Chapter 3 - The Locked Bedroom
Dinner never happened.
Daniel quietly asked Lily to show him her room.
Rebecca immediately objected.
"Oh, it's messy."
"We'll clean it tomorrow."
Daniel smiled politely.
"I don't mind."
Rebecca stepped between them.
"Lily has chores first."
Daniel's voice remained calm.
"No."
The single word carried enough authority to silence the room.
After fifteen years supervising thousands of workers across dangerous construction projects, Daniel rarely needed to raise his voice.
People simply listened.
Rebecca forced another smile.
"Fine."
Lily slowly led him upstairs.
She walked several steps ahead.
Not because she wanted distance...
But because she seemed afraid to walk beside him.
Daniel noticed every detail.
She avoided the brightly decorated bedrooms.
She passed the spacious guest suites.
She continued toward the end of the hallway.
Then...
She stopped before a narrow wooden door.
Not the master bedroom.
Not a normal bedroom.
A storage room.
She reached into her pocket.
Pulled out a small key.
Unlocked the door.
Daniel stared in disbelief.
The room measured barely eight feet across.
No decorations.
No desk.
No wardrobe.
Just a narrow bed, a cracked mirror, and neatly folded work clothes.
The only window had iron bars installed outside.
Daniel's heartbeat slowed into an icy calm.
On the shelf sat an old teddy bear.
Its faded blue ribbon instantly caught his attention.
He recognized it.
He had bought that toy the night before leaving overseas.
Lily picked it up carefully.
"I kept him."
Daniel could barely breathe.
"You still have it?"
She nodded.
"I wasn't allowed to keep much."
Daniel looked around again.
No childhood photos.
No books.
No personal belongings.
No signs that anyone had ever been loved inside this room.
Then his eyes stopped on the inside of the door.
Hundreds of tiny pencil marks covered the wooden frame.
Each line measured a little higher than the last.
Growth marks.
Dates.
Years.
Lily had measured her height alone.
Waiting.
Hoping.
Believing.
At the very top, written in shaky handwriting, one sentence remained untouched.
Dad will come home this year.
The date beside it was seven years old.
Daniel reached toward the words with trembling fingers.
Behind him...
A floorboard creaked.
May you like
Someone else had quietly entered the hallway.
And they had been listening to every word.
