CHAPTER 2: The Lawyer Who Refused to Walk Away
The man in the gray coat was named Daniel Carter.
He was not a police officer. Nor was he a rich man who liked getting involved in other people’s business. He was a lawyer who helped people who could not afford legal support, and that morning, he had only been on his way to court.
But when he saw the photograph in Lily’s hand, Daniel knew he could not walk away.
Not only because the little girl was trembling in the cold.
But because he recognized the name Winslow.
The Winslow family owned a chain of private hospitals, a large charity foundation, and many properties across the city. Margaret Winslow, the woman standing before Lily, was the widow of the former chairman. She was famous for charity galas, speeches about kindness, and newspaper photos of herself standing beside poor children.
Daniel had seen her on television many times.
She always smiled gently.
But that smile was nowhere on her face now.
“I think we should sit down and talk,” Daniel said.
Margaret looked at him coldly.
“Who are you to ask that of me?”
“No one,” Daniel replied. “But I just heard a child say her mother once owned your ring. I also heard you say that this child was never supposed to find you. I think you owe at least an explanation.”
Margaret pressed her lips together.
“This is a private family matter.”
“So the girl is part of your family?”
That question silenced her.
Lily held her breath.
For one moment, she hoped the woman would say yes.
Just one word.
Just look at her and say, “Yes, you are family.”
But Margaret turned away.
“No.”
The little girl lowered her head.
Daniel saw her shoulders tremble.
He softened his voice.
“Lily, would you like to come with me somewhere warm? We can call child protection services, but I will stay with you until everything is clear.”
Lily hugged Rosie to her chest.
“Will you take my photo away?”
“No,” Daniel said immediately. “It belongs to you.”
The girl nodded faintly.
Margaret quickly said:
“There is no need to make this a big matter. I can give the child money.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Money does not answer who her mother was.”
Margaret gripped her handbag tightly. A black car pulled up beside the street. Her driver stepped out and opened the back door.
She turned to leave.
But Lily suddenly ran after her a few steps.
“Ma’am!”
Margaret stopped, but did not turn around.
“My mother’s name was Amelia Hart,” Lily said, her voice breaking. “Did you know her?”
That name made Margaret’s whole body stiffen.
This time, she could not hide it in time.
Daniel saw it clearly.
So did Lily.
The little girl slowed down.
“You knew my mother…”
Margaret closed her eyes for a second.
When she opened them, her cold expression had returned.
“Amelia is dead.”
Lily froze.
Daniel frowned.
“How long have you known that?”
Margaret did not answer.
She got into the car.
The black car drove away, leaving Lily standing on the sidewalk with the photograph in her hand and emptiness in her eyes.
A gust of wind blew past.
The photograph shook in her tiny hand.
Daniel crouched down to her level.
“Lily, I will help you find the truth.”
The little girl looked at him. In her eyes was the doubt of a child who had been abandoned by the world too many times.
“Adults always say that,” she whispered.
Daniel was silent for a moment.
Then he took off his scarf and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“Then I will not only say it.”
Daniel took Lily to his small office.
It was on the second floor of an old building, above a laundry shop. The office was not fancy, but it had a heater, soft chairs, and a box of cookies Daniel always kept for children who came in with their parents.
Lily sat on the edge of the chair, still not daring to lean back.
She ate the first cookie very slowly, as if afraid someone might take it from her. By the second one, she began to believe it truly belonged to her.
Daniel called a friend who worked at child protection services. He explained the situation and asked them to send someone, but he also requested time to check the information about the girl’s mother.
After Lily finished a cup of warm milk, he placed the photograph on the desk.
“May I look at the back?”
Lily hesitated, then nodded.
Daniel read Amelia’s words.
Each line felt like a small bone from the past.
“The Winslow family…” he murmured.
He opened his laptop and searched public records.
Amelia Hart had once worked at the Winslow estate ten years earlier as a library assistant and caretaker of the family’s art room. After that, her name disappeared from employment records.
Daniel kept searching.
Then he found an old article.
Thomas Winslow, the only son of the Winslow family, died in an accident on his way back to the city.
The article had been published eight years earlier.
Thomas Winslow had been thirty years old.
In the photo, he had gentle blue eyes and a quiet smile.
Daniel looked at Lily.
She was staring at the screen too.
“Who is that?” she asked.
Daniel enlarged another photograph.
In one photo from a charity event, Thomas was wearing a blue-stone ring.
The same ring.
“I think,” Daniel said slowly, “this man may be connected to your mother.”
Lily stared at the photo for a long time.
“I used to dream of a man holding me,” she whispered. “But Mommy said it was only a dream.”
Daniel felt a sting in his nose.
He continued searching through legal records. As a lawyer, he could not access private medical records, but he could look into lawsuits, public notices, and inheritance documents.
Finally, he found something strange.
After Thomas Winslow died, all of his personal assets were transferred into a trust. The beneficiary was listed as:
undetermined legal heir.
Undetermined.
Not nonexistent.
Undetermined.
Daniel looked up.
Lily had fallen asleep on the chair, Rosie still in her arms. She did not sleep peacefully. Her brows were still furrowed, as if even in dreams she feared being left behind.
Daniel placed his coat over her.
Then he made a phone call.
“Rachel, I need your help finding old records about Amelia Hart and the Winslow family. Especially from around eight years ago. There may be a child hidden from an inheritance record.”
The other end of the line fell silent for a few seconds.
“Daniel, you are touching a very powerful family.”
May you like
He looked at Lily.
“I know.”
