Chapter 2: What the Little Girl Smelled
Hannah grabbed Lily from the bed and held her tight.
"I'm so sorry.
She won't bother you again, I promise—"
"She didn't bother me."
Hannah went quiet.
Adrian stood and walked to his desk.
He picked up the tea cup carefully, the way a man handles something he no longer trusts.
"How long have you been working here, Hannah?"
"Three years, sir."
"And in three years, has my brother ever brought you tea?"
She hesitated.
"No."
"Has he ever brought anything to the staff apartment?"
"Once." Her voice dropped.
"About a month ago.
He brought Lily a small gift.
A stuffed animal."
Adrian turned slowly.
"What happened to it?"
Hannah's face changed.
"She wouldn't touch it.
She said it smelled wrong."
The room went completely still.
Gabriel looked at Adrian.
Adrian looked at Lily.
Lily looked at her rabbit.
"The drops smell like the drops," she said simply.
"Same as the new bear."
Adrian set the cup down.
"Gabriel."
"Already on it."
Gabriel pulled out his phone and stepped into the hallway.
Adrian looked at Hannah.
"You and Lily are not going back to the staff apartment today."
"Mr.
Moretti—"
"That is not a request."
Hannah tightened her arms around her daughter.
From the hallway, Gabriel's voice came through low and flat.
"Adrian.
The lab just flagged something on the preliminary screen."
He paused.
"It's been three years of this.
Every night."
---
May you like
What Gabriel found in that cup — and what Dominic had really been planning — is darker than anyone expected.
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