Part 2: The Secret Behind the Nursery Door
Part 2: The Secret Behind the Nursery Door
For nearly two weeks, Elena followed every rule.
She never questioned Mrs. Hawthorne.
She never wandered through restricted hallways.
She never stayed awake after midnight.
Until one night...
She heard Ethan crying.
The sound was barely audible through the silent mansion.
Ignoring the rules, Elena quietly stepped into the hallway.
The nursery door was slightly open.
Inside, Ethan wasn't alone.
His father, billionaire Richard Hawthorne, stood over him while Mrs. Hawthorne watched silently from across the room.
"You will never tell anyone," Richard said in a calm but terrifying voice.
Ethan nodded through frightened tears.
"I know."
"No one can know what happened to your sister."
Elena froze.
Sister?
Every family portrait displayed only one child.
Every newspaper article described Ethan as the Hawthornes' only heir.
Yet the little boy whispered something that made her blood run cold.
"I miss Lily."
Richard suddenly slammed his hand onto the desk.
"Lily never existed."
Silence swallowed the room.
Elena carefully stepped backward before anyone noticed her.
The next morning, she secretly searched the mansion's storage basement.
Hidden behind stacks of old furniture, she discovered sealed boxes filled with family photographs.
Every single picture had been carefully altered.
Where a smiling little girl once stood beside Ethan...
Someone had cut her out.
One photograph had escaped destruction.
A young girl with dark blonde curls smiled brightly while holding Ethan's tiny hand.
Written across the back were six heartbreaking words:
Lily Hawthorne. Age 6. Summer Forever.
May you like
Someone hadn't erased a memory.
They had erased an entire child.
