Chapter 2 - What Lily Saw Yesterday
Police were not Ethan’s first call.
A pediatric doctor was.
Lily was examined promptly. She was frightened and had soreness from being dragged, but no serious injury was found.
Only after Lily was safe with Ethan’s sister Anna did he speak to Claire again.
She sat in guest room with cold pack against face.
“You attacked my daughter over something she found on floor.”
Claire stared away.
“I panicked.”
“Why?”
“She took something that wasn't hers.”
“She’s three.”
“I know.”
“You dragged her by hair.”
Claire’s eyes filled.
“I know.”
Ethan didn't soften.
“Then explain the teeth.”
“One is mine.”
“Which?”
Claire hesitated.
“That one.”
She pointed.
“How can you tell?”
Another hesitation.
“It came out of my mouth.”
“Lily says she saw you put the other one in your mouth yesterday.”
“She’s three, Ethan.”
“She knows what she saw.”
“No, she knows what she thinks she saw.”
Ethan placed both objects in separate clear household bags without manipulating them further.
Claire became agitated.
“Don't take those anywhere.”
“Why?”
“They’re private.”
“My daughter was attacked over them. Privacy ended there.”
Claire stood.
“Ethan, please.”
First time since incident, she looked genuinely afraid.
Not afraid of him.
Afraid of objects.
“What are they?”
“Dental work.”
“Both?”
“Yes.”
“Why was one on my floor?”
“I dropped it.”
“Why did Lily say it wasn't your tooth?”
Claire had no answer.
Ethan contacted attorney, then police because assault on Lily had occurred. Investigators collected both objects.
Detective Maya Torres immediately noticed they did not look like naturally shed teeth.
A dental specialist later offered preliminary answer.
Both were dental restorations.
Ceramic crowns.
Not whole human teeth.
One contained trace dental cement consistent with having been attached in mouth.
The other did not.
It had never been permanently installed.
So Lily had been right in literal sense.
The second wasn't Claire’s lost natural tooth.
It was a manufactured crown.
But why two nearly identical crowns?
Dentist explained duplicates could exist.
Temporary fittings.
Remakes.
Lab errors.
Backup fabrication.
Nothing inherently sinister.
Then lab markings were examined.
Both came from same dental laboratory.
Same case number.
Same patient.
Claire Morgan.
That seemed to resolve mystery.
Claire had two crowns made.
One fitted.
One spare.
Perhaps Lily found spare and Claire panicked irrationally.
Except dental office records showed something impossible.
Claire’s dentist ordered only one crown.
Not two.
Lab invoice also listed one.
Yet two existed.
Maya asked laboratory manager whether duplicate could be undocumented.
“Possible, but unusual.”
“Could somebody copy crown?”
“With original scan, yes.”
“Who has scan?”
“Dentist and lab system.”
Then manager examined internal production identifiers.
One crown was manufactured fourteen months ago.
The other:
six days ago.
Same digital model.
Same patient geometry.
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Someone had recently ordered an unauthorized duplicate of Claire’s tooth.
And Claire apparently already knew it existed.
