Chapter 2
Carter placed Lily gently onto the velvet armchair inside his private study, kneeling down to look into her tear-filled eyes.
"It’s okay now, sweetie," Carter whispered, his voice softening into a protective tender tone. "Daddy is here."
Lily wiped her bruised cheek with the sleeve of her pale yellow dress, her small shoulders shaking with stifled sobs.
"She... she told me if I cried, she would send me away like she did to Mommy," Lily whimpered softly.
Carter’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched violently under his skin.
He gently pulled back the collar of her yellow dress, his heart shattering into a thousand pieces at the sight of faint red marks on her skin.
"Who else hurt you, Lily?" Carter asked, suppressing the explosive rage boiling inside his chest.
Lily leaned closer, her small voice dropping into a terrified whisper that chilled Carter to the bone.
May you like
"The dark-haired lady... she brings a strange man into the house when you go to Wall Street," Lily whispered.
"They talk about taking all your money, Daddy."
