Chapter 2 — The Little Girl in the Pink Backpack
Chapter 2 — The Little Girl in the Pink Backpack
Adrian Moretti had spent three years refusing to enter his daughter's bedroom.
Now he stood in the doorway with an old photograph trembling between his fingers.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
He looked again at the words written on the back.
She promised she'd protect her daughter.
There was no signature.
There didn't need to be.
Adrian knew Elena's handwriting.
He knew the photograph.
And he knew the woman standing beside her.
Hannah Carter.
The housekeeper.
The mother of the little girl who had saved his life.
Adrian slowly turned toward the hallway.
For the first time since Lily died, he felt something stronger than grief.
Suspicion.
A Question He Couldn't Ask
The next morning, Hannah arrived at the mansion at seven.
She looked exhausted.
Her eyes were red from lack of sleep.
She had spent most of the night worrying about Ellie.
The little girl sat beside her at breakfast, swinging her feet beneath the chair.
Adrian watched from across the room.
Ellie was eating pancakes.
She had placed Rosie beside her plate.
The sight made Adrian uncomfortable.
Not because of the rabbit.
Because Ellie treated it exactly the way Lily had.
She spoke to it.
She protected it.
She refused to leave it behind.
Adrian finally asked:
“Where did you get that rabbit?”
Hannah looked up.
“Rosie?”
“Yes.”
Hannah glanced at Ellie.
“It belonged to my husband.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“David?”
“Yes.”
“What did he do?”
“Construction.”
“When did he die?”
“Two years ago.”
Adrian nodded slowly.
Two years.
Elena and Lily had died three years earlier.
The dates didn't connect.
Not yet.
“Did David ever work for me?”
Hannah's fork stopped halfway to her mouth.
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Adrian noticed.
Ellie looked between them.
“Mommy?”
Hannah smiled.
“Eat your breakfast.”
Adrian said nothing.
But he had learned something.
Hannah was hiding something.
The Pink Backpack
After breakfast, Ellie followed Adrian into the hallway.
Her new pink backpack bounced against her shoulders.
“Mr. Moretti?”
Adrian stopped.
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can.”
“Why do you have so many doors nobody uses?”
Adrian almost smiled.
“Because this is a big house.”
“It's too big.”
“I agree.”
Ellie looked at him seriously.
“Do you get lost?”
“Sometimes.”
“Me too.”
Adrian crouched.
“Do you remember where your mother told you not to go?”
“The second floor.”
“Why?”
“Because that's where the sad rooms are.”
Adrian stared at her.
“Sad rooms?”
Ellie nodded.
“Mommy said not to go there.”
Adrian's voice became softer.
“Why did she call them that?”
Ellie shrugged.
“Because nobody laughs there.”
Adrian felt something tighten inside his chest.
Lily's bedroom was upstairs.
Nobody had laughed there since she died.
“Ellie.”
“Yes?”
“Has your mother ever brought you here before yesterday?”
Ellie thought.
“Yes.”
Adrian's heart stopped.
“When?”
“I don't remember.”
“Were you little?”
“Yes.”
“Did you come with your father?”
“No.”
“Who brought you?”
Ellie looked toward Hannah.
“Mommy.”
Hannah appeared at the end of the hallway.
Her face had gone pale.
“Ellie.”
The little girl turned.
“Mommy?”
“Come here.”
Ellie obeyed.
Hannah took her hand.
Adrian watched them walk away.
Then he whispered:
“What have you been hiding from me?”
The Security Room
Adrian summoned Marcus.
“I want footage from every camera covering the service entrance.”
Marcus looked confused.
“From yesterday?”
“No.”
“How far back?”
“Three years.”
Marcus hesitated.
“Most of the old footage was archived.”
“Retrieve it.”
“That's a lot of data.”
“Then start now.”
Marcus nodded.
Adrian turned away.
“Wait.”
Marcus stopped.
“Sir?”
“Do not tell Hannah.”
Marcus understood immediately.
“Yes, sir.”
A Second Mystery
At noon, Dr. Samuel Greene returned.
He examined Adrian and checked his breathing.
“You're recovering.”
“How long until I'm normal?”
“A few days.”
“Fine.”
The doctor packed his bag.
Then Adrian asked:
“Samuel.”
“Yes?”
“Can a person have an allergic reaction to something they've never reacted to before?”
“Of course.”
“Can someone deliberately cause one?”
The doctor looked at him.
“Yes.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Would the substance leave evidence?”
“Possibly.”
“Then test the wine again.”
“I already did.”
“Test the bottle.”
“We did.”
Adrian stared.
“And?”
Dr. Greene hesitated.
“There was something unusual.”
“What?”
“A second substance.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“Sedative?”
“Yes.”
His eyes hardened.
“Vincent told me.”
The doctor nodded.
“But there was something else.”
“What?”
Dr. Greene lowered his voice.
“A protein-based allergen.”
Adrian stared at him.
“Could it have caused the reaction?”
“Yes.”
“Could it have been added intentionally?”
“Yes.”
“Then somebody wanted me dead.”
Dr. Greene nodded.
“That is what it looks like.”
Adrian looked toward the window.
“But Vincent said he only added a sedative.”
“Then perhaps he didn't know what was in the vial.”
Adrian thought about the butler's frightened face.
Someone had manipulated Vincent.
Someone had used Ellie as leverage.
And someone had known exactly how Adrian would react.
The question was:
Who?
Vincent's Confession
Adrian called Vincent to the study.
The butler entered slowly.
“Sir.”
“Sit.”
Vincent remained standing.
Adrian placed the medical report on the desk.
“Your sedative wasn't the only thing in my wine.”
Vincent's face went white.
“I swear—”
“I'm not accusing you.”
Vincent looked surprised.
Adrian continued.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
Vincent swallowed.
“A man contacted me.”
“When?”
“Three days ago.”
“Where?”
“He approached me outside the estate.”
“What did he want?”
“To know your schedule.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“What did you tell him?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why did you help him?”
Vincent looked down.
“He had photographs.”
“Of Ellie.”
“Yes.”
“And Hannah.”
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
Vincent hesitated.
Adrian leaned forward.
“Tell me.”
“A photograph of your daughter.”
Silence.
Adrian's blood ran cold.
“Lily?”
Vincent nodded.
“Where did he get it?”
“I don't know.”
“What did he say?”
Vincent's voice broke.
“He said Lily's death was not an accident.”
Adrian stood.
“Repeat that.”
“He said the bombing wasn't meant to kill Elena.”
Adrian stared at him.
“What was it meant to do?”
Vincent shook his head.
“He wouldn't tell me.”
Adrian grabbed the edge of the desk.
For three years, he had believed one thing.
His wife and daughter had been collateral victims of an attack against him.
But what if that was a lie?
The Locked Room
That evening, Adrian stood outside Lily's bedroom.
He held the photograph.
His hand rested on the doorknob.
He hadn't entered since the funeral.
He finally turned it.
The door opened.
Dust floated through the afternoon light.
Lily's toys remained untouched.
Her small shoes sat beneath the bed.
A pink dress hung over a chair.
Adrian walked slowly inside.
He felt like an intruder in his own past.
Then he heard a sound.
A soft giggle.
He turned.
Ellie stood in the doorway.
Her pink backpack was still on her shoulders.
Adrian's heart jumped.
“Ellie.”
She looked around.
“Is this Lily's room?”
“Yes.”
“It's pretty.”
Adrian couldn't answer.
Ellie stepped inside.
She looked at the toys.
Then at the bed.
Then at the stuffed rabbit.
Her eyes widened.
“Rosie.”
Adrian stared.
The rabbit in her arms was identical to the one on Lily's bed.
Except Ellie was holding hers.
“How did you know her name?”
Ellie shrugged.
“Mommy told me.”
“When?”
“A long time ago.”
Adrian knelt.
“What did she tell you?”
Ellie looked at him.
“She said Rosie belonged to a little girl who couldn't come home.”
Adrian's heart broke.
“Who told your mother that?”
“I don't know.”
Ellie walked toward the desk.
She touched the photograph.
“That lady was Mommy.”
Adrian froze.
“Yes.”
“Mommy was pretty.”
“Yes.”
“Was this before she was sick?”
Adrian frowned.
“She wasn't sick.”
Ellie looked confused.
“She told me she was.”
Adrian stared at her.
“Your mother told you Elena was sick?”
Ellie nodded.
“She said Mrs. Elena had to go away.”
Adrian felt the room tilt.
Elena hadn't gone away.
She had died.
Why would Hannah tell a child otherwise?
Unless—
Hannah had been protecting Ellie from something.
The Drawing
Ellie opened her backpack.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“Mommy says I shouldn't show this.”
Adrian stared.
“Show me.”
Ellie hesitated.
Then handed it over.
It was a child's drawing.
Four figures stood in front of a large house.
A woman.
A man.
A little girl.
And another little girl.
Adrian stared at the fourth figure.
“Who is this?”
Ellie pointed.
“That's me.”
Adrian's breathing stopped.
“And this?”
“Lily.”
He looked at the two girls.
“Did you draw this?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“Why did you draw Lily?”
Ellie looked puzzled.
“Because Mommy told me about her.”
Adrian looked at Hannah's handwriting beneath the drawing.
There were only four words.
Never let him find her.
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Who is him?”
Ellie looked toward the hallway.
She whispered:
“The man who watches Mommy.”
The Man Outside
Adrian immediately walked to the window.
Across the road, a black sedan was parked beneath a tree.
The windows were tinted.
A man sat behind the wheel.
Adrian stared.
The vehicle started moving.
“Marcus!”
The security chief rushed into the room.
“Sir?”
“Follow that car.”
Marcus ran.
Adrian looked back at Ellie.
“Where is your mother?”
“She went downstairs.”
Adrian's expression changed.
He grabbed Ellie by the hand.
“Stay with me.”
They hurried down the stairs.
Halfway there, Adrian heard a scream.
Hannah.
He ran.
She was standing in the kitchen.
A knife lay on the floor.
A window was shattered.
And someone had left a message written across the glass in black ink.
Adrian stopped.
Three words.
SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING.
Hannah stared at him.
Her face was pale.
Adrian looked at Ellie.
Then back at Hannah.
“Who knows everything?”
Hannah began to cry.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Hannah.”
She shook her head.
“I can't.”
“You can.”
“They'll kill her.”
“Who?”
Hannah looked at Ellie.
Then at Adrian.
Finally, she whispered:
“Your wife.”
Adrian froze.
“Elena?”
Hannah nodded.
“She's not dead.”
The world seemed to stop.
Adrian couldn't breathe.
He stared at Hannah.
“What did you just say?”
Hannah wiped away her tears.
“Elena Moretti is alive.”
Adrian's voice became barely audible.
“Where?”
Hannah looked toward the broken window.
“I don't know.”
Then she added:
“But she has been protecting Ellie for three years.”
Adrian stared at the little girl in the pink backpack.
For the first time, the mystery surrounding Ellie became clear.
She hadn't wandered into his mansion by accident.
She hadn't been a coincidence.
Someone had been guiding her there.
And somewhere beyond the estate walls, Elena Moretti was still alive.
Watching.
May you like
Waiting.
And terrified of the day Adrian finally discovered the truth.
