Chapter 7: The Second Lily
Adrian’s world stopped.
The voice coming from Lucas’s phone was impossible.
Impossible because Lily was supposed to be safe.
Impossible because Lily was supposed to be with Clara.
Impossible because Clara was standing right there.
Holding the smartwatch.
Watching the same confusion spread across everyone’s faces.
“Play it again,” Adrian whispered.
Lucas stared at the phone.
The call was still connected.
A faint sound came through the speaker.
A child breathing.
A child crying.
Then the voice returned.
“Daddy…”
Adrian grabbed the phone.
“Lily?””
A few seconds of silence.
Then:
“Daddy, please come.””
The call ended.
Adrian stood frozen.
Clara immediately stepped toward him.
“That wasn’t possible.””
“No,” Adrian said.
His voice was barely there.
“No, it wasn’t.””
Daniel looked between them.
“Mr. Hart…”
Adrian turned.
“Get back to the mansion.””
They moved instantly.
Nobody questioned him.
Nobody argued.
Because there was only one thought in everyone’s mind.
Someone had taken Lily.
Again.
The drive back felt endless.
Adrian sat in the front seat, staring at the road.
His hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Lucas sat in the back.
Silent.
Clara sat beside him.
She watched him through the reflection of the window.
“You knew this would happen.””
Lucas looked at her.
“What?””
“You knew someone would target Lily.””
His expression remained calm.
“I knew someone would try.””
“Who?””
Lucas looked away.
“That’s what we need to find out.””
Clara studied him.
“You know more than you’re telling us.””
A pause.
“Yes.””
The honesty surprised her.
“Why?””
“Because if I tell Adrian everything now, he won’t think clearly.””
Clara frowned.
“He’s his daughter’s father.””
“Exactly.””
Lucas looked toward the road.
“And that’s why he’s vulnerable.””
Clara didn’t like the answer.
But she understood it.
Love could make people brave.
It could also make them reckless.
When they arrived at the mansion, the front gate was open.
Adrian immediately noticed.
He had ordered the gate locked.
“Daniel.””
The security manager checked his tablet.
His face changed.
“The system is offline.””
“What?””
“Someone disabled it remotely.””
Adrian stepped out of the car.
The mansion stood silent.
Too silent.
“Lily!””
His voice echoed.
No answer.
They rushed inside.
The living room was empty.
The kitchen was empty.
The stairs were empty.
Then Clara saw something.
A small stuffed rabbit on the floor.
Lily’s rabbit.
She picked it up.
Her heart dropped.
“She wouldn’t leave this.””
Adrian looked at her.
“What?””
“She takes this everywhere.””
A sound came from upstairs.
A door closing.
Everyone froze.
Adrian moved first.
He ran toward Lily’s room.
The door was open.
Inside, the lights were off.
The bed was empty.
But on the pillow was a note.
Adrian picked it up.
His face changed as he read it.
“What does it say?”” Clara asked.
He handed it to her.
Three words.
*COME ALONE, DADDY.*
Clara looked at him.
“No.””
Adrian was already moving.
“Absolutely not.””
Lucas stepped in front of him.
“You can’t go.””
Adrian looked furious.
“My daughter is missing.””
“And someone wants exactly that reaction.””
“I don’t care.””
“That’s the problem.””
Adrian grabbed Lucas’s shirt.
“You don’t get to tell me how to protect my daughter.””
Lucas didn’t fight back.
He just looked at him.
“Your father said the same thing.””
Adrian froze.
“What?””
Lucas lowered his voice.
“And that’s how he lost everything.””
The words hit harder than expected.
Adrian released him.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Clara noticed something.
The smartwatch.
The one they thought Lily had left behind.
It was on the bed.
Still flashing.
“Wait.””
Everyone looked at her.
“The watch.””
She picked it up.
There was another recording.
Created ten minutes ago.
Adrian stared.
“Play it.””
Clara pressed the button.
At first, there was static.
Then Lily’s voice.
“Daddy, I’m scared.””
Adrian closed his eyes.
“Lily.””
Then another voice.
A man.
Older.
Calm.
“Your father is coming.””
Lily whispered:
“Why did you take me?””
The man answered:
“Because your father needs to remember.””
Adrian’s face went pale.
He recognized the voice.
“Lucas?””
Everyone turned.
Lucas looked shocked.
“That’s not me.””
The recording continued.
“You were supposed to disappear quietly.””
Lily cried.
“I want my daddy.””
The man replied:
“Your daddy chose money over family.””
Adrian stepped back.
Because there was something familiar about those words.
Not the voice.
The message.
The same hatred.
The same bitterness.
Then Lily screamed.
The recording ended.
Silence.
Lucas spoke first.
“Someone is using my story.””
Adrian looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
“It means whoever took Lily knows everything about my past.””
Clara looked at the note.
“Where would they take her?””
Lucas stared at the paper.
Then his eyes moved toward Adrian.
“Somewhere your father built.””
Adrian frowned.
“My father?””
Lucas nodded.
“There was a place he used when he needed people to disappear.””
Daniel looked shocked.
“A place?””
Lucas looked toward the hallway.
“An old private property.””
“Where?””
Lucas hesitated.
Then he said:
“The Hart family estate.””
Adrian went still.
“That place was sold years ago.””
“No.””
Lucas shook his head.
“It was never sold.””
Clara looked confused.
“Then what happened?””
Lucas’s expression darkened.
“Your father made everyone believe it was gone.””
The old estate was two hours outside the city.
Nobody spoke during the drive.
The road became narrower.
The buildings disappeared.
Only trees remained.
Adrian stared out the window.
“I don’t understand.””
Lucas looked ahead.
“You never knew the real Hart family.””
Adrian looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
“It means our father didn’t build an empire.””
Lucas’s voice was quiet.
“He built a prison.””
Clara listened.
“What happened there?””
Lucas looked down.
“People who threatened him were brought there.””
Adrian’s expression changed.
“You’re saying my father kidnapped people?””
Lucas didn’t answer.
Which was an answer.
The car stopped in front of an old iron gate.
The estate stood behind it.
Abandoned.
Broken.
But not empty.
The front door was open.
Adrian walked inside.
The walls were covered with old photographs.
Family pictures.
Company pictures.
Records.
But something caught Clara’s attention.
A child’s drawing.
Pinned to the wall.
A drawing of a little girl.
A house.
And three people.
She walked closer.
“Adrian.””
He came over.
The drawing had a date.
Five years ago.
After Lucas disappeared.
After Richard died.
And at the bottom was a child’s handwriting.
*LILY AND UNCLE LUCAS.*
Adrian stared.
“Lily knew him?””
Lucas looked shocked.
“I never met her.””
Clara touched the paper.
“Then who made this?””
A noise came from the next room.
A small voice.
“Daddy?””
Adrian ran.
“Lily!””
They entered the room.
And there she was.
Sitting in a chair.
Safe.
Unharmed.
But not alone.
Someone stood behind her.
Someone holding an old photograph.
Someone wearing a silver ring with a black stone.
Adrian stopped.
Because he knew that ring.
Everyone did.
The person stepped into the light.
And Clara felt the blood leave her face.
It was impossible.
The scar.
The eyes.
The voice.
The same person from the hallway.
The same person behind the entire plan.
But they were not who anyone expected.
Because standing in front of them was someone Adrian had buried years ago.
Someone who should have never been alive.
May you like
Richard Hart.
Adrian’s father.
