Chapter 2 - The next morning, Ethan was prepared.He parked his car.
Checked his watch.
Opened his front door.
And found Lily sitting on the steps.
Waiting.
He stared at her.
She smiled.
“Good morning.”
“No.”
“I didn't ask anything yet.”
“You’re not walking with me.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you sitting there?”
“Because you said you weren't doing it every morning.”
“That means I’m not doing it.”
She tilted her head.
“You're going to work anyway.”
“Yes.”
“So you can walk me.”
“No.”
She stood.
“You're definitely responsible.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
He could already feel the headache coming.
“Five minutes.”
“Seven.”
“Five.”
“Deal.”
And that became their routine.
One morning.
Then another.
Then a week.
Then a month.
Ethan never officially agreed to become part of Lily's life.
It simply happened.
He learned she hated bananas.
That she loved astronomy.
That she kept losing pencils.
That she was terrified of thunder.
That she cried when people raised their voices.
He learned that her mother, Sarah Carter, worked long hospital shifts and came home exhausted.
He learned Lily's father was not around.
Nobody ever explained why.
And Ethan never asked.
Their relationship remained simple.
Walks to school.
Occasional dinners when Sarah worked late.
Homework at Ethan's kitchen table.
A cup of hot chocolate after rainy afternoons.
Then one winter evening, everything changed.
Ethan was sitting in his study reviewing a merger contract when he heard knocking.
Not normal knocking.
Three quick knocks.
Pause.
Two more.
He stood.
When he opened the door, Lily was standing there.
She wasn't smiling.
Her cheeks were red.
Her eyes were wet.
“Lily?”
She stepped inside without asking.
“Is my mom here?”
“No.”
“She said she'd pick me up.”
Ethan immediately became alert.
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
He crouched.
“What happened?”
Lily looked toward the street.
“There was a black car.”
Ethan's expression changed.
“What black car?”
“The same one.”
“When?”
“Outside school.”
“Today?”
She nodded.
“A man got out.”
“Did he talk to you?”
“He said my name.”
Ethan stood.
“Do you know him?”
“No.”
“What did he look like?”
“Tall.”
“Anything else?”
“He had a scar.”
“Where?”
She touched her cheek.
“Here.”
Ethan's stomach tightened.
For the first time, the little girl was looking at him not as a neighbor.
She was looking at him for protection.
“Where is your mother now?”
“She didn't come home.”
Ethan grabbed his phone.
He called Sarah.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Then a third time.
Nothing.
“Mr. Ethan?”
“Yes?”
“Can I stay here?”
Ethan looked at her.
“Of course.”
He locked the front door.
Then every window.
He instructed security downstairs to monitor the street.
At 9:42 p.m., Sarah finally called.
Ethan answered immediately.
“Sarah, where are you?”
Silence.
Then breathing.
Heavy.
Terrified breathing.
“Ethan?”
“Yes.”
“You have Lily?”
He looked toward the living room.
She was asleep beneath a blanket.
“Yes.”
Sarah exhaled.
“Keep her there.”
“What happened?”
“Please.”
“Sarah, tell me what's going on.”
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“They found me.”
Ethan's blood went cold.
“Who?”
Another silence.
Then three words.
“The Mercer family.”
Ethan stopped breathing.
“What?”
“The people your father betrayed.”
The line went dead.
Ethan slowly lowered the phone.
He had spent eleven years convincing himself that his father's past was buried.
It wasn't.
May you like
Someone had dug it back up.
And somehow, Lily Carter was standing directly in the middle of it.
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