Chapter 2 - The Girl Called Lily
Nathan carried the girl into the living room while Rosa pulled the sled away from the open doors.
The infants were cold but responsive. Rosa checked their breathing and moved them closer to the fireplace without placing them directly beside the heat.
Nathan focused on the older child.
She appeared to be twelve or thirteen, though exhaustion made her look younger. Her clothing was soaked through beneath the frozen outer layer. Ice clung to her hair. A small bruise marked her cheek, but there were no signs of a serious external injury.
“Call emergency services,” Nathan said.
Rosa already had her phone out.
Nathan checked the girl’s pulse and carefully removed her gloves. Her fingers were dangerously cold. He covered her hands, kept her horizontal, and spoke even though she could not respond.
“You’re safe. My name is Nathan. I’m a doctor.”
Her eyelids moved.
“Babies,” she murmured.
“They’re here.”
“Both?”
“Both.”
The girl released a shallow breath.
Rosa gave the dispatcher their location, explained the road conditions, and requested emergency transport. The answer was not reassuring. A chain collision had blocked the southern route. A fallen tree had closed the northern pass. Rescue crews were attempting to reach the property by snow vehicle, but no arrival time could be guaranteed.
Nathan removed the girl’s wet boots and examined her feet for cold-related injury. Her condition was serious, but he believed she had reached them before permanent damage occurred.
One of the infants began crying louder.
The girl’s eyes opened instantly.
She tried to sit up.
“No,” Nathan said gently. “Stay down.”
“Eva.”
“Is that one of the babies?”
The girl pointed weakly toward the smaller carrier. “Eva cries when she can’t see Noah.”
Rosa repositioned the carriers so the infants could face each other. The crying softened.
Nathan studied the girl. “What’s your name?”
“Lily.”
“Lily what?”
Her gaze shifted toward the dark windows.
“Kane.”
Nathan and Rosa exchanged a look.
The name was familiar, but neither spoke it aloud.
“Who are the babies?” Nathan asked.
“My brother and sister.”
“Where is your mother?”
Lily’s lower lip trembled.
“She put us in the sled.”
“Is she outside?”
“No.”
“Where is she?”
Lily closed her eyes. “She told me to follow the red lights.”
Nathan looked toward the terrace.
Small emergency beacons lined the mountain trail below his property. They had been installed for hikers after a tourist disappeared during a winter storm fifteen years earlier.
“How far did you travel?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Did you come from a house?”
“A cabin.”
“Was your mother there?”
Lily’s breathing quickened.
Nathan stopped questioning her.
Rosa returned with warmed blankets and a basin of water. While Nathan monitored Lily, Rosa checked the babies’ identity bracelets.
Each infant wore a white plastic hospital band.
The first read EVA KANE.
The second read NOAH KANE.
Both listed the same birth date.
Six weeks earlier.
Rosa’s face changed.
“What?” Nathan asked.
“I saw that name at the hospital.”
“When?”
“Yesterday. It was written on a visitor authorization form. Marcus Kane requested access to the pediatric isolation wing.”
Nathan looked at Lily.
Marcus Kane’s face appeared on hospital banners, university buildings, and charity campaign advertisements throughout the state. He had recently announced a thirty-million-dollar donation to St. Catherine’s new neonatal center.
According to every public profile Nathan had ever seen, Marcus Kane had one child.
A daughter named Lily.
There had never been any mention of infant twins.
“Lily,” Nathan said, “is Marcus Kane your father?”
Her eyes filled with fear.
“He says he is.”
The answer made the room feel colder.
Nathan noticed a dark stain near the inner seam of Lily’s coat. He reached toward the zipper, but she grabbed the fabric.
“No.”
“We need to remove the wet clothing.”
“Mommy sewed it shut.”
“Why?”
“She said nobody could know what was inside.”
Nathan examined the lining. Thick stitches ran from the collar to the waist, closing an extra layer inside the coat.
Something had been hidden there.
Before he could ask about it, Lily whispered, “He found the cabin.”
“Who did?”
“My father.”
“How do you know?”
“Mommy gave me the babies and told me to run.”
“And then?”
May you like
Lily’s voice became barely audible.
“She stayed behind to make him think we were still inside.”
