Chapter 9 - The Question Daniel Finally AskedNora stood in her father's study wearing yellow pajamas.
Her hair was tangled from sleep.
She held the stuffed rabbit against her chest while Daniel examined her drawing.
"What did Hannah do to help you?" he asked again.
Nora looked at his hands.
"She caught me."
"Where?"
"Near the open door."
"The trampoline door?"
She nodded.
Daniel moved from his desk chair to the sofa.
"Come sit beside me if you want."
Nora approached slowly.
He waited until she settled before speaking again.
"Tell me what you remember."
"I was jumping little jumps."
"All right."
"Then the black wall wasn't there."
Daniel felt a sharp ache in his chest.
"The net?"
"Yes. It was open. I got scared. Hannah came really fast."
"Did Hannah push you?"
"No."
"Did she throw you?"
"No."
Nora began to cry.
"She held me."
Daniel reached toward her, then stopped.
He remembered Hannah's hands on the child's shoulders.
He remembered believing those hands were evidence of wrongdoing.
"I'm sorry you were frightened," he whispered.
Nora wiped her face.
"Are you still mad at Hannah?"
Daniel looked down.
"No."
It was the first time he had admitted that, even to himself.
"Did you hurt her?"
The question struck him harder than any accusation.
"Yes."
Nora pressed her rabbit against her face.
"Why?"
Daniel's throat tightened.
"Because I thought something terrible had happened, and I didn't stop to find out the truth."
"That's bad."
"Yes, sweetheart. It is."
She studied him.
"Do grown-ups get in trouble for being bad?"
"They should be held responsible when they hurt someone."
Nora thought about that.
Then she whispered, "I was scared you'd get mad if I told you."
Daniel felt his eyes sting.
"Why?"
"Because Celeste said everybody would be upset."
He did not ask her another question about Celeste.
He had finally begun to understand the danger of making Nora choose between adults.
Instead, he held out his hand.
"Thank you for telling me what you remember."
Nora took it.
They sat together until she fell asleep against his shoulder.
The next morning, Daniel contacted a child psychologist recommended by Nora's pediatrician.
Dr. Mira Chen specialized in treating children following frightening experiences.
Daniel explained the incident without accusing either woman of wrongdoing.
He also disclosed that he had struck Hannah.
Dr. Chen did not conceal her concern.
"Before Nora begins treatment, I need you to understand something," she said.
"Anything."
"Therapy isn't an investigation. I won't question her to produce evidence for a legal dispute."
"I understand."
"And I won't tell you everything she says. Her treatment needs to be a place where she can speak without feeling responsible for adult consequences."
Daniel swallowed.
"That's what I want."
"Then your first responsibility is to make sure nobody coaches her account or pressures her to change it."
Daniel looked toward the staircase.
"Nobody will."
He wanted that to be true.
Hannah was surprised when Daniel called.
She was sitting in the back row of an empty gym, watching Ben repair a loose piece of equipment.
For several seconds, she considered ignoring the call.
Then she answered.
"Hello."
"Hannah."
His voice sounded different.
Quieter.
"I'm calling because Nora told me you caught her."
Hannah closed her eyes.
"I told you that."
"I know."
"You didn't believe me."
"I know."
She gripped the phone.
"What do you want, Daniel?"
There was a long silence.
"I owe you an apology."
Hannah looked toward the gym floor.
An apology.
For days, she had wanted nothing more.
Now the words seemed terribly small.
"You hit me," she said.
"I did."
"You fired me."
"Yes."
"Your wife filed a complaint that cost me my work."
"I didn't know about the complaint until recently."
"But you believed her."
Daniel could not deny it.
"Yes."
Hannah's voice shook.
"Nora was scared, and I helped her. You looked at me like I was something dangerous."
"I'm sorry."
"You don't get to call once and make that disappear."
"I understand."
"No," Hannah said. "I don't think you do."
She ended the call.
Then she sat very still.
Ben crossed the floor toward her.
"Was that him?"
She nodded.
"Did he apologize?"
"Yes."
"Does it help?"
Hannah looked at the empty gymnastics mats.
"I thought it would."
Daniel's next call was to Ellis Grant.
He offered to provide a written statement confirming that he had not witnessed Hannah push or throw Nora.
Ellis was cautious.
"That's important, Mr. Vale. But I need to know why you're contacting us now."
"Because my daughter told me what happened."
"Did you question her repeatedly?"
"No. I asked what Hannah did to help her."
Ellis paused.
"Are you prepared to correct the public claims attributed to your family?"
"Yes."
"Are you prepared to preserve every relevant record?"
"Yes."
"Including your wife's security-system access?"
Another silence.
"Yes."
Ellis wrote down the answer.
"Then we'll send your counsel a list of records."
That afternoon, Celeste discovered the appointment with Dr. Chen on the family calendar.
She entered Daniel's office without knocking.
"You hired a psychologist without discussing it with me?"
"I told you I would."
"She doesn't know our family."
"That's deliberate."
Celeste stared at him.
"You're treating me like a suspect."
Daniel closed his laptop.
"Did you open the trampoline net?"
"No."
He held her gaze.
"Did you tell Nora not to talk about it?"
"I told her not to obsess over frightening memories."
"She thinks telling the truth will make us angry."
Celeste's expression faltered.
"Children say things when they're upset."
Daniel stood.
"Celeste, I need you to stop explaining away everything my daughter says."
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Celeste spoke.
"If you continue down this road, Daniel, you're going to destroy this family."
He stared at her.
"Maybe I've spent too long confusing silence with keeping us together."
Celeste left without another word.
An hour later, Daniel received a message from Marianne Sloane.
She had obtained a preliminary independent opinion from an experienced land consultant.
It estimated that the Calder Wood tract could be worth more than twenty million dollars under reasonably achievable development assumptions, though a full appraisal was still necessary.
Attached was another document.
An internal Bellweather memorandum describing the tract as:
THE KEY PARCEL REQUIRED FOR ASSEMBLY.
Daniel read the phrase slowly.
May you like
The northern woods were not merely an attractive purchase.
Without Nora's land, someone else's much larger project might collapse.
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