I touched her cheek. “Then they can answer to me.”
That made her smile.
I led him into the living room.
Dinner was going well. My cousins loved her. My aunt kept offering her extra rolls. My cousin’s teenage daughter, Ava, had already promised to show Lily the upstairs game room if she got overwhelmed.
Then my father arrived late.
He came in apologizing. “Traffic was awful.”
I smiled and said, “Come meet Lily.”
I led him into the living room.
My father looked at her face.
Lily stood up politely. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
My father looked at her face.
Then at her wrist.
The glass slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.
Everyone jumped.
“Dad?” I said. “Are you okay?”
He looked terrified. Not angry. Not confused. Terrified.
Ava nodded and gently guided Lily out of the room.
Then he said, “I need to talk to you. Now. Not in front of her.”
Lily froze.
Ben stepped in at once. “Ava, can you take Lily upstairs for a minute?”
Ava nodded and gently guided Lily out of the room.
I took my father into the kitchen and shut the door. “What is going on?”
He looked toward the ceiling, meaning upstairs.
He was pale. “Five years ago, I volunteered at a chapel in another county. Sometimes we helped with burial services for children in state care when nobody else came. There was one little girl. Around five years old. I remembered her because almost no one attended. Just me, the chapel director, and a worker from the children’s home.”
My mouth went dry. “And?”
He looked toward the ceiling, meaning upstairs. “At first I thought it was just a resemblance. Then I saw the bracelet. I have thought about that bracelet for five years.”
I didn’t sleep that night.
“What bracelet?”
“The silver one with the flower charm. The worker listed it with the child’s belongings. She said it should stay with her.”
I didn’t sleep that night.
The next morning, I sat on the edge of Lily’s bed. “I need to ask you something about your bracelet.”
She touched it automatically. “Okay.”
“How long have you had it?”
“As long as I can remember.”
I called the children’s home immediately and asked for Lily’s full file.
“Can I see it?”
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