Chapter 2. You Always SayThat-And Then You Disappear

Evelyn had barely taken three steps before Lily's fingers tightened around hers again. It wasn't a frightened grip but a steady, certain one, as though the little girl had already decided Evelyn belonged there.

A maid stepped forward with a patient smile. "Miss Lily, you have to let Miss Sterling settle in."

Instead of letting go, Lily moved even closer. "I'm not letting go."

There was no defiance in her voice, only quiet certainty, and the words tugged painfully at Evelyn's heart, so she crouched until they were eye level and smiled gently.

"Lily, you don't have to hold my hand like this. I'm not going anywhere."

Lily searched her face with surprising intensity, as though she was looking for proof rather than reassurance.

"Will you still be here tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"And after tomorrow?"

"Yes."

Lily remained silent for a moment before whispering, "People always promise things... then they leave."

The words landed harder than Evelyn expected. She had only just met this child, yet every instinct urged her to pull Lily into her arms and protect her from whatever had taught her to expect abandonment.

Instead, she smiled. "I'm here now."

Lily never looked away. "You always say that," she whispered. "Then you disappear again."

The corridor fell still, and a chill ran through Evelyn. She had never met Lily before today, had never made promises to her, yet those words carried the weight of a memory Evelyn couldn't explain.

"What do you mean?" she asked softly.

Lily frowned. "I don't know..."

She lowered her eyes, and when she spoke again, her voice shook.

"I just know you left." She looked back at Evelyn. "That's why I couldn't stop crying."

One of the maids stepped forward with an uneasy smile. "Miss Lily has been very emotional lately. Sometimes she says things that don't quite make sense."

Lily turned immediately. "I am not confused."

The maid fell silent, and Lily looked back at Evelyn. "I know you. I just don't remember from where."

Several servants exchanged uneasy glances, one young maid looking ready to cry while another quietly crossed herself before lowering her hand.

Then measured footsteps echoed across the marble floor, and every servant straightened as the atmosphere changed instantly. Damian Blackwood approached.

Evelyn had spent six months studying photographs of him, but they hadn't prepared her for the man himself — tall, broad-shouldered, and impeccably dressed in a dark suit that spoke of wealth without trying to impress anyone. His expression revealed little, and his presence alone seemed enough to command the entire corridor.

He stopped a few feet away, his eyes moving over Lily's tear-streaked face before settling on her small hand wrapped tightly around Evelyn's, his gaze lingering there a fraction longer than it should have before lifting to Evelyn.

"Explain."

The single word silenced the corridor.

The housekeeper stepped forward. "Sir, this is Miss Sterling, the new nanny from the agency. Miss Lily became attached, and we were trying to—"

"I didn't ask for a summary."

The housekeeper immediately fell silent, and Lily edged closer to Evelyn. Damian noticed, his jaw tightening almost imperceptibly.

"Lily," he said, his tone softening just enough to be noticeable, "you shouldn't interfere with staff assignments."

Lily looked at him before turning back to Evelyn. "The crying stops."

No one answered. She tightened her grip around Evelyn's hand. "It stops when she's here."

She looked down at their joined hands before meeting Damian's eyes again. "Everything feels noisy... but when she's here, it doesn't."

A heavy silence settled over the hall, and only then did Evelyn realize the little girl was right — the desperate screams that had echoed through Blackwood Manor had vanished, and every servant had noticed, including Damian.

He studied his daughter for a long moment. Her eyes were still swollen from crying, but she was calm, and she still refused to let go of Evelyn's hand.

"I want to stay with her," Lily whispered.

"No."

The answer came without hesitation, and fear immediately swept across Lily's face.

"No." Her breathing became uneven as several servants instinctively stepped forward. "I don't want to go."

"Lily—"

"I don't want to go without her."

Her voice cracked, and the sound pierced Evelyn's heart. Lily clung to her hand before whispering the words that froze everyone present.

"Don't let them take me away again."

Again. The tiny word echoed through Evelyn's mind, and Lily had spoken with complete conviction, as though somewhere deep inside she remembered being separated from someone she loved.

Evelyn looked at Damian, and his jaw tightened so briefly that she might have imagined it, but then every trace of emotion vanished behind the cold mask he wore so effortlessly.

He looked from Lily to Evelyn before making his decision. "She'll remain under supervision."

He was speaking to the housekeeper, although his eyes stayed on Evelyn. "Assign Miss Sterling her quarters. She starts today."

Several servants looked visibly surprised, and Lily released a shaky breath as the panic slowly faded.

Then Damian spoke again. "And I want her monitored."

The warning was unmistakable. He didn't trust her, and perhaps he never would, but Evelyn had seen his reaction — her presence had unsettled him.

The servants gently led Lily away, and she resisted every step, not with anger but with heartbreaking desperation, her fingers slipping one by one from Evelyn's hand.

At the corner of the corridor, Lily stopped and turned back, her eyes finding Evelyn's.

"Don't disappear."

The whisper barely carried across the hall.

Evelyn swallowed. "I'm not going anywhere."

Lily watched her for another heartbeat before giving a tiny nod, then disappeared around the corner.

A faint metallic click echoed from somewhere deep inside the east wing, and Evelyn's head turned toward the sound. At the far end of the corridor stood a single dark door, closed and locked, and although every servant had heard the sound, not one of them looked toward it.

That unsettled Evelyn more than the noise itself — it was the practiced silence of people who had learned never to ask questions.

She glanced at Damian. He had heard it too. For the briefest moment his composure slipped, his eyes flicking toward the locked door before returning to the corridor, and though the expression lasted less than a second, it was enough.

Evelyn understood two things with absolute certainty: there was something hidden behind the locked door in the east wing, and for the first time since arriving at Blackwood Manor, she realized the most dangerous secret in the house wasn't the child she had come to find.

It was whatever Damian Blackwood was trying so desperately to keep locked away.