Chapter 2: The Letter from the Shadows**
Victoria pulled her arm back, her face flushing crimson with embarrassment and rage. “Julian! You’re humiliating our families in front of New York’s elite! She’s just a beggar girl brought in by someone trying to scam your foundation.”
“Check the perimeter, Marcus,” Julian ordered, not taking his eyes off the envelope. “And clear this room. Now.”
The wealthy patrons scurried toward the gilded exits, whispering frantically about the paralyzed tech titan who had just moved his foot. Within minutes, the grand ballroom emptied, leaving only the sound of water dripping back into the silver basin.
Julian opened the envelope with shaking hands. The parchment carried a faint scent of lavender and rain.
*“Julian,* *If Lily is washing your feet, it means the darkness has finally caught up with me. Six years ago, you didn't crash because of bad weather on the Hudson Parkway. The brake line of your Maserati was severed. I found out the truth too late. They silenced me, but they couldn't extinguish Lily’s gift. She carries the pure heart you lost when you traded your humanity for empire. Protect her. The wolf is already in your house.* *— Clara.”*
Julian’s chest tightened painfully. Clara—the brilliant biochemist he had loved and recklessly pushed away before his catastrophic accident. She had vanished five years ago without a trace.
He looked down at Lily. Her eyes were identical to Clara’s.
“Where is your mother, Lily?” Julian asked softly.
May you like
Lily looked down at her damp hands. “She went to sleep in the white room with the loud machines. She told me to find the sad man in the rolling chair.”
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