Neither of us answered.
She continued.
"I handled things badly."
Daniel stared at her.
"Badly?"
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
"I was trying to keep everyone happy."
I felt something cold move through me.
"By telling Lily that I wouldn't love her if she wore nice clothes?"
Vanessa looked up sharply.
"I never said you wouldn't love her."
I leaned forward.
"You told her I would be sad if she dressed beautifully because it meant she had forgotten Claire."
Vanessa looked away.
"That's not how I meant it."
Daniel spoke quietly.
"How did you mean it?"
She didn't answer.
He opened the folder on the table.
Inside were copies of the messages, photographs, and other records he had gathered.
"You told Margaret that I wasn't buying Lily clothes."
Vanessa shifted in her chair.
"I said you were busy."
"You told me Margaret didn't like seeing Lily in new clothes."
She stared at the table.
Daniel continued.
"You told Lily she had to dress differently when Claire's family visited."
Vanessa's eyes filled.
"I was trying to make things easier."
I stared at her.
"Easier for whom?"
She covered her face.
For a moment, I thought she might refuse to answer.
Then she whispered, "For me."
The cafΓ© seemed very quiet.
Vanessa lowered her hands.
"When I married Daniel, I thought I was joining a family. But everywhere I looked, Claire was there."
I felt my chest tighten.
She continued.
"Her photographs. Her friends. Her family. Everything Lily did reminded someone of her."
Daniel listened without speaking.
Vanessa looked toward me.
"Whenever Lily laughed like Claire, you said so. Whenever she wore yellow, somebody talked about how Claire loved yellow. I felt like there was no room for me."
I took a breath.
"I never asked you to compete with my daughter."
Vanessa nodded.
"I know."
But she didn't look convinced.
She continued.
"I thought if I could become the person who organized everything, the person everybody depended on, then maybe I'd finally feel like I belonged."
Daniel leaned forward.
"So you made Margaret believe I wasn't taking care of Lily?"
Vanessa's face crumpled.
"I didn't think it would go this far."
His voice remained quiet.
"You were doing it for months."
She looked down.
"I know."
I studied her.
For the first time, I saw how much fear and insecurity lay beneath the control she had exercised over our family.