The Final Goodbye

"I don't know!" Lily sobbed, confused and terrified. "Maybe I was spinning with Princess Belle, but I didn't mean to hurt anyone!"

Isabella coughed delicately. The sound was perfectly timed.

"Children don't always understand the consequences of their actions," she said with false forgiveness. "She probably didn't realize how dangerous it could be."

Every word was designed to make Lily look guilty, while painting Isabella as a saint.

As Damien carried Isabella toward the house, she glanced back at my daughter. Her expression was a mask of feigned concern.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," she called softly. "Auntie Isabella forgives you."

But as she turned away, I caught the flash of something else in her eyes.

Triumph. Cold, calculating triumph.

Standing by the pool, watching Isabella's calculated performance, I felt something dark and cold settle in my chest.

Every word she spoke was designed to frame my daughter, while making herself look like a victim.

Damien set Isabella down gently on one of our patio chairs. His face was thunderous as he turned to Lily.

"Lily," his voice was stern and unforgiving. "I'm going to ask you one more time. Did you push Miss Isabella into the pool?"

"No, Daddy!" Lily wailed, her small body shaking with terror. "I really didn't! She fell by herself!"

Her tears were streaming down her face, but Damien's expression only grew colder.

Isabella looked up from her chair with perfect timing. Her voice was weak but clear. "Actually, Damien, I need to be completely honest."

She paused, as if gathering courage. "It really wasn't Lily's fault. I lost my footing, and when she accidentally bumped into me, well... I just went right into the water."

The words were meant to sound forgiving. But they painted exactly the picture she wanted. Lily as the cause of the accident.

Damien's jaw tightened. "So you did push her, Lily."

"I was just playing!" Lily sobbed.

"Enough!" Damien's voice cut through the air like a whip. "You're a liar," he snarled. "Just like your mother."

He turned his fury on me. "This is how you've been raising our daughter? Teaching her to lie, to be reckless, to hurt innocent people?"

"Damien, she's five years old—"

"She's old enough to tell the truth!" His voice rose to a shout. "But clearly, she's learned from the best. You've turned her into exactly what you are. A liar and a manipulator."

The words hit me like physical blows. But worse was watching their effect on Lily.

"If you can't teach our daughter basic honesty and safety," Damien continued, his voice cold as ice, "then maybe you shouldn't be around her at all. Maybe I should reconsider custody."

"No!" Lily screamed, throwing herself at my legs. "Don't take me away from Mommy! Please, Daddy! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Her desperate cries broke my heart. I knelt down and wrapped my arms around her shaking form.

"It's okay, baby," I whispered. "Mommy's not going anywhere."

But even as I said it, I could see the determination in Damien's eyes. Isabella had planted her poison perfectly.

"I'm feeling dizzy," Isabella said suddenly, swaying in her chair. "I think I hit my head when I fell," she murmured. Her hand drifted weakly to her temple.

Immediately, Damien was at her side. "We need to get you checked by a doctor. You could have a concussion."

"I don't want to be any trouble..."

"You're no trouble at all." His voice was gentle, caring. The voice he had never used with me or Lily. "Let me take you to the hospital."

He scooped Isabella up in his arms like she was made of porcelain. She nestled against his chest with a soft sigh.

"Daddy, where are you going?" Lily asked, still clinging to me.

"I have to take care of Miss Isabella. She's hurt because of what you did."

The accusation hit Lily like a slap. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.

"We'll discuss your behavior when I get back," Damien said coldly. "And we'll be having a serious talk about where you're going to live."

Then he was gone. He carried Isabella to his car like a precious bride.

Lily and I stood alone by the pool. The silence was deafening after so much shouting.

"Mommy," Lily whispered. "I really didn't push her on purpose. I would never hurt anyone."

"I know, sweetheart. I believe you."

But something was wrong. Lily was pale. Paler than usual. And she was swaying slightly on her feet.

"I don't feel good, Mommy."

Before I could answer, a trickle of blood bloomed at the corner of her mouth.

"Lily!"

She coughed, and more blood came up, bright red against her pale lips.

"Mommy, I'm scared," she whispered.

I scooped her up, my heart racing. "It's okay, baby. We're going to the hospital right now."

The drive was a blur of panic and prayer. Lily's head lolled against my shoulder, her breathing shallow and labored.

"Stay with me, sweetheart," I kept saying. "Stay with Mommy."

At the hospital, I burst through the emergency room doors, screaming for help.

"My daughter! She's coughing up blood! Please, someone help her!"

Nurses rushed over with a gurney. Dr. Harrison appeared, his face grave as he saw Lily's condition.

They wheeled her into an examination room while I paced the hallway, my hands shaking.

Fifteen minutes later, Dr. Harrison emerged. His expression told me everything I needed to know.

"Mrs. Blackwood," he said gently. "I think you should come in and spend some time with Lily."

The world tilted. "What are you saying?"

"Her heart is failing. The stress from today was too much for her. I'm so sorry."

I stumbled into the room where Lily lay on the hospital bed. She looked impossibly small and fragile.

"Hi, Mommy," she whispered, her voice weak but still trying to be brave.

I took her tiny hand in mine and fought back tears.

"Don't cry, Mommy," she said, reaching up with her free hand to wipe my cheek. "You have to be happy after I'm gone."

"Don't say that, baby. You're going to be fine."

But Lily shook her head with the wisdom that sometimes comes to children facing the impossible.

"After I go... promise me you won't stay with Daddy anymore," she whispered. "He just makes you sad."

"Lily…"

"I'm worried about you being all alone," she continued, her voice growing weaker. "But you're so pretty and nice. You'll find someone who will love you the right way."

Tears were streaming down my face now.

"If Daddy doesn't like me, that's okay," she whispered. "If there's a next life, I don't want to be his daughter again. But I still want to be yours. You're the best mommy in the whole world."

"You're the best daughter in the whole world," I choked out.

"Promise me you'll be happy, Mommy. Promise."

"I promise, my angel. I promise."

I needed to call Damien. Despite everything, he deserved to say goodbye to his daughter.

With shaking hands, I dialed his number.

After several rings, a woman's voice answered.

"Hello?" Isabella's voice was sleepy and laced with smug satisfaction.

"I need to speak to Damien. It's about Lily. It's urgent."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she purred, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "He's in the shower right now. Can I take a message?"

In the shower. Together. In the middle of the day. While his daughter was dying.

"Tell him…"

The line went dead. She had hung up on me.

I looked back at Lily. Her breathing was becoming more labored.

"Mommy," she whispered. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, baby. More than all the stars in the sky."

She smiled. That beautiful smile that had lit up my world for five precious years.

The heart monitor's steady beeping began to slow.

Beep... beep... beep...

"I'll always be with you, Mommy," Lily whispered. "Always."

The beeping grew slower, more irregular.

Beep... beep...

"My brave girl," I whispered, holding her hand tight. "My beautiful, brave girl."

Beep...

Then silence.

A long, endless, deafening silence.

A single, piercing tone. The flatline alarm. It filled the room, but I barely registered the sound.

My daughter. My heart, my world, my reason for living. She was gone.

And the man who should have been here, holding her other hand, telling her he loved her, was in another woman's shower.

"Lily... my little girl..."