Chapter 7 - THE NECKLACE THEY WANTED HER TO FEAR
Lily Costello stood in front of me with tears in her eyes.
She was eight years old.
Small.
Frightened.
And carrying a belief someone had planted inside her.
Dr. Mercer had told her a woman wearing my necklace was responsible for her mother's death.
I stared.
"What woman?"
Lily looked down.
"He said she was dangerous."
Arthur knelt beside her.
"Sweetheart, when did he tell you that?"
Lily hesitated.
"Last year."
Arthur's expression hardened.
"What exactly did he say?"
"He said Mommy trusted someone she shouldn't have."
My stomach tightened.
"And?"
Lily whispered:
"He said that lady gave Mommy something bad."
Arthur closed his eyes.
His wife, Isabel Costello, had died from complications after a sudden illness.
At least, that was what the family believed.
Now the same doctor connected to my father's death had been telling Lily frightening stories about a woman wearing my mother's necklace.
Something was terribly wrong.
I crouched beside Lily.
"Sweetheart, may I ask you something?"
She nodded.
"Did you ever see this woman?"
Lily shook her head.
"No."
"Then how did the doctor describe her?"
Lily looked toward my pendant.
"He showed me a picture."
My heart stopped.
"A picture?"
She nodded.
"Of Mommy with another lady."
Arthur looked up sharply.
"What picture?"
Lily swallowed.
"It was in his office."
The investigators requested the relevant records and secured the photograph.
When it arrived, I stared at it.
My mother.
Clara Hayes.
Standing beside Isabel Costello.
Both smiling.
Both wearing matching silver pendants.
My hands began trembling.
"Mom."
Arthur looked toward the photograph.
His face changed.
He recognized Isabel.
Then Clara.
The woman he'd known as a child.
The woman my father had married.
The woman who died when I was six.
"Why were they together?" he whispered.
I shook my head.
"I don't know."
Lily looked toward me.
"That's your mommy?"
I nodded.
Her expression softened.
"She looks nice."
Tears filled my eyes.
"She was."
Lily studied me.
Then slowly reached for my hand.
"I'm sorry the doctor said bad things."
I smiled through tears.
"You don't have to apologize."
Arthur watched us.
For the first time, something changed in his expression.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Hope.
But the investigation continued.
A former nurse from Isabel's medical team came forward.
She reported irregularities in the treatment records.
Several medication orders appeared inconsistent.
And Dr. Mercer had overridden concerns from other staff.
The evidence required independent medical review.
Arthur provided authorization for the relevant family records and cooperated with investigators.
Then the nurse said something unexpected.
"Mrs. Costello was investigating the same financial accounts Daniel Hayes had questioned."
Arthur stopped breathing.
"Isabel?"
The nurse nodded.
"Yes."
My heart tightened.
Lily's mother had been following my father's work.
And somehow, that had led to her death.
Arthur looked down.
For years, he'd believed Isabel died because of illness.
Now he was learning she'd been trying to expose the same conspiracy that destroyed my parents.
Then the nurse opened another document.
A handwritten note from Isabel.
Dated two days before her final hospitalization.
Arthur read it.
His hands trembled.
If I disappear, protect Lily.
May you like
Then the next sentence made him go pale.
"Victor knows the truth about Arthur's mother—and he will use it to destroy our daughter."
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