Chapter 2 - THE GIRL IN THE PINK PAJAMAS
Lucas tried to sit up. Pain tightened his chest, and the little girl immediately put one small hand against his shoulder.
“Don’t move too fast,” she warned. “My doctor says that makes it worse.”
Lucas stared at her. “You have asthma?”
She nodded. Her dark curls were tangled, and one pink sock had slipped halfway off her foot. “Sometimes it feels like somebody put a belt around my lungs.”
He knew the feeling.
“Where is your mother?”
“Working.” Lily glanced toward the kitchen corridor. “She said I had to stay in the laundry room. But I heard you fall.”
A door slammed somewhere behind them.
Lucas turned his head. Marco came running from the security office, followed by two guards. His face drained when he saw the boss on the floor.
“Call Dr. Bennett,” Lucas ordered. His voice was rough but steady. “And lock down the house.”
Marco crouched. “What happened?”
“The inhaler was useless.” Lucas pointed to the silver device near the wall. “Get it tested. Nobody touches it.”
Lily hugged her own inhaler. “I used mine.”
Lucas looked at her again. “You saved my life.”
She seemed uncertain what to do with that information. “You can say thank you by not dying.”
Marco almost smiled. Lucas did not.
“Who brought her here?”
“My mother,” Lily answered. “She cleans the upstairs rooms. Her name is Elena.”
The name meant nothing to Lucas, but Marco’s expression shifted. “Elena Carter?”
Lily nodded.
Marco stood. “She’s been on staff for eight months.”
“Bring her to me. Gently.”
Before anyone could move, a man stepped from the doorway behind Marco. Victor Romano looked older, broader, and perfectly composed in a charcoal suit. His hair was silver at the temples. His face wore the same expression Lucas remembered from the warehouse: concern polished until it looked like loyalty.
“Lucas.” Victor crossed the hall. “Thank God. I heard you were unwell.”
Lucas’s fingers curled against the floor. “You heard quickly.”
“I was nearby.”
“Convenient.”
Victor’s gaze moved to Lily. “And who is this?”
“The reason I’m still breathing.”
Victor bent slightly, offering the girl a practiced smile. “You must be very brave.”
Lily took a step behind Lucas’s arm.
“She doesn’t like strangers,” Lucas said.
Victor straightened. “Of course. We should get her out of here before she gets frightened. I’ll have security take her to the staff quarters.”
“No.”
The word landed hard.
Lucas looked at Marco. “Nobody takes her anywhere until her mother arrives.”
Victor’s smile remained, but something cold moved behind it. “You’re exhausted. Let me handle things.”
“You’ve handled enough.”
Dr. Bennett arrived ten minutes later. He examined Lucas, checked his oxygen level, and ordered a hospital transfer. Lucas refused until the doctor confirmed that his breathing had stabilized. Meanwhile, Marco retrieved the inhaler from the floor with gloves.
Elena Carter came running through the service entrance. Her uniform was damp, and she looked as if she had sprinted from the subway. When she saw Lily, she dropped to her knees.
“Baby! What did I tell you about leaving the laundry room?”
“I heard somebody fall.”
Elena hugged her tightly, then looked at Lucas. “I’m sorry, sir. I never should have brought her here. My neighbor canceled, and I had nowhere else to take her. I was going to keep her out of sight.”
Lucas saw the fear in her eyes. Not ordinary fear of losing a job. Something deeper.
“Your daughter saved my life,” he said. “You’re not in trouble.”
Elena’s shoulders sagged.
Victor stepped forward. “This is a serious security breach. We can discuss her employment later.”
Lucas’s gaze sharpened. “You can leave now, Victor.”
The lieutenant paused. “I’m trying to protect you.”
“Then start by doing what I told you.”
Victor left with a small bow.
Lily watched him go. “I don’t like that man.”
Elena went pale. “Lily.”
“He smells like the medicine cabinet at the hospital,” Lily explained. “Like the stuff that makes my nose burn.”
Lucas looked toward Marco.
“Find out what was in my inhaler,” he said quietly. “And find out who had access to it.”
That evening, the doctor confirmed the device had been deliberately damaged. A tiny amount of a chemical irritant had been introduced into the chamber, enough to trigger a dangerous reaction in someone with severe asthma.
Lucas sat upright in his hospital bed, reading the report.
The attempt had not been a warning.
It had been a murder.
Across the room, Elena sat beside Lily, who had fallen asleep with her head on her mother’s lap. Lucas watched the child’s small hand rest over her inhaler.
“Why did you bring her into the mansion?” he asked.
Elena looked down. “Because I had no choice.”
“Everyone has a choice.”
“Not everyone has someone to call.”
Her answer silenced him.
A moment later, Lily stirred. “Mister Lucas?”
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Do you have a little boy?”
Lucas’s heart seemed to stop.
“Why would you ask that?”
“Because there’s a picture in the upstairs hallway. A lady and a boy. The lady looks sad, but the boy is smiling.”
Lucas stared at Elena.
The photograph Lily had seen was of Isabella and Daniel.
“Where did you see it?”
“In the room with the piano,” Lily said. “And somebody had written a name on the back.”
“What name?”
May you like
Lily rubbed her eyes.
“Daniel.”
