Chapter 2 - The Yellow Dress
Ethan did not understand why Serena wanted him to wear yellow.
He stood on a velvet platform in the east salon while two assistants adjusted the dress around his shoulders. The outfit had once belonged to Victor’s grandmother when she was a child. Serena had found it in the family archive and announced that Ethan would wear it for the Hale Foundation portrait.
“It proves continuity,” she told the photographer.
Ethan did not know what continuity meant.
He only knew the fabric scratched his neck and Serena became angry whenever he moved.
Lily waited by the window, pretending to polish a silver vase. From there, she could see Ethan’s face reflected in the glass.
He looked frightened.
“Stand straight,” Serena ordered.
“I want Daddy.”
“Your father has important work.”
“I want Lily.”
Serena’s eyes moved toward the maid.
“Lily is working.”
Ethan’s lip trembled.
The photographer lowered his camera. “Perhaps we should give him a moment.”
Serena’s smile remained fixed.
“Everyone leave the room.”
The assistants hesitated.
“Now.”
They hurried out.
Lily placed the vase on the table but did not move toward the door.
Serena looked at her.
“That includes you.”
“The dress is too tight around his neck.”
“I said leave.”
Lily approached Ethan and loosened the fastening herself.
Serena caught her wrist.
The movement was hidden from Ethan by the folds of the dress, but Serena’s nails pressed through Lily’s glove.
“You seem to have forgotten your position,” Serena whispered.
“My position is to care for this house.”
“Your position is to obey.”
Lily looked into her eyes.
Serena released her.
“Go clean the lower hall,” she said. “And stay away from the west staircase.”
Lily left the salon, but she did not go to the lower hall.
She waited in the corridor until she heard Serena speaking on the phone.
“The portrait is almost done,” Serena said. “Once the image is uploaded, we’ll have proof he was calm and unharmed this morning.”
Lily stopped.
Serena continued.
“Don’t lecture me, Conrad. I know the schedule. The trust locks at noon tomorrow. We only need him out of Victor’s custody for one night.”
Lily pulled her phone from her pocket and activated the recorder.
Inside the salon, Serena’s voice became quieter.
“No, Victor cannot know about Northbridge. By the time he realizes where the child has been taken, the board will have accepted the emergency petition.”
Lily’s heart began to pound.
She moved closer to the door.
“What about the maid?” a man’s voice asked through the speakerphone.
Serena laughed softly.
“Everyone already believes she’s unstable.”
Lily held her breath.
“I’ve documented six incidents,” Serena continued. “Broken glass. Missing jewelry. Unexplained marks on the child. Once the final recording is made, Lily will appear dangerous.”
“And if Ethan talks?”
“He’s four years old.”
“He can still identify you.”
There was a pause.
Then Serena said the words Lily would later play in the marble hall.
“Victor’s child must disappear before the trust activates. Once he’s out of this house, we can make the evidence say whatever we need.”
Lily’s hand shook.
She almost stopped recording.
Then Ethan spoke.
“What does disappear mean?”
Silence filled the salon.
Lily’s blood ran cold.
Ethan had heard everything.
Serena’s footsteps moved toward him.
“It means you’re going on a little trip.”
“I don’t want to.”
“You won’t have a choice.”
Lily pushed open the door.
Serena turned sharply.
Ethan stood beside the velvet platform. In his hand was a small gold object shaped like a key.
Lily recognized it immediately.
It was the key Celeste had worn on a chain around her neck.
The key that had vanished after her death.
Serena saw Lily looking at it.
Her face changed.
“Where did you get that?” she demanded.
Ethan backed away.
“Mommy’s room.”
Serena crossed the room in two steps.
Ethan ran.
He slipped through the side door and disappeared into the corridor before Serena could catch him.
Serena looked at Lily.
“Find him.”
Lily did not move.
May you like
Serena’s voice dropped.
“Find him before he opens that door.”
