Chapter 6 - The Fall
Victoria Haynes, clutching a porcelain cup of espresso, stepped into the east parlor just as Lily pressed the third key. Victoria was wearing cream wool slacks, and her face contorted in immediate, visceral disgust. She didn't see an innocent child; she saw a filthy, unauthorized intruder touching a multi-million-dollar heirloom she believed was hers.
"Get your dirty hands off that," Victoria hissed, her voice dripping with venom.
Lily looked down at her hands. They were perfectly clean. She looked up, confused, clutching her rabbit. Before the child could even process the angry woman's words, Victoria marched forward and shoved her.
Victoria would later claim it was a gentle nudge. A mere redirection. But three-year-olds are fragile. The piano bench had no back, and the marble floor offered no mercy.
May you like
Lily tumbled backward. Her head struck the stone floor with a soft, sickening thud.
At that exact second, Ethan Caldwell stepped into the parlor doorway, loosening his tie after a brutal day at the office.
