Chapter 2 - THE SILVER PIECE IN HER SON’S ROBOT
The first person to reach Lily was Rocco.
He did not grab her.
He simply stepped between her and Victor.
“Bag.”
Lily handed it over.
Victor’s expression sharpened.
Jack remained seated.
Still.
Watching.
Rocco emptied the bag onto a side table.
Wallet.
Bus card.
Cheap lipstick.
Bandages.
Pain reliever.
A child’s sock Lily had somehow carried to work.
No silver chip.
Victor’s confidence returned.
“She’s lying.”
Lily looked at him.
“No.”
“You just accused this room of tampering with a legal agreement.”
“I said the pen was missing something.”
“And somehow you knew before the lawyer opened it.”
That was the problem.
Jack asked:
“How?”
Every face turned toward her.
Lily could lie.
Maybe she should.
But Marco already suspected she heard something.
And her son was now connected to the missing object.
“I saw the case earlier.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed.
“It looked different.”
“Different how?”
“The clasp was straight before. Now it isn’t.”
The lawyer examined it.
“She’s right.”
Marco laughed softly.
“So our waitress is a forensic expert now?”
“No.”
Lily looked directly at him.
“I notice things.”
Victor’s face tightened.
Jack did not look away.
“Apparently.”
Rocco held up Lily’s coat.
One cuff had a small tear.
The lining had been opened.
Lily stopped breathing.
Rocco noticed.
“What?”
“Yesterday I found something silver caught there.”
Victor went pale again.
Jack saw it.
“What did you find?”
“A tiny metal piece.”
The lawyer stepped forward.
“Where is it?”
“My son has it.”
Silence.
Marco’s face changed almost imperceptibly.
Jack caught that too.
“Your son?”
“He thought it belonged to a robot.”
Victor suddenly said:
“She needs to leave.”
Jack turned toward him.
“No.”
Victor swallowed.
“Mr. Moretti, with respect, she has a child at home. This is clearly upsetting her.”
Lily stared.
Victor had never cared whether she was upset.
Now he desperately wanted her gone.
Jack leaned back.
“Interesting.”
Victor’s face tightened.
“What?”
“You’ve threatened this woman for being ten minutes late.”
Victor went still.
Jack continued.
“You’ve called her careless twice tonight.”
His eyes moved toward Lily.
“Yet the moment she notices evidence of tampering, you become concerned about her emotional well-being.”
Enzo gave a humorless laugh.
Victor stopped speaking.
Jack stood.
The entire room shifted with him.
“Rocco.”
“Yes.”
“Send two people with Lily.”
Her stomach dropped.
“To my son?”
Jack looked at her.
“Not inside the home unless the woman caring for him gives permission.”
The distinction surprised her.
“They retrieve the silver piece. You stay here.”
“No.”
Jack’s eyebrow lifted.
Lily’s hands shook.
“My son does not know your men.”
Rocco looked annoyed.
Jack did not.
“Fair.”
He considered.
“You go. Rocco goes. One female security officer goes. Nobody enters unless invited.”
Lily nodded.
Then Marco spoke.
“This is ridiculous. We have a peace agreement waiting.”
Jack turned.
“We had one.”
His eyes hardened.
“Now we have sabotage.”
Marco smiled carefully.
“And you trust the waitress?”
Jack looked toward Lily.
“No.”
The word hurt more than it should have.
Then he added:
“But I trust nervous people who notice details more than calm men who keep asking me to sign.”
Marco’s smile disappeared.
They left through the main stair.
Not the east corridor.
Ten minutes later, Lily stood outside Ruth’s apartment.
She knocked.
Ruth opened the door holding a kitchen towel.
Behind her, Lily’s six-year-old son, Noah, sat cross-legged on the floor.
His robot rested in his lap.
“Mom!”
He smiled.
“I fixed him!”
Lily’s heart stopped.
A tiny silver component gleamed inside the robot’s chest.
Rocco crouched beside him.
“What did you use?”
Noah proudly removed the piece.
“This.”
The female security officer photographed it before touching anything.
Rocco’s face hardened.
“That matches the missing verification chip.”
Lily closed her eyes.
Then Noah said something that made everyone freeze.
“A man gave Mommy another one.”
Lily stared at him.
“What?”
Noah pointed toward her canvas bag.
“The smiling man from your work.”
Ruth went pale.
“What man?”
Noah answered:
“The one who came here yesterday.”
Lily’s blood turned cold.
Because nobody from the Maragold Room knew where Ruth lived.
Then Noah described him.
Silver at his hair.
May you like
Calm smile.
Marco Voss.
