Chapter 1 - My Daughter Found a Starving Girl Who Looked Exactly Like Her, and the Object Hidden Inside Her Rabbit Made Me Question Everything I Knew About My Dead WifeThat afternoon was supposed to belong to Lily.
She had been talking about strawberry ice cream since breakfast.
Not chocolate.
Not vanilla.
Strawberry.
And, according to her, it absolutely had to have rainbow sprinkles because “plain ice cream is sad.”
For one afternoon, I allowed myself to forget everything else.
The meetings.
The shipments.
The men who called me before making decisions that could cost millions.
The constant knowledge that someone, somewhere, wanted to see me dead.
I was Marcus Blackwell.
In Chicago, that name meant something.
It meant power.
It meant money.
And, in certain circles, it meant fear.
But that afternoon, none of it mattered.
I was simply Lily's father.
She skipped beside me through Lincoln Park, holding my hand.
“Daddy.”
“Yes?”
“When can we get the puppy?”
“We're not getting a puppy.”
“What if we rescue one?”
“Still no.”
“What if I promise to feed it?”
“You already forget to feed the fish.”
“The fish doesn't have feelings.”
I looked at her.
“The fish absolutely has feelings.”
She giggled.
My security team followed twenty yards behind us.
They were trained not to interrupt unless necessary.
For once, I didn't mind them being there.
Lily stopped every few feet.
A golden retriever.
Then a French bulldog.
Then a German shepherd.
Every dog required a full conversation.
We were halfway toward the ice cream stand when Lily suddenly stopped.
“Daddy?”
“What?”
She was staring across the lawn.
At first, I saw nothing unusual.
Then I noticed the child.
A little girl sat beneath an old oak tree.
Alone.
Her knees were pressed to her chest.
A dirty stuffed rabbit was tucked under one arm.
Her clothes were too thin for the weather.
Her shoes were cracked.
Silver tape held one sole together.
My instincts changed immediately.
I looked toward my guards.
One of them moved forward.
I raised one hand.
“Stay.”
Something about the child made me want to approach alone.
Lily pulled her hand from mine.
“Lily.”
She ran.
“Lily!”
She crossed the grass before I could catch her.
The guards moved.
I stopped them again.
“Let her.”
I followed.
When I reached the tree, my entire body went cold.
The girl looked up.
Same heart-shaped cheeks.
Same small nose.
Same stubborn chin.
Same dark hair.
For one impossible second, I thought I was looking at Lily.
Not beside Lily.
Lily.
A second version.
A reflection.
A nightmare.
Then I looked at my daughter.
She was standing beside the bench.
“Daddy,” she whispered.
My throat tightened.
“She looks exactly like me.”
The girl slowly raised her face.
Her eyes were bright green.
My breath disappeared.
Grace's eyes.
My dead wife's eyes.
I would have recognized them anywhere.
Seven years after Grace died, those eyes had still haunted me in dreams.
I crouched.
“What is your name?”
The girl hesitated.
“Emma.”
Her voice was barely audible.
Lily sat down beside her.
“Hi.”
Emma looked at her.
Lily smiled.
“I'm Lily.”
Emma stared.
Lily tilted her head.
“I think you're my sister.”
The girl's face changed.
Fear.
Then recognition.
I felt something twist in my chest.
“What did you say?”
Lily looked at me.
“She looks like me.”
Emma tightened her arms around the rabbit.
I turned toward her.
“Emma.”
She wouldn't look at me.
“Where are your parents?”
“My mommy died.”
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
“And your father?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Who takes care of you?”
“My Aunt Karen.”
I looked around.
“Where is she?”
Emma looked toward the pathway.
“She told me to wait here.”
“For how long?”
“Until she came back.”
I checked my watch.
It was almost five.
“How long have you been waiting?”
Emma didn't answer.
“Since it was dark.”
My stomach tightened.
She had been abandoned overnight.
A seven-year-old child.
Alone.
In Chicago.
I looked at her shoes.
Then the rabbit.
Then her face.
Lily reached for my sleeve.
“Daddy.”
“Yes?”
“She needs food.”
Her stomach growled.
Emma immediately covered it.
Her face turned red.
She looked ashamed.
That destroyed me more than the hunger itself.
“Come with us.”
Emma shook her head.
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Aunt Karen said not to.”
“Why?”
“She said if I talked to strangers, they would take me away.”
I stared.
“Did she tell you to stay here?”
“Yes.”
“And she's coming back?”
Emma nodded.
But she didn't believe it.
Neither did I.
I looked at my security chief.
“Get food.”
A minute later, one of my men returned with sandwiches, fruit, and water.
Emma stared.
She didn't grab anything.
“It's okay,” I said.
She looked at me.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
She slowly took the sandwich.
One bite.
Then another.
Then she started eating too quickly.
I crouched beside her.
“Slow down.”
She stopped.
“I'm sorry.”
“You don't have to apologize for being hungry.”
Lily pushed her own ice cream toward Emma.
“You can have some.”
Emma stared.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
She took it.
Then something strange happened.
The two girls sat beside each other.
Same cheeks.
Same nose.
Same chin.
Even their expressions were almost identical.
I couldn't look away.
“Emma.”
She swallowed.
“What is your mother's name?”
Her fingers tightened around the rabbit.
Before she could answer, my security chief spoke.
“Boss.”
I stood.
“What?”
He looked at the rabbit.
“We need to check something.”
Emma immediately hugged it.
“No.”
The first word she'd spoken with real force.
“What is it?”
The guard pointed toward the rabbit's side.
“There are stitches.”
I looked closer.
The rabbit had clearly been repaired.
Not like a child's toy.
Someone had opened it deliberately.
Then resewn it.
“Who opened that?”
Emma shook her head.
“No one.”
My guard crouched.
“There is something inside.”
Emma backed away.
“No.”
Lily moved beside her.
“It's okay.”
Emma looked at my daughter.
Then at me.
“I promised Mommy.”
My heart stopped.
“Promised what?”
“Never let anyone open Rabbit.”
I knelt.
“Emma, I won't hurt you.”
She shook her head.
“You don't understand.”
“What don't I understand?”
She whispered:
“Mommy said if the wrong person finds what is inside…”
She stopped.
“And what?”
Emma looked directly into my eyes.
“They'll kill us.”
The world around me seemed to disappear.
I glanced at the rabbit.
Then at Lily.
Then back at Emma.
“Who is the wrong person?”
She swallowed.
May you like
Then slowly raised one trembling finger.
She pointed at me.
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