Chapter 2 - The Stolen Photograph
Arthur Sterling stared down at the creased, yellowed photograph held firmly in the boy’s trembling hands.
The image depicted a young Arthur standing on a sunlit porch thirty years ago, holding a newborn infant in his arms.
A heavy silence settled over the warm rustic bakery as the hum of the refrigerator seemed to fade away completely.
Mary the waitress lowered her cleaning cloth, her mouth slightly agape as she looked between the old man and the orphan.
"Where did you get this photo, son?" Arthur asked, his calm voice carrying a subtle, unsteady tremor.
"My dad gave it to me before he died," eight-year-old Toby replied, clutching five-year-old Lily tighter against his faded blue t-shirt.
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"He told me if we were ever starving, to look for the man with the silver ring in Boston."
Arthur’s eyes dropped instantly to his right hand, where a heavy gold signet ring adorned with a family crest glittered in the bakery lights.
