The Name Nobody Was Allowed to Say
Chapter 02 - The Name Nobody Was Allowed to Say
For several seconds, Evelyn could hear nothing except the pounding of her own heart.
Not the guests.
Not the servers rushing toward the broken glass.
Not even Marcus Hart, who had risen abruptly from the opposite side of the table.
The boy simply stood there.
“Lily?” Evelyn repeated.
He nodded.
“My mom.”
Marcus reached them first.
At fifty-seven, Marcus Hart had spent most of his adult life beside Evelyn—first as her protective older brother, later as chief financial officer of the family foundation.
He stared at the child.
“This is some kind of scam.”
The boy flinched.
Evelyn turned on her brother.
“Stop.”
“Evelyn, think about this. Someone learns an old family story, sends a child into one of our events—”
“No one knew that melody.”
Marcus's expression changed for less than a second.
But Evelyn saw it.
Fear.
The boy reached into the pocket of his torn shorts and removed a folded piece of paper.
“It's for you.”
Evelyn opened it.
There were only seven words.
Mom said to ask you about the blue room.
Evelyn grabbed the back of her chair.
The blue room.
When Lily was six, she had insisted that her bedroom walls be painted the exact color of the summer sky. Thomas Hart had painted it himself, badly, leaving streaks near the ceiling because he refused to hire anyone.
Years later, after Lily disappeared, Evelyn had ordered the room closed.
The detail had never appeared in newspapers.
Never in interviews.
Never anywhere.
Evelyn looked at the boy again.
“Where is your mother?”
His confidence disappeared.
“St. Vincent's.”
“Hospital?”
He nodded.
“She got sick at work yesterday. They said she needs surgery.”
Evelyn reached for her purse.
Marcus caught her arm.
“You are not leaving a four-hundred-person fundraiser because a random child told you a story.”
Evelyn slowly looked down at his hand.
Marcus released her.
The boy watched them both.
Then he said something that changed the room again.
“My mom told me there was one person who would try to keep you from coming.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“Who?”
May you like
The boy looked directly at Marcus.
“She said his name was Uncle Marcus.”
