CHAPTER 2 — The Face From The Photograph
The stranger stopped only a few feet away.
His hands were shaking.
His eyes never left the photograph inside Ethan's wallet.
"Where..."
"...did you get that picture?"
Ethan instinctively pulled Lily behind him.
"Who are you?"
Instead of answering, the man swallowed hard.
"My name is Benjamin Carter."
"I think..."
"I knew your wife."
Ethan's expression darkened instantly.
"My wife died."
"Leave us alone."
Benjamin slowly reached into his jacket.
Ethan prepared to fight.
But instead of a weapon...
Benjamin pulled out another photograph.
An identical one.
Only this version showed the entire image.
Standing beside Ethan's late wife...
...was Benjamin himself.
Both of them were much younger.
And between them...
...they were holding a newborn baby wrapped in a pink blanket.
Ethan stared in disbelief.
His voice cracked.
"That's impossible."
"My wife never told me about you."
Benjamin's eyes filled with regret.
"Because someone paid her to disappear."
"My family."
"The Carters."
"They believed that child would ruin our name."
Ethan looked down at Lily.
His heart pounded.
Benjamin continued.
"I searched for her for seven years."
"I thought both of them were gone."
Before Ethan could process another word...
A convoy of black luxury SUVs raced into the park.
Men in tailored suits jumped out.
One elderly woman stepped forward wearing diamonds worth more than Ethan had earned in his lifetime.
She looked directly at Lily.
Then...
To everyone's shock...
The powerful woman slowly knelt before the little girl.
Tears streamed down her face.
"My granddaughter..."
"I'm so sorry."
The entire park fell silent.
But Benjamin didn't smile.
Instead...
He whispered something that made Ethan's blood run cold.
"Don't trust her."
"She's the reason your wife spent the last seven years running."
As the old woman reached for Lily...
Black vehicles surrounded the park from every direction.
Another group had arrived.
They weren't family.
They were there...
May you like
...to make sure the truth never left that park alive.
TO BE CONTINUED...
