He looked toward her.
"Encourage what?"
"She knows exactly what she's doing. Every time I establish a rule, she cries until someone gives her what she wants."
Marcus studied his wife's face.
Then glanced toward the empty plate.
"What has she eaten today?"
Vanessa hesitated.
"Breakfast."
"And lunch?"
The woman looked away.
"She wasn't hungry at lunch."
Lily lifted her head.
For the first time, she spoke clearly.
"I was hungry."
Marcus felt something tighten inside his chest.
He looked toward the kitchen clock.
3:19 p.m.
Then back at Vanessa.
"When did she have breakfast?"
"Around seven-thirty."
He stared.
"You're telling me she hasn't eaten since seven-thirty this morning?"
Vanessa raised her hands.
"Don't make this sound dramatic."
Marcus didn't answer.
He carried Lily toward the kitchen, intending to prepare something immediately.
Then he stopped.
The pantry door had a padlock attached to a metal fastening near the handle.
A heavy silver padlock.
Inside his own kitchen.
Marcus stared.
For several seconds, he couldn't make sense of what he was seeing.
Then he turned toward Vanessa.
"Why is there a lock on the pantry?"
She looked irritated.
"Because Lily keeps taking food without asking."
He looked at his daughter.
Her arms tightened around his neck.
Marcus spoke slowly.
"She's five years old."
Vanessa folded her arms.
"And five is old enough to learn boundaries."
He looked toward the locked door again.
Then asked a question so quietly that Vanessa almost didn't hear it.
"Does she have access to food when I'm not home?"
Vanessa's expression changed.
Before she could answer, another voice came from the hallway.
"No, Dad."
Marcus turned.
Twelve-year-old Mason stood near the staircase, wearing a dark-green T-shirt and jeans. He was Vanessa's son from her previous marriage, a thoughtful boy with short black curls, serious brown eyes, and the slightly awkward posture of a child growing faster than he was comfortable with.
Marcus had been raising him for four years.
Mason called him Dad.
And until that moment, Marcus believed the boy was happy.
Now Mason's face looked unusually pale.
Vanessa immediately straightened.
"Mason, go upstairs."
He didn't move.
She pointed toward the staircase.
"I said go."
The boy swallowed.
Then looked directly at Marcus.