CHAPTER 2: THE GIRL WHO SAW TOO MUCH
CHAPTER 2: THE GIRL WHO SAW TOO MUCH
Seven years after the fire, Lucas barely recognized himself.
His empire had doubled in size.
His wealth had tripled.
But none of it mattered.
Every morning felt the same.
Wake up.
Work.
Pretend to live.
Then Lily appeared.
She was eleven years old.
Smart.
Quiet.
And far too observant.
Lucas had funded a youth mentorship program after meeting her by chance.
At first, he assumed she simply needed help.
Then she started noticing things.
Things nobody else noticed.
One afternoon, she was sitting in his office doing homework when Victor walked in.
The moment Victor entered, Lily froze.
Victor noticed immediately.
"You okay, kid?"
Lily forced a smile.
"Yeah."
But after Victor left, she looked nervous.
Very nervous.
Lucas frowned.
"What is it?"
Lily hesitated.
"I probably sound crazy."
"Try me."
She stared at the floor.
"That man."
"Victor?"
She nodded.
"Have you ever noticed he lies all the time?"
Lucas laughed softly.
"Everybody lies sometimes."
"No."
Lily shook her head.
"I mean all the time."
Lucas looked amused.
Lily didn't.
"I grew up with a dad who lied."
Her voice grew quieter.
"I got really good at spotting it."
Something about her expression made Lucas pause.
"What are you trying to tell me?"
Lily swallowed.
Then reached into her backpack.
She pulled out a small notebook.
Inside were dates.
Conversations.
Observations.
Months of them.
Every time Victor's story changed.
Every contradiction.
Every suspicious detail.
Lucas stared at the pages.
The smile disappeared from his face.
Because Lily wasn't wrong.
Not even once.
Then she pointed at a date from years ago.
The week of the fire.
"I found something online."
Lucas's heart stopped.
"What?"
She showed him an old newspaper article.
A tiny detail buried in the story.
Victor had supposedly been overseas the night of the fire.
But another publication placed him in Connecticut only hours earlier.
Lucas felt cold.
Ice cold.
The room suddenly seemed smaller.
Lily looked scared.
"Mr. Moretti..."
Lucas slowly stood.
His voice barely worked.
"Get me everything you found."
That evening, for the first time in seven years, Lucas reopened the fire investigation.
And by midnight...
He discovered evidence that someone had intentionally locked the emergency exits from the outside.
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END OF CHAPTER 2
TO BE CONTINUED...
