Chapter 4: The Night Lily Saw Everything
“Daddy… Uncle Daniel was there that night.””
Marcus slowly turned around.
Lily stood in the doorway, clutching her stuffed rabbit against her chest. Her pink pajamas were slightly twisted, and her eyes moved nervously between Marcus and Rosa.
Marcus immediately crouched.
“Sweetheart, come here.””
She approached cautiously.
“You said Uncle Daniel wasn't coming back,” she whispered.
Marcus swallowed.
“What do you mean?””
Lily looked toward the staircase.
“Uncle Daniel came to our house when Mommy was crying. He told Mommy to stop shouting.””
Marcus felt his stomach tighten.
“Do you remember when that happened?””
Lily nodded.
“I was hiding behind the big curtains.””
“Why were you hiding?””
“Because Mommy told me to stay quiet.””
Marcus gently held her shoulders.
“What happened next?””
Lily's lower lip trembled.
“Uncle Daniel took Mommy's necklace. Mommy tried to get it back, but he pushed her.””
Marcus felt his heart pounding.
“Did she fall?””
Lily nodded.
“She hit the table. There was blood.””
Rosa covered her mouth.
Marcus struggled to keep his voice steady.
“Was Mommy awake?””
“I don't know. Aunt Victoria told Uncle Daniel to take her somewhere nobody could find her.””
The room became unbearably quiet.
Then Lily added something that made Marcus's blood run cold.
“Uncle Daniel said they should put Mommy in the swimming pool.””
Marcus stood abruptly.
“The swimming pool?””
Lily nodded.
“But Aunt Victoria said no. She said Mommy had to stay alive until Daddy signed the papers.””
Marcus looked at Rosa.
The papers.
The shares.
The inheritance.
Everything suddenly connected.
But there was something he still couldn't understand.
“Lily, did Mommy say anything before they took her away?””
The little girl wiped her cheeks.
“She told me to remember the song.””
“What song?””
“The one she sang when I couldn't sleep.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
Elina had always sung the same lullaby to Lily. A gentle melody she had learned from her own mother.
He hadn't heard it since the funeral.
“Can you sing it for me?””
Lily shook her head.
“Not here.””
“Why not?””
“Because Mommy said the walls have ears.””
Marcus stared at his daughter.
Six years old.
She had been carrying this secret for fourteen months.
And every adult in the house had somehow failed to notice.
He pulled her into his arms.
“Listen to me. Nobody is going to hurt you. Not Uncle Daniel.
Not Victoria. Nobody.””
Lily buried her face in his shoulder.
“Promise?””
“I promise.””
A sudden knock came from downstairs.
Detective Harris entered the bedroom a moment later.
“Mr. Hale, I need to speak with you.””
Marcus stood.
“Not now.””
“It's important. We received information about your brother.””
“What information?””
Harris glanced at Lily.
“Can we speak privately?””
Marcus looked at Rosa.
“Stay with her.””
He followed the detective into the hallway.
Harris closed the bedroom door.
“Daniel Hale owns a property outside the city. A former medical rehabilitation center. It's been closed for almost a year.””
Marcus felt his knees weaken.
“Was Elina there?””
“We found records suggesting she was transferred there after leaving the first facility.””
“Then she's there now?””
“Not according to the current property manager.””
Marcus gripped the railing.
“Where is she?””
“We don't know. But we discovered something interesting. The property was sold three weeks ago.””
“To whom?””
Harris opened a document on his tablet.
“An offshore company linked to your brother.””
Marcus shook his head.
“Daniel is hiding her.””
“Possibly. There's also evidence that Victoria made several payments to someone using the name Thomas Reed.””
Marcus frowned.
“Who is that?””
“We're checking. But the payments began shortly after your wife's disappearance.””
Harris paused.
“There's another issue. The note we found inside the pool's maintenance chamber appears to have been written recently. The ink analysis suggests it may be less than two weeks old.””
Marcus stared at him.
“Two weeks?””
“Yes.””
That meant Elina had been inside the house recently.
Possibly even while he slept.
Marcus remembered the strange noises he'd heard outside Lily's bedroom. The faint perfume lingering in the hallway. The time he'd found the kitchen window unlocked despite the security system being activated.
He had dismissed everything as grief.
“Detective, I need access to every camera recording from this property.””
“We've already requested them.””
“Good.””
Harris lowered his voice.
“Mr. Hale, there's one more thing. The night your wife disappeared, the security system was manually disabled.””
“Who had access?””
“You, Victoria, and Daniel.””
Marcus stared at the detective.
“Show me the records.””
Harris handed him the tablet.
One name appeared beside the shutdown command.
DANIEL HALE.
But the timestamp was strange.
The system had been disabled at 11:42 p.m.
Then reactivated at 12:16 a.m.
For thirty-four minutes, the entire mansion had been blind.
Marcus looked up.
“Can you check the backup servers?””
“We're trying.””
A noise came from the bedroom.
A sharp crash.
Marcus rushed inside.
Rosa was standing beside Lily's bed, holding the little girl.
The wardrobe doors were wide open.
A drawer had been pulled out.
And the black leather notebook was missing.
Marcus looked around.
“Who came in here?””
Rosa shook her head.
“Nobody.””
Then Lily pointed toward the window.
“Daddy.””
A thin curtain moved in the breeze.
The window was open.
Marcus ran toward it.
May you like
Outside, beneath the garden lights, a dark figure was disappearing behind the hedges.
And in the person's hand was Elina's black notebook.
