Chapter 15- Veil of calm

The next morning brought with it a soft drizzle, the kind that blurred the outlines of the world and made everything seem dreamlike. Lily sat by the window of her room, staring at the gray sky, the soft patter of raindrops playing a lullaby on the glass. Her hands rested in her lap, her thoughts as scattered as the droplets outside.

She hadn't spoken much since Justin's visit. There was something about the way he said, "I'll tell you when the time's right," that kept echoing in her mind. She hadn't asked William about it either. After all, their conversations lately were clipped and impersonal. He’d been acting distant—not cruel, just emotionally unavailable, like a fortress with no door.

Nany entered quietly, carrying a tray with breakfast and herbal tea. "You need to eat something," she said, her voice warm but firm. She placed the tray on the table and opened the curtains slightly. "The rain looks beautiful today, doesn’t it?"

Lily offered a weak smile. "Yes. It feels like the world is pausing."

Nany sat beside her. "Maybe that's what you need too. A pause."

They ate together in silence, interrupted only by the occasional thunder. It was the kind of morning that invited reflection, and for Lily, reflection often brought pain. Still, with Nany around, she felt a little less alone.

Later, Nany suggested, "Let’s go for a drive. Just us. Get you out of this house for a while."

Lily hesitated. The idea of leaving the mansion felt both liberating and scary.

"I don’t know..."

"You don’t have to decide now," Nany replied. "But if we keep waiting for the perfect time, it may never come."

By afternoon, the rain had lightened into a mist. Lily agreed to go. William wasn’t around to object. He had left earlier for a business meeting, or so she was told.

The driver took them out to the outskirts of the city. Fields of mustard stretched out like golden carpets, and occasional farmhouses dotted the landscape.

"Feels like breathing again," Nany said, rolling down the window slightly.

Lily nodded, letting the cool air brush against her face. For a moment, she allowed herself to forget the ache in her chest.

They stopped by a quiet riverside. A wooden bench sat beneath a sprawling banyan tree. The sound of water was calming, almost like a secret being whispered endlessly.

Lily walked down to the riverbank. She pulled out a small stone from her coat pocket and looked at it before tossing it into the water.

Nany joined her. "What was that?"

"Just a memory," Lily whispered.

Back at the mansion, William stood by Selena’s portrait in the hallway, his hand tucked into his pocket. His eyes lingered on her smile.

He pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Have you found her yet?"

A pause.

"Keep looking. She couldn’t have vanished into thin air."

He ended the call. For days now, his investigators had been searching for Eliza, but there was nothing—no leads, no digital trail. It only deepened his suspicion that what happened to Lily wasn’t an accident.

He walked back to his study, only to find an envelope waiting on his desk. No stamp, no sender. Just his name, printed in neat capital letters.

Inside was a note on cream paper:

"She knew. She was about to tell you. - A Friend."

William stared at the words for a long time. His grip tightened. He looked over at the fireplace, the flames reflecting in his eyes. Selena. She had known something. And someone didn’t want her to speak.

In the evening, Lily and Nany returned. The moment they stepped inside, Lily felt the shift in energy. The silence wasn’t the calm kind. It was heavy, like the mansion was holding its breath.

She walked up the stairs and paused outside Selena’s room. The door was closed. She turned the handle slowly.

Everything was as she remembered. Except one thing—a pendant on the pillow.

She walked over and picked it up. It had two initials engraved: S & J.

Lily stared at it, her breath catching. Justin?

"Lily?" Nany called from the hallway.

Lily quickly tucked the pendant into her pocket and walked out. "Coming."

That night, Lily couldn’t sleep. She kept replaying the initials over and over in her head. Could Justin have been Selena’s boyfriend? Had he been hiding something all along?

She got up and opened the drawer where she’d hidden the file Justin gave her. Inside were photographs—Selena smiling at the riverside, standing beside a man whose face was always out of frame.

And a letter, torn halfway:

"You make me believe in forever, J. No matter what happens, remember that..."

The rest was missing.

A sudden knock startled her.

"Yes?" she asked.

It was William.

"Can I come in?"

She nodded.

He entered, looked around, and noticed the open drawer. "Still trying to put the pieces together?"

She didn’t answer.

"You shouldn’t stress yourself," he said softly. For once, his tone lacked its usual edge. "Grief is... not linear."

"Neither is truth," she replied.

He looked at her, as though seeing her differently.

"Rest," he said finally. "The storm hasn’t passed yet."

And with that, he left.

Lily sat alone in the silence, clutching the letter.

Somewhere in the darkness of the mansion, secrets curled like smoke, waiting to be seen.

She knew now: Selena had loved someone. Maybe it was Justin. She don't know any other person rather than Justin whose name starts with J. Maybe it was someone else.

But someone had silenced her.

And Lily wasn’t going to stop until she found out why.