Chapter 2 - The Broken Lullaby
Lily flinched, clutching the small box against her chest.
"No, please!" the little girl whimpered, her lower lip trembling. "That's my toy! It's Mommy's!"
Victoria’s eyes narrowed into dark slits.
She hated the music box. She hated the faint melody that reminded Ethan of his late wife.
More than anything, she hated the three-year-old girl who occupied every corner of Ethan’s heart.
"You have no right to touch anything in this penthouse!" Victoria barked, reaching down to yank the box from Lily's hands.
The delicate brass mechanism snapped under the force of the pull.
A tiny gear tumbled across the marble floor, disappearing beneath the piano.
Lily let out a sharp, breathless gasp.
Tears welled in her wide brown eyes as she looked at the broken wooden toy in Victoria’s hands.
"Mommy..." Lily sobbed, reaching up with her small hands. "Mommy... help me!"
Victoria let out a harsh, bitter laugh.
She tossed the wooden box into the wastebasket near the wall.
"No one's coming to help you now!" Victoria whispered, leaning down close to the child's face. "Your mother is dead, and your father belongs to me."
Lily scrambled to her feet, her small hands balled into tiny fists.
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"Daddy loves Mommy!" she cried out.
Victoria’s face contorted with sudden, vicious rage.
