Chapter 2 - The House Where The Doors Stayed Unlocked
Lumi woke just after midnight.
The first thing she did was look at the door.
The second thing she did was look for her shoes.
Gideon was sitting in a chair beside the window when he noticed.
"You don't need them."
She froze.
"Why?"
"Because you're not going anywhere tonight."
Her eyes moved toward the door again.
"Is it locked?"
"No."
"You're sure?"
Gideon stood and crossed the room. He opened the door fully.
"There."
She watched.
"No lock."
"No lock."
She slowly put her feet beneath the blanket.
"Where am I?"
"Hospital."
"Will they make me leave?"
"No."
"How do you know?"
"Because I'm asking them not to."
Lumi looked at him.
"You're the billionaire."
Gideon blinked.
"How do you know that?"
"You were on television."
"When?"
She shrugged.
"People talked about you."
"What did they say?"
"That you don't smile."
He almost smiled.
"Apparently they're observant."
Lumi's face softened.
A nurse came in with warm milk and toast.
Lumi immediately looked at Gideon.
"Is that for me?"
"Yes."
"Do I have to finish it?"
"No."
She stared at the food.
Then she ate as fast as she could.
The nurse gently touched her shoulder.
"Slow down, sweetheart."
Lumi stopped immediately.
Her fork hovered.
"Sorry."
Gideon noticed the way she apologized for hunger.
He looked away before she could see his expression.
Later, a social worker named Rebecca Sloan arrived.
She had kind eyes and a folder tucked under one arm.
"Hello, Lumi."
Lumi's shoulders tightened.
Rebecca stopped several feet away.
"I'm Rebecca."
"Are you taking me somewhere?"
"No."
"That's what they said last time."
Rebecca glanced at Gideon.
"What happened?"
Lumi stared at the blanket.
"They gave me a bag."
"Who?"
"The people I lived with."
"Do you remember their names?"
"Mrs. Darlow."
Rebecca wrote it down.
"And Mr. Darlow?"
"He wasn't home much."
"Did you have a room?"
"Sometimes."
Rebecca frowned.
"Sometimes?"
"Sometimes I slept in the laundry room."
Gideon turned toward the window.
He needed the room not to see his face.
Rebecca kept her tone gentle.
"Why did they leave you at the park?"
Lumi's fingers tightened.
"They said they were tired."
"Tired of what?"
"Me."
The word landed harder than any accusation.
Rebecca closed her folder.
"No child should hear that."
Lumi looked uncertain.
"Is it true?"
"No."
"You don't know me."
"I know enough."
Gideon sat beside the bed.
"Lumi."
She looked at him.
"Do you know who Evelyn Vale was?"
Lumi's eyes widened.
"My mama."
Gideon forgot to breathe.
"Your mother?"
Lumi nodded.
"She said my name was Lumi Evelyn Hart."
His heart slammed against his ribs.
"Did she ever talk about Gideon?"
Lumi thought.
"Uncle Gid."
The room went silent.
"You've met me before?"
"No."
"But you know me."
"From pictures."
"Where?"
"In a blue box."
Gideon stared.
"What blue box?"
"They took it."
"Who?"
Lumi's face went pale.
"Mrs. Darlow."
Gideon leaned closer.
"What was in it?"
"My mama."
"Pictures?"
"And a letter."
"Did you read it?"
"I can't read big words."
He swallowed.
"What did the letter say?"
Lumi whispered the one line she remembered.
"If they ever take you away, find Uncle Gid."
Gideon's eyes burned.
He stood abruptly.
"Daniel."
His security chief was outside the room.
"Sir?"
"Find the Darlows."
"We're already working on it."
"And find every record connected to a child named Lumi Evelyn Hart."
Daniel nodded.
"Already started."
Gideon returned to the chair.
Lumi had fallen asleep again.
He watched her for several minutes.
Then Rebecca spoke quietly.
"I need to tell you something."
"What?"
"Under normal circumstances, she would be placed into emergency foster care."
"No."
Rebecca raised an eyebrow.
"You don't get to decide that."
"I know."
"Then why did you say no?"
"Because she's already been moved too many times."
Rebecca studied him.
"Are you volunteering to become her emergency placement?"
Gideon looked at the child.
"I am."
"You barely know her."
"Neither did the people who abandoned her."
Rebecca folded her arms.
"There will be background checks."
"Do them."
"Home inspection."
"Do it."
"Medical and psychological evaluations."
"Everything."
"And if you fail?"
Gideon looked at her.
"I won't."
She hesitated.
"Mr. Vale, money doesn't automatically make you a suitable guardian."
"I agree."
"Then what does?"
He looked toward Lumi.
"Staying."
Rebecca's expression changed.
"Okay."
The next afternoon, Lumi left the hospital wrapped in three blankets.
Gideon drove her to Vale House.
She stared through the car window as the gates opened.
The mansion looked like something from a movie — stone walls, tall windows, trees covered in snow, lights glowing along the driveway.
Lumi pressed her face against the glass.
"Are you rich?"
"Yes."
"How rich?"
"Very."
"Does that mean you own the snow?"
He laughed.
It surprised both of them.
"No."
"Good."
"Why?"
"Snow shouldn't belong to anyone."
Inside, she stood in the entrance hall, completely overwhelmed.
A dozen rooms opened from the main corridor.
She looked frightened.
Gideon crouched beside her.
"You can choose where to stay."
"I don't need a room."
"Everybody needs a room."
"I can sleep on the couch."
"You can have a bedroom."
"Will somebody take it back?"
"No."
She looked at him.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
The housekeeper, Mrs. Bell, appeared carrying a tray.
"I'm so glad you're here, sweetheart."
Lumi took one step backward.
Mrs. Bell stopped.
"Sorry."
Lumi blinked.
Mrs. Bell smiled.
"I mean, I'm glad you're warm."
Gideon gave her a grateful look.
That evening, they walked upstairs.
Lumi stopped in front of a bedroom.
Pink curtains.
A little white bed.
A bookshelf.
A stuffed rabbit.
She stared.
"Is this mine?"
"Yes."
"No one lives here?"
"No."
She touched the blanket.
"It's soft."
"That's the idea."
She looked at him.
"Do I have to be good?"
Gideon frowned.
"Why would you ask that?"
"Because good girls get to stay."
He felt something break inside him.
"You don't have to earn staying here."
She stared.
"Ever?"
"Ever."
Lumi slowly nodded.
Then, for the first time since he had met her, she smiled without catching herself.
It was small.
But it was real.
Gideon left the room and closed the door halfway.
In the hallway, Daniel was waiting.
"What did you find?"
Daniel handed him a file.
"There's a problem."
"What?"
"The official birth record says Lumi Hart has no surviving parents."
"That's false."
"Yes."
"How do we know?"
Daniel looked at the second document.
"Because six years ago, Evelyn Vale filed a confidential birth notice naming the child's father as Daniel Hart."
Gideon's expression changed.
"Daniel Hart."
"Exactly."
"Who is he?"
"We don't know."
"Find him."
Daniel hesitated.
"There is more."
He opened another page.
"Three trust accounts were created in Lumi's name before Evelyn died."
Gideon stared at the figures.
They contained millions of dollars.
"Why wasn't she receiving it?"
"Because the accounts were transferred into a custodial trust managed by Vale Family Charities."
Gideon's blood ran cold.
"Who manages that?"
Daniel met his eyes.
"Celeste Vale."
Gideon closed the file.
The little girl upstairs thought she had been abandoned because nobody wanted her.
But someone had been managing millions in her name.
Someone had been receiving money meant to protect her.
And someone had just left her to freeze in a public park.
Gideon walked toward his study.
For the first time in years, he locked the door.
May you like
Not because he was afraid of someone breaking in.
Because he was afraid of what he would find if he opened the wrong file.
