Above the phone were four words:

DADDY PLEASE COME HOME.

On the back, in smaller writing, Naomi had added:

But if he doesn't want me, don't tell him.

Daniel folded the drawing carefully.

Outside the school, his phone rang.

It was Monica.

"Daniel, we've identified an irregular payment."

"How much?"

"Forty-eight thousand dollars."

"To whom?"

"A consulting company called BrightPath Family Solutions."

Daniel remembered the name from Vanessa's paperwork.

May you like

92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Fathe...

91 A Cruel Hotel Manager Fired a Receptionist for Defending a Poor Old G...

90 On Christmas Eve, My Daughter-in-Law Stole $12,000 From My Card—Then...

Monica continued.

"The account belongs to a company whose registered manager is Julian Vale."