Chapter 2 - THE LETTER
Emily read the sentence again.
Her heart pounded.
She looked at Lily.
“Where did you meet this man?”
“On the sidewalk.”
“Did he say anything strange to you?”
Lily shook her head.
“He just looked hungry.”
Emily unfolded the document.
It was an official letter from Sterling Global's legal department.
The letter stated that Arthur Sterling had personally established a trust fund in Lily's name.
The amount was five hundred thousand dollars.
Emily immediately pushed it away.
“No.”
Lily looked confused.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
Emily folded everything back into the envelope.
She was terrified.
Not because of the money.
Because she knew enough about wealthy people to understand that nobody gave away half a million dollars without a reason.
Especially not a billionaire who had disappeared before suddenly appearing on a sidewalk.
Then she noticed something else.
There was a second photograph.
It showed Arthur Sterling twenty-five years earlier.
Beside him stood a young woman.
Emily recognized her instantly.
Her face went pale.
The woman was her older sister.
Sarah.
Sarah had disappeared fifteen years earlier.
Emily had spent years believing her sister was dead.
But the photograph was dated only six months before Sarah vanished.
On the back was a handwritten sentence.
“Sarah knew the truth.”
Emily dropped the photograph.
Lily picked it up.
“Mommy?”
Emily quickly took it from her.
“Go upstairs.”
“But—”
“Now, Lily.”
Lily obeyed.
Emily locked the front door.
Then she checked every window.
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then a man's voice.
“You opened the envelope.”
Emily froze.
“Who is this?”
“You should have left it closed.”
The call ended.
Emily stood motionless.
Then someone knocked on the door.
Three slow knocks.
Emily looked through the peephole.
Nobody was there.
She stepped back.
Her phone buzzed again.
This time it was a text.
LOOK BEHIND YOU.
Emily slowly turned.
The kitchen window was open.
She knew she had locked it.
She ran upstairs.
“Lily!”
Her daughter's bedroom was empty.
Emily screamed.
“Lily!”
She searched the bathroom.
Nothing.
The hallway.
Nothing.
Then she heard a tiny voice from the closet.
“Mommy?”
Emily opened it.
Lily was hiding inside.
“What happened?”
“I heard someone downstairs.”
Emily hugged her tightly.
Then she looked toward the window.
A dark figure stood across the street.
Watching their house.
Emily closed the curtains.
Her phone buzzed one more time.
A photograph appeared.
It showed Lily standing beside Arthur on the sidewalk.
Someone had taken the picture from across the street.
May you like
Underneath it was a message.
THE GIRL SHOULD NEVER HAVE MET HIM.
