Chapter 2 - THE MAN IN THE WINDOW
I reached Laurel Corner ten minutes later.
The café looked normal.
Too normal.
Customers sat at tables.
Cars passed outside.
The kitchen was busy.
But something felt wrong.
I entered through the back door.
Mrs. Alvarez turned toward me.
“Emily?”
I looked toward the dining room.
A man sat alone near the window.
Dark baseball cap.
Gray jacket.
Coffee untouched.
My stomach dropped.
“That man.”
Mrs. Alvarez followed my gaze.
“What about him?”
“He was outside my apartment last night.”
She looked frightened.
“How do you know?”
“Victor told me.”
Her expression changed instantly.
She lowered her voice.
“You called him?”
“Yes.”
Mrs. Alvarez looked toward the man.
Then back at me.
“Go into the office.”
“Why?”
“Just go.”
I followed her.
She locked the door behind us.
“Emily, there are things about this café you don't know.”
I stared at her.
“What things?”
She opened an old filing cabinet.
Inside were stacks of documents.
She pulled out a photograph.
My breath caught.
It showed Victor Vale standing beside his mother.
But the photograph wasn't recent.
The woman looked twenty years younger.
And standing beside her was another woman.
My grandmother.
I nearly dropped the photograph.
“What is this?”
Mrs. Alvarez's face went pale.
“I was hoping you would never find out.”
“That's my grandmother.”
“I know.”
“How?”
She didn't answer.
I looked at the photograph again.
My grandmother was smiling.
Victor's mother stood beside her.
Between them was a little girl.
I stared.
The girl looked about five years old.
She had my eyes.
“No.”
Mrs. Alvarez whispered:
“Her name was Lily.”
“Who is Lily?”
She looked at me.
“You.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“That isn't possible.”
“You were adopted.”
My throat tightened.
“What?”
“Your grandmother took you away when you were very young.”
“Why?”
Mrs. Alvarez shook her head.
“Because your mother was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
Before she could answer, the office door exploded inward.
The man from the café stood there.
He grabbed Mrs. Alvarez.
I screamed.
He reached for me.
I swung the metal desk lamp.
It struck his shoulder.
He cursed.
Then a deafening crash came from the dining room.
Glass shattered.
People screamed.
Three black-suited men rushed through the café.
Victor appeared behind them.
His expression was terrifyingly calm.
“Let her go.”
The stranger froze.
Victor walked toward him.
“You have ten seconds.”
The man released Mrs. Alvarez.
Then he ran.
Victor's security team chased him.
I stood frozen.
Victor approached me.
“Are you hurt?”
I shook my head.
“What is happening?”
He glanced at the photograph in my hand.
His face changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“Your mother.”
“No.”
“Mrs. Alvarez.”
He took the photograph.
His eyes remained fixed on it.
“Who is Lily?”
He didn't answer.
“Victor.”
His jaw tightened.
“Lily was my sister.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“She disappeared twenty years ago.”
The room went silent.
“You're saying—”
“Yes.”
He looked directly at me.
“My sister was five years old when she vanished.”
I couldn't breathe.
“My grandmother raised me.”
“I know.”
“How?”
Victor stepped closer.
“Because my mother has spent twenty years searching for you.”
I stared at him.
“You knew who I was yesterday?”
“I suspected.”
“And today?”
His eyes hardened.
“Today I know.”
He reached into his jacket.
This time he pulled out a photograph.
He placed it in my hand.
It showed the same little girl.
The same eyes.
The same small birthmark beneath her left ear.
My fingers trembled.
I touched the spot beneath my own ear.
I had the same mark.
Victor looked at me.
“Emily Carter wasn't your birth name.”
My heart pounded.
“What was it?”
He answered quietly.
“Lily Vale.”
I couldn't speak.
Then his phone rang.
He listened for three seconds.
His expression became murderous.
“What?”
He turned away.
“Where?”
A pause.
“Don't touch anything.”
He hung up.
I looked at him.
“What happened?”
May you like
Victor's eyes met mine.
“My mother has been kidnapped.”
