CHAPTER 2 – The Secret Hidden Beneath the Floor
Curiosity overwhelmed her fear.
Late that evening, after everyone had gone to sleep, Lily quietly returned to the hallway carrying only a flashlight.
She knelt on the exact spot where she'd heard the strange sound.
Carefully pressing against one marble tile, she felt it shift.
Her heart nearly stopped.
The tile lifted just enough for tiny fingers to slide underneath.
Beneath it was a small iron box covered in decades of dust.
Inside...
There were old photographs.
A faded birth certificate.
A silver key.
And one sealed envelope with only three handwritten words:
"For Lily Carter."
Her hands trembled.
How could anyone have known her name years before she was even born?
Before she could open the letter, footsteps echoed through the hallway.
"Lily..."
A cold voice whispered behind her.
She slowly turned around.
Standing at the end of the corridor...
...was the mansion's elderly gardener.
Everyone believed he was nearly blind.
Everyone believed he could barely walk.
But now...
He stood perfectly straight.
Looking directly into her eyes.
"I've been waiting eleven years for you to find that box," he said.
Lily clutched the envelope against her chest.
"W-Who are you?"
The old man smiled sadly.
"I promised your father I'd protect the truth..."
He looked toward the enormous family portrait hanging above the staircase.
"The Ashfords aren't the owners of this mansion."
He pointed directly at Lily.
"You are."
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And in that moment...
Everything Lily believed about her life shattered forever.
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