Chapter 2: The Little Witness
Arthur barely heard the frantic voices around him.
"Call an ambulance!"
"She's still breathing!"
"Move back!"
His world had narrowed to the blood staining his mother's white dress.
"Eleanor... Mom... stay with me," he whispered, pressing his trembling hands against the wound on her head.
Victoria rushed down the staircase, perfectly composed despite the horror surrounding her.
"Oh my God!" she cried, forcing tears into her voice. "She... she slipped! I tried to save her!"
Several servants looked uncertain.
No one had actually seen what happened.
No one...
Except Lily.
Hidden behind the marble pillar, the little girl shook uncontrollably.
She knew what she had seen.
Victoria had smiled before pushing Grandma Eleanor.
A slow...
Cold...
Terrifying smile.
Victoria's eyes swept across the lobby.
For one terrifying second, they landed on Lily.
The child froze.
Victoria gave her the smallest smile imaginable.
A warning.
Don't speak.
The ambulance arrived within minutes.
Doctors rushed Eleanor onto a stretcher while Arthur climbed into the ambulance beside her.
Before the doors closed, Lily quietly picked something up from the granite floor.
A single purple crystal.
One of the gemstones from Victoria's expensive bracelet.
It had broken off during the struggle.
Lily slipped it into her pocket without saying a word.
...
That evening, Arthur sat alone in the hospital waiting room.
The surgeon finally approached.
"We stopped the bleeding," he said.
"But the brain injury is severe."
Arthur stood.
"Will she survive?"
"We honestly don't know."
Those words shattered what little hope remained.
Behind the corner, Victoria embraced Arthur.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered.
Arthur leaned against her shoulder, exhausted.
He never noticed Lily watching from across the hallway.
The little girl tightened her fist around the purple crystal.
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Something wasn't right.
And she intended to prove it.
