CHAPTER 6: The Name No One Dared Say
The dirty man’s name was Samuel Price.
Eleven years earlier, he had been Edward Ashborne’s private driver. Before that, he had been a decorated police detective. After Clara vanished, he disappeared too, accused of stealing company funds and helping her escape. The Ashborne family buried his name under scandal because someone needed to be blamed.
Now he stood in the ballroom, thin, tired, and alive.
Victoria’s lips parted. “This is absurd.”
Samuel ignored her. He walked forward slowly, hands visible, eyes wet. When Lily saw him, she broke.
“Uncle Sam,” she cried.
The crowd murmured. The child ran to him, and Samuel dropped to one knee as she crashed into his arms. He held her like someone trying to protect a candle in a storm.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I tried to get there sooner.”
Victoria’s confidence cracked.
Edward watched Samuel with a face full of old ghosts. “You told me Clara was dead.”
Samuel shook his head. “No, sir. I never told you anything. I was arrested before I could reach you. The report you received was forged.”
Daniel Ashborne stepped forward. “Forged by whom?”
Samuel looked directly at Victoria.
She laughed once, too sharp. “Do you hear yourselves? A homeless man and a street child walk into a gala with a fairy tale, and suddenly I am on trial?”
Edward’s fingers closed around the locket.
“Not on trial,” he said. “Not yet.”
The words chilled the room.
Lily pulled away from Samuel and looked at Edward.
“My mom said you would know the butterfly,” she whispered. “She said you gave it to her after the fireflies.”
May you like
Edward closed his eyes.
Only his daughter knew that story.
