Chapter 2: The Lie Buried in Silence
Chapter 1: The Girl Who Shouldn’t Know
The girl flinched at Adrian’s voice.
Her fingers tightened around the silver necklace as if it might vanish if she let go.
“I didn’t steal it,” she said quickly. “I swear. She gave it to me.”
Adrian froze.
The wind between the gravestones suddenly felt colder.
“That’s impossible,” he said, stepping closer. His voice dropped into something sharper, more controlled. “My wife is dead.”
The girl shook her head violently.
“No. She’s alive. I saw her. I helped her.”
A long silence followed.
Adrian stared at her—at the dirt on her feet, the bruises on her arms, the way she looked like someone who had survived more than a child should ever survive.
Then he reached out.
Not to touch her—but to take the necklace.
The moment it rested in his palm, memories struck like a physical blow.
His wife, Eleanor Vale, smiling in their home.
The night she “died.”
The closed coffin.
The sealed farewell.
And this necklace—resting on her skin before disappearing forever.
His breathing turned uneven.
“Tell me everything,” Adrian said quietly.
The girl hesitated.
May you like
Then whispered:
“They’re going to kill her if you don’t find her first.”
