Chapter 17 - Lily thinks Noah is her responsibility
One afternoon our nanny found Lily asleep beside Noah’s crib.
“Why are you there?”
“So Vanessa can’t come.”
Vanessa was legally barred from the house.
Security had changed.
She could not simply walk in.
But Lily did not trust systems yet.
She trusted herself.
Eight years old.
That was too much.
Her therapist told me:
“Do not praise her for being Noah’s protector.”
I understood immediately.
Calling her brave could accidentally make vigilance her job.
So I told Lily:
“You helped us by pointing to the camera.”
She nodded.
“But keeping Noah safe is adult work.”
“What if adults mess up?”
“Then you tell another safe adult. You do not have to stand guard all night.”
She cried.
“I should have stopped her.”
“You were not even there.”
“I should have known.”
That sentence nearly broke me.
“No.”
May you like
I held her.
“You are his sister. Not his security team.”
