Veronica stared at the man like she had seen the devil himself.
“Daniel…” she breathed.
Daniel’s cold eyes locked onto the little girl.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” he said quietly.
The child backed away.
“But Mommy told me—”
“Your mother lied to you,” Daniel snapped.
Veronica suddenly slammed her hand onto the table.
“STOP!”
The entire room went silent again.
Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the little girl.
“What’s your name?” she asked softly.
The child hesitated.
“…Lily.”
Veronica almost broke apart hearing it.
Eva had once told her:
“If I ever have a daughter, I’ll name her Lily.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“You don’t understand what’s happening,” he warned.
But Veronica ignored him.
Instead, she knelt in front of the little girl.
“Lily… where did your mother die?”
The girl’s tiny voice shook.
“In a hospital.”
“When?”
“Three days ago.”
Veronica covered her mouth.
Three days.
For three days, Eva had been dead… and nobody told her.
Daniel grabbed Veronica’s arm hard.
“We need to leave. Now.”
She ripped her arm away.
“You knew?” she whispered.
Daniel said nothing.
That silence was enough.
Veronica’s eyes widened with horror.
“You kept her from me all these years…”
“Because you were never supposed to know,” Daniel growled.
Lily suddenly reached into her pocket.
“There’s one more thing.”
She pulled out a folded letter.
Veronica recognized Eva’s handwriting instantly.
Her hands trembled as she opened it.
Inside were only seven words:
“Veronica… Lily is your daughter.”
Veronica stopped breathing.
Daniel lunged forward—
—but Veronica looked up first.
And for the first time in years…
she remembered exactly why Eva disappeared.
