Chapter 2 - The Lie in the Courtyard
The glass patio doors at the base of the mansion burst open with violent force.
Ethan, a thirty-eight-year-old corporate attorney with a muscular frame and a sharp square jaw, sprinted out into the bright daylight. His piercing blue eyes locked onto his daughter’s motionless form near the edge of the manicured lawn.
“LILY! BABY, OPEN YOUR EYES!” Ethan roared, dropping heavily to his knees beside her on the cold paving.
His large, calloused hands trembled as he touched her pale shoulder, carefully checking her neck for a pulse, his breathing coming in ragged, terrified gasps. Lily remained completely unresponsive, her rosy cheeks ghostly white, her pink ribbon untied and resting against the stone.
Noah fell to his knees beside his father, grabbing Ethan’s navy polo shirt with both hands, tears welling in his round blue eyes.
Grandmother reached the courtyard seconds later, shaking violently. She stepped between Ethan and Noah, her eyes wide as she pointed urgently up toward the second-floor stone balcony, trying to mime the action of Noah pulling Lily’s legs.
Before she could finish her gesture, Noah pointed a trembling finger directly at the mute old woman.
“Grandma pushed her!” Noah cried out, his voice cracking with convincing, childlike terror.
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Ethan’s head snapped toward his mother. His jaw clenched so tightly a muscle twitched violently along his cheekbone. The fierce, protective fury of a father threatened by his child’s harm burned instantly in his gaze.
Grandmother’s face drained of color. She shook her head in desperate, frantic denial, waving her hands in front of her chest before pointing back at Noah and then up at the balcony ledge. She opened her mouth, her vocal cords straining, but no sound came out except a hollow, dry breath.
