Chapter 2: The Sound of the Cane
The silence that followed was suffocating. Mrs. Sterling turned to wave to a security guard, fully expecting the boy to be dragged out.
But then, a sound cut through the air: the rhythmic, authoritative thump-thump of a wooden cane hitting the marble.
The crowd of wealthy shoppers parted as if by magic. From the back of the showroom stepped Arthur Vanguard, the man whose face appeared on the covers of global business magazines. He was ninety years old, a titan who rarely left his private estate. He leaned heavily on his cane, his eyes—usually clouded with the fatigue of a long life—now piercing and sharp.
He moved toward the boy. He didn't look at Mrs. Sterling; he looked at the ruined paper.
He knelt, his joints creaking, and picked up the mangled document. With hands that had signed the deals of the century, he carefully brushed away the dirt. As he read the bolded name, his hands began to tremble.
"Where," Arthur whispered, his voice cracking, "did you get this?"
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"My mom," Leo said, his voice small but steady. "She kept it in her locket. She said it was the only way to prove she was real."
Arthur turned his gaze toward Mrs. Sterling. The air in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. "You said my daughter was dead," he said, his voice barely a murmur. "Six years ago, you came to my office and told me there was an accident. You told me the body was cremated."
