Every Afternoon, My Neighbor Heard My Daughter Screaming Inside My House

Chapter 13 - The Day Marissa Lost the House

Marissa returned to the house once.

Under supervision.

By court order.

She was allowed to collect personal belongings from the marital residence while Jonah, a sheriff’s deputy, and Nina’s assistant documented every box. I chose not to attend. Hazel definitely did not. Ruth went in my place because she said someone from Elena’s side should watch the house breathe.

Later, Ruth told me Marissa cried in the kitchen.

“She looked around like a woman confused the stage had been dismantled,” Ruth said.

“What did she take?”

“Clothes. Jewelry. Office files she was allowed to have. A framed wedding photo of you two.”

That last one surprised me.

Then made me sad.

Then angry that sadness still had room.

Ruth continued.

“She asked where Hazel was.”

“What did you say?”

“Safe.”

“Did she respond?”

“She said, ‘From me?’”

I looked at Ruth.

“What did you say?”

“Yes.”

I sat with that.

The court granted temporary exclusive use of the house to Hazel and me, but we did not move back immediately. The rental felt safer. The house still held basement walls, master bedroom dust, and the air of things missed.

Hazel asked to visit after three weeks.

Ruth, Dr. Chen, and I planned it like a military operation disguised as a family outing.

Short visit.

Daylight.

No basement unless Hazel requested.

Mrs. Vail next door.

Jonah checking security first.

When we arrived, Hazel stood on the porch and touched the doorframe.

Elena had painted it green years ago because she said white doors looked too eager to please.

Marissa had wanted to repaint it black.

I had never asked why Hazel fought that.

Now I knew.

“Still green,” Hazel said.

“Yes.”

Inside, the house smelled empty.

Not bad.

Just undecided.

Hazel walked through the living room, kitchen, hallway. She looked at family photos. Marissa had removed the wedding picture, leaving a pale rectangle on the wall.

Good.

Then Hazel went upstairs.

In the master bedroom, she stopped.

“That’s where you hid.”

“Yes.”

“Under there?”

“Yes.”

She looked at the bed.

Then at me.

“It’s kind of ridiculous.”

I laughed.

“So I’ve heard.”

Her mouth twitched.

Then she walked to the closet.

The safe was open, emptied by court order. Shelves bare. No secret authority humming behind the door.

Hazel exhaled.

We did not go to the basement that day.

We went to her room.

The window was unlocked now. Curtains open. Her sketchbook was gone, but Jonah had recovered several drawings from Marissa’s files. They sat sealed in evidence; copies were on Hazel’s desk.

Hazel touched the desk.

“I want to paint.”

“The room?”

“Yes.”

“What color?”

“Yellow.”

I smiled.

“Elena hated yellow rooms.”

“I know.”

Hazel looked at me.

“I’m not Mom.”

My chest tightened.

“No. You’re Hazel.”

“She can be stars. I can be yellow.”

“Yes.”

We painted the room the next weekend.

Mrs. Vail supervised from a chair with lemonade. Ruth got paint in her hair. I painted too slowly for Hazel’s standards. Nina stopped by with documents and left with yellow on her sleeve.

The house did not become safe all at once.

But one wall did.

Then another.

The basement took longer.

Hazel asked to see it in late summer.

We removed the shelves.

All of them.

I tore out the altered back room myself with Jonah’s help while Hazel watched from the stairs. Not because she needed the destruction. Because she asked to see that hidden rooms could be unmade.

We turned the space into storage again, but open. No concealed panels. No foam. No chairs.

Hazel hung one sign at the entrance:

NOTHING BEHIND THE SHELVES.

Mrs. Vail said it was not subtle.

Hazel said subtle was overrated.

Marissa’s criminal charges came in September.

Child coercion. Evidence destruction. Forgery. Conspiracy to commit trust fraud. False documentation related to educational release.

Dr. Baird was charged separately with fraud and unlawful professional conduct. Elaine Mercer lost her school position and faced licensing action. Dane Voss was indicted in connection with trust fraud and attempted exploitation of a minor beneficiary. Northlake Academy’s state license was suspended pending investigation. Alder Ridge attempted to sacrifice Dane publicly and quietly settle land-related exposure.

Samuel Arnett described this as “the rats discovering paperwork.”

Hazel asked if Marissa would go to jail.

“Maybe.”

“Do I have to testify?”

“Not unless the court says, and Nina will fight for ways to protect you.”

“Do you want her to?”

“Go to jail?”

Hazel nodded.

I answered carefully.

“I want her stopped. I want the truth on record. I don’t know what exact punishment should look like.”

Hazel thought.

“I want her to know I’m not crazy.”