Chapter 3 - THE GLASS BIRD WITH A BROKEN WING
Chloe didn't sleep that night.
She lay in a confidential shelter room staring at the ceiling, replaying every conversation she'd ever had with Tommy.
Their first date at a downtown restaurant.
The way he seemed interested when she talked about Lily.
His questions about the family's belongings.
His insistence that she move in with him after her mother died.
At the time, she'd mistaken attention for affection.
Now she wondered whether he'd been searching for something.
And whether she'd been chosen for reasons that had nothing to do with love.
In the morning, Denise helped Chloe contact an independent attorney named Rebecca Chen.
Together, they discussed a legal way to retrieve her identification, clothes, and personal property.
Chloe also filed a report about Tommy's violence and the threats made by his cousins.
She didn't tell the police every theory about Lily.
Not yet.
She wanted to separate what she knew from what she feared.
That afternoon, a detective arrived.
Her name was Mara Sullivan.
She had a scar near her eyebrow and a blunt manner that reminded Chloe of her mother.
"I understand you're connected to the Lily Whitaker disappearance."
Chloe nodded.
"She's my sister."
Mara opened a folder.
"The case was reopened six weeks ago."
Chloe stared.
"What?"
"New information came to our attention."
"From whom?"
"I can't discuss every investigative source."
Chloe felt frustrated.
Then Mara placed a photograph on the table.
It showed a blue glass bird.
Perfectly intact.
Chloe stopped breathing.
"That's Lily's work."
"How can you tell?"
"The wings."
She pointed.
"Lily always added tiny bubbles near the tips. She said the birds needed imperfections to look alive."
Mara studied the photograph.
"You're certain?"
"Yes."
The detective nodded.
"This bird was recovered from a private collection during an unrelated investigation."
Chloe leaned forward.
"Where?"
"At an estate belonging to Vittorio Rinaldi."
Matteo's uncle.
The man Lily had worked for.
The man whose former employee was Tommy's father.
Chloe felt sick.
"Do you think he killed her?"
"We don't know."
"Is she alive?"
"We don't know that either."
Mara leaned forward.
"But your knowledge of her work may help us understand what happened."
Chloe nodded.
For years, she'd felt powerless.
Now she had something nobody else possessed.
Memory.
She remembered how Lily worked.
The tools she used.
The little marks she left on every piece.
Mara asked whether Chloe knew of other birds her sister had made.
Chloe described the one Tommy broke.
The detective made a note.
"We'll discuss lawful recovery of your belongings with your attorney."
That evening, Chloe received a call from an unknown number.
She hesitated.
Then answered on the secure phone Denise had provided.
"Hello?"
Tommy's voice filled her ear.
"Baby."
Her blood ran cold.
She nearly dropped the phone.
"How did you get this number?"
He laughed.
"You think you can disappear from me?"
Chloe looked toward the locked shelter door.
"What do you want?"
"You know what."
"Leave me alone."
His tone changed.
"Don't make this difficult."
Her hands trembled.
"I've reported what happened."
Silence.
Then Tommy laughed.
"You think the police are going to protect you from my family?"
Chloe swallowed.
"I don't belong to you."
The words surprised her.
She'd wanted to say them for years.
Tommy's voice became dangerously quiet.
"Listen carefully. That little box in your bag? The one full of broken glass?"
Chloe stopped breathing.
"What about it?"
"Someone's willing to pay a lot of money for it."
Her stomach dropped.
"Who?"
"You don't need to know."
"Tommy—"
"I kept you safe for three years, Chloe. The least you can do is show some gratitude."
She felt anger rise through the fear.
"You didn't keep me safe."
A pause.
Then she said, "You made me afraid."
His voice sharpened.
"Careful."
"No."
The word felt strange.
Strong.
She repeated it.
"No, Tommy. I'm not coming back."
She ended the call.
Then sat trembling for several minutes.
Denise found her crying.
Chloe told her everything.
The call was documented and reported to Detective Sullivan.
Later that night, Matteo contacted Chloe through her attorney.
He'd learned something about the glass birds.
His uncle had collected dozens over the years.
But one particular bird had vanished from the gallery the night Enzo died.
A blue bird.
With unusually thick wings.
Matteo sent a photograph from an old inventory.
Chloe stared.
It was the same design Lily had given her.
She looked at the date.
The inventory had been created two weeks before Lily disappeared.
Then she noticed a handwritten note beside the image.
Commissioned by R.K.
Russell Keegan.
Tommy's father.
Chloe's throat tightened.
She'd spent three years believing Tommy controlled her because he couldn't tolerate losing her.
Now she wondered whether his obsession had begun with something hidden inside a glass bird.
May you like
And whether Lily had tried to warn her before she vanished.
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