Chapter 6 - THE FIANCÉE WHO WENT AFTER MY SISTER
Lily was safe.
That was the only sentence I heard clearly.
Harbor Ridge staff had refused to release her because Vivian couldn't produce valid guardianship documents.
Security escorted Vivian from the building.
Police were contacted.
My sister remained inside with staff.
But Vivian had crossed a line that changed everything.
She hadn't simply humiliated me.
She hadn't merely sent me into a blizzard.
She had gone after Lily.
Roman canceled every meeting scheduled for Christmas Day.
Then he looked at me.
"We're going to Connecticut."
Dr. Harris protested.
I had mild frostbite, bruised ribs, and needed rest.
I didn't care.
"Lily needs to see me."
Roman arranged medical transportation.
Not a private jet full of champagne.
A medically appropriate flight coordinated with my doctor.
That distinction mattered.
By evening, we arrived at Harbor Ridge.
Lily was waiting in her wheelchair near the rehabilitation garden.
She had my dark hair.
Dad's brown eyes.
And the stubborn smile she'd worn through more pain than anyone her age should understand.
The second she saw me, her smile vanished.
"Claire?"
I crouched carefully.
She touched the bruise on my cheek.
"What happened?"
"I fell."
She raised an eyebrow.
"You're terrible at lying."
I laughed through tears.
Then hugged her.
She held me tightly.
"I heard about the woman."
My chest tightened.
"Vivian?"
Lily nodded.
"She said you asked her to move me."
"I didn't."
"I know."
I looked at her.
"How?"
"Because she called me Lily-Beth."
I frowned.
"So?"
"Nobody calls me that except Dad did when he was teasing me."
Her expression changed.
"Claire, she knew things."
My stomach tightened.
"What things?"
"About Dad."
Roman stood several feet away, giving us privacy.
Lily lowered her voice.
"She asked whether Dad ever left a key with me."
I closed my eyes.
There it was again.
The key.
"Did he?"
"No."
Then Lily hesitated.
"But he left something else."
My heart pounded.
"What?"
She maneuvered her wheelchair toward a dresser.
From the bottom drawer, she removed an old children's book.
The Secret Garden.
Dad had read it to us when we were little.
Inside the cover was a handwritten note.
For my girls: when one door is locked, look for the garden.
I stared.
"Lily, did you know this was here?"
"Since Dad died."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought it was just Dad being sentimental."
I turned the book over.
A tiny number had been written beside the publisher's mark.
0917.
The second number.
Unit 214.
Code 0917.
My hands shook.
Roman approached.
I showed him.
"We know where Dad's evidence is."
Before he could answer, Lily touched my arm.
"Claire."
I looked down.
"Vivian said something else."
"What?"
"She said Dad wasn't trying to protect us from the Mercers."
My stomach twisted.
"Who was he protecting us from?"
Lily's face became pale.
May you like
"Roman's father."
Roman went completely still.
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