Chapter 2 - The Blood Stained Lullaby
The word hung in the suffocating air of the ballroom like a heavy physical blow.
Daniel's face drained of all color as the horrific implication of the boy's statement washed over him.
The official police report, signed and heavily documented by the city's finest detectives, had confidently stated that his beloved wife died in a tragic car accident on a treacherously slippery mountain road.
Vance, the towering, heavily scarred head of security, immediately stepped forward and violently grabbed Leo's thin shoulder.
“This street rat is lying for the reward money,” Vance growled, his massive grip tightening enough to make the small boy wince in pain.
Daniel stood up slowly, his furious eyes never leaving Leo's perfectly calm face.
“Let him go right now, Vance,” Daniel commanded, his voice eerily quiet but filled with lethal authority.
Vance hesitated for a fraction of a second, his jaw clenching tightly before he reluctantly released the boy's shoulder.
A glamorous woman with sharp, beautiful features and a stunning emerald necklace aggressively pushed her way to the front of the whispering crowd.
It was Victoria, Daniel’s new fiancée, and her flawless face was currently a terrifying mask of furious indignation.
“Daniel, darling, you cannot possibly believe the manipulative ravings of a beggar who clearly broke in here just to extort you,” she sneered disdainfully.
Leo didn't even bother to look at Victoria, his unwavering gaze returning solely to the fragile girl in the wheelchair.
Emily was staring fixedly at Vance's large, calloused hands, her small body shaking with a sudden, renewed terror.
“I was hiding in the trunk of her car that night because I was trying to stay warm,” Leo explained quietly to Daniel, ignoring the furious adults around him.
“I felt the horrible crash, and I heard the metal tearing, but that wasn't what actually killed her.”
The entire ballroom instantly erupted into chaotic, panicked murmurs, but Daniel raised a trembling hand to silence them all.
“What exactly did you see out there in the dark?” Daniel asked, his heart pounding so hard he could feel it bruising his ribs.
“Someone pulled her from the twisted wreckage and sang that beautiful song to mock her as she laid there crying for Emily,” Leo stated with chilling clarity.
Victoria let out a highly theatrical gasp, dramatically placing a manicured hand over her chest as if she might actually faint from the shock.
Vance took another highly aggressive step toward the ragged boy, aggressively reaching for the heavy radio clipped to his belt.
“I'm physically removing this deeply disturbed child from the premises before he manages to traumatize your daughter any further,” Vance barked with grim determination.
Before Vance could lay a single violent hand on him, Emily's incredibly frail arm shot out and weakly grabbed Leo's dirty sleeve.
She looked up at her wealthy father, her pale blue eyes suddenly wide with an absolute, undeniable panic.
Her throat clicked loudly as she desperately struggled to form the difficult words she hadn't dared to use in years.
May you like
Then, pointing a violently trembling finger directly at Vance's scarred face, she whispered her very second word.
“Monster.”
