Chapter 4: The Girl Before Me
The girl's name was Lily Harper.
I couldn't stop staring at it.
Lily Harper.
Age fourteen.
Platform 7.
Visitor log.
Two hours before me.
“Where is she now?”” I asked.
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't know.””
“Did you talk to her?””
“Yes.””
“What happened?””
“She said she was waiting for someone.””
“Who?””
“She wouldn't tell me.””
I looked at the paper again.
“Was she alone?””
“Yes.””
“Did my sister know her?””
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“I remember Vanessa speaking to her.””
My chair scraped backward.
“What did she say?””
“I don't remember the exact words.””
“Try.””
Daniel looked at me.
“She told the girl that someone was coming for her.””
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
“And then?””
“She left.””
“With Vanessa?””
“No.””
“Then what?””
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“Ethan, I didn't think it was connected at the time.””
“Connected to me?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
He pushed the visitor log toward me.
“Your sister came back later.””
I froze.
“When?””
“After your family left.””
“Vanessa came back?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“She asked whether you'd been found.””
My mouth went dry.
“What did you tell her?””
“That child services had taken you somewhere safe.””
Daniel looked at me.
“She seemed relieved.””
I sat back.
Relieved.
Not guilty.
Not frightened.
Relieved.
Naomi listened to the story that evening.
She didn't interrupt once.
When I finished, she said, “We need Lily's records.””
“Can we get them?””
“Maybe.””
“What if she's gone?””
“Then we find out why.””
The next morning, Naomi called me.
“I found something.””
She sent me a scanned document.
A child-services placement record.
Lily Harper.
Age fourteen.
Emergency placement.
The date matched the day of the train trip.
I read the next line.
*Placement disrupted after 48 hours.*
“Why?””
Naomi didn't answer immediately.
“Because the sponsoring family withdrew support.””
“What sponsoring family?””
I scrolled.
Then stopped.
My father's name was there.
I felt something inside me crack.
“They took her?””
“Not exactly.””
“Then what?””
“The record is incomplete.””
“Of course it is.””
Naomi's voice hardened.
“Ethan, listen to me. We have to be careful.””
“Why?””
“Because these records involve a minor, and because your family's foundation may have had access to children through private sponsorship programs.””
I understood.
The charity.
The speeches.
The children.
The foundation.
“That's why they invited me.””
“Possibly.””
“They want me as a success story.””
“Possibly.””
“So they can say they found me.””
“Or so they can say you forgave them.””
I stared at the invitation.
Naomi continued.
“Either way, we need evidence.””
The gala arrived on a Saturday.
I stood in front of my bedroom mirror wearing a black suit.
For a moment, I looked like the person my father had always wanted me to become.
Strong.
Successful.
Unreachable.
But beneath the jacket, my hands were cold.
Naomi arrived at seven.
She wore a dark blue dress and carried a sealed folder.
“Ready?””
“No.””
“Good.””
I looked at her.
She smiled slightly.
“Nobody should be ready for this.””
The ballroom was packed.
Hundreds of people.
Donors.
Politicians.
Business owners.
Celebrities.
The foundation had transformed the hotel into a monument to itself.
Photographs of children covered the walls.
A huge banner hung above the stage:
*NO CHILD SHOULD EVER BE LEFT BEHIND.*
I almost laughed.
Then I saw Vanessa.
She was standing near the stage in a silver dress.
Twenty years had changed her.
But not enough.
She still tilted her head when she was performing sincerity.
She still smiled with only half her mouth when she was nervous.
She was talking to a donor when she saw me.
Her sentence stopped.
The donor followed her gaze.
Vanessa's face went white.
“Ethan?””
People turned.
My mother saw me next.
She dropped her champagne glass.
It shattered against the marble floor.
My father turned.
And froze.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Vanessa walked toward me.
“Ethan.””
I said nothing.
She stopped three feet away.
“You came.””
“I was invited.””
Her eyes flicked toward Naomi.
“Who's this?””
“Naomi Ellis.””
My father finally spoke.
“Ethan, this isn't the place.””
I looked at the banner behind him.
*NO CHILD SHOULD EVER BE LEFT BEHIND.*
“I thought it was perfect.””
Vanessa grabbed my arm.
“Please.””
I pulled away.
“Don't touch me.””
Her face tightened.
“You don't understand.””
“No,” I said.
“I understand exactly what happened.””
My mother stepped closer.
“Ethan, sweetheart—”
“Don't.””
She stopped.
Dad looked around.
“People are watching.””
“That didn't bother you twenty years ago.””
His jaw clenched.
Vanessa whispered, “Don't ruin tonight.””
I looked at her.
“I'm not the one who ruined anything.””
Naomi stepped forward.
She opened the folder.
My father saw the first page.
His expression changed.
“Where did you get that?””
Naomi's voice was calm.
“The question isn't where I got it.””
She lifted the document.
“The question is why your family requested the closure of Ethan Brooks's child-abandonment case three days after he was found.””
A nearby donor turned.
“What?””
Vanessa grabbed my father's sleeve.
“Dad.””
He didn't answer.
My mother looked at Naomi.
“You have no right—”
“I have every right to ask questions,” Naomi said.
My father stepped closer.
“You don't know what you're talking about.””
Naomi opened the folder wider.
“Then perhaps you can explain this.””
She placed a second document on the table.
Lily Harper.
My mother stopped breathing.
Vanessa whispered something I couldn't hear.
I looked at her.
“What?””
She shook her head.
“Nothing.””
“No. Say it.””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“You were never supposed to find her.””
The room seemed to tilt.
I stared at my sister.
“Find who?””
Vanessa looked at my father.
May you like
My father looked at the ballroom doors.
And then a security guard quietly locked them.
