Chapter 3 - THE GHOST IN THE ROOM
Arthur pulled Lily tightly against his chest, stepping backward toward the open doorway. The hallway light spilled into the ruined apartment, illuminating the polished black boots of a man stepping out from the kitchen shadows.
It wasn't the woman Arthur expected. It was one of the men in the dark coats.
"Where is she?" Arthur demanded, his voice shaking but laced with a sudden, fierce protectiveness. "Where is Beatrice?"
The man tilted his head, his face devoid of emotion. "Mrs. Sterling doesn't do house calls for thieves, Arthur. She sent me to collect what belongs to her."
"I don't have anything of hers," Arthur said, his grip on Lily tightening as the little girl buried her face in his shoulder, whimpering softly.
"Don't lie to me," the man stepped closer, crushing a torn page of a children’s book beneath his heel. "The trust documents. The blue envelope your son stole before he crashed that car. Give it to me, and you can walk away. Keep it, and Mrs. Sterling takes the girl tonight."
Arthur’s mind raced. The blue envelope. His late son, David, had given it to him the night before the fatal accident, telling Arthur to hide it and never open it unless something happened to him. Arthur had hidden it in the one place no one would ever look.
"I don't have it," Arthur lied, backing out into the hallway.
"Then I’ll be taking the child," the man lunged forward.
Arthur slammed the heavy apartment door shut just in time. He heard the man crash against the wood as he turned and ran down the street, his lungs burning with every step. He didn't stop until he reached the bustling safety of the town square.
Sitting on a cold park bench, Arthur set Lily down gently. She was crying, holding her favorite stuffed bear, Barnaby.
"It's okay, sweetheart," Arthur whispered, kissing her forehead. "Grandpa is here. Let me see Barnaby."
He unzipped the small secret compartment in the back of the stuffed bear. This was where he had hidden the blue envelope. If Beatrice wanted it so badly, it must contain proof of the fraud she had committed—the reason his son had tried to run away.
Arthur reached his fingers inside the bear. His heart stopped.
It was empty.
"Lily..." Arthur’s voice broke. "Where is the blue paper that was inside your bear?"
Lily looked up, wiping a tear from her cheek. "The nice lady at the park took it yesterday."
Arthur felt the world spin. "What lady, sweetheart?"
"The lady who smelled like roses," Lily said innocently. "She gave me a shiny coin for it."
Arthur reached into the pocket of Lily's little beige dress. He pulled out the coins she had tried to use at the bakery. Among the pennies and dimes was a heavy, silver token.
It wasn't a coin at all. It was a custom wax seal stamp, bearing the initials B.S.—Beatrice Sterling.
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Suddenly, Arthur’s burner phone vibrated in his pocket. He answered it with a trembling hand.
"You should have checked the bear sooner, Arthur," Beatrice's venomous voice echoed through the speaker. "Now, look across the street."
