Chapter 2 - THE MORNING DISCOVERYSunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse, casting geometric patterns across the marble floors. When I walked into the kitchen, I found Lily sitting on a high stool at the marble island. She was holding a carton of orange juice with both hands, her big blue eyes darting toward the entryway the second she heard my footsteps. She flinched, instinctively pulling her shoulders up as if bracing for a reprimand.
"Good morning, Lily," I said gently, keeping my distance so I wouldn't startle her. I set a plate of freshly scrambled eggs and buttered toast in front of her. "Did you sleep okay?"
She stared down at the plate, swallowing hard. "Are you going to send me back to the home?"
I walked over, pulled out the stool next to hers, and sat down at eye level. "No, Lily. I told you yesterday, and I mean it. You are safe here. Nobody is sending you anywhere." She looked at me for a long, searching moment—measuring my words, looking for the catch. Then, with trembling hands, she picked up her fork. As she ate, I noticed a tiny, pale scar behind her left ear, shaped like a crescent moon. It was a unique, highly specific physical marker. When Marcus called me back twenty minutes later while I was stepping into the hallway, I gave him that detail. "Search medical records worldwide for a crescent-shaped scar behind the left ear," I ordered. "Find out who she belongs to."
