Chapter 1 - The Patch Marcus Recognized
Tyler Hayes grabbed Lily Carter's backpack from behind and yanked hard.
Lily stumbled backward.
Before she could turn, Tyler shoved her with both hands.
Her back slammed into the lockers.
“Your dad isn’t here.”
Tyler stepped forward again.
Lily moved first.
She sidestepped, caught his wrist, swept his leg, and sent him crashing onto the hallway floor.
Then she let go immediately.
Tyler shouted, “She hit me!”
A man in an expensive gray suit strode toward them.
Marcus Hayes.
Tyler’s father.
He hauled his son upright, then marched straight toward Lily.
“Who taught you to do that?”
Lily didn’t flinch.
“My dad.”
Something changed in Marcus’s face.
Only for a second.
Then the arrogance returned.
He grabbed Lily’s backpack strap.
“Give me this.”
Lily held on.
Marcus yanked harder.
The bag slipped from her hands and hit the floor.
A worn fabric patch came loose.
It landed beside Marcus’s shoe.
He bent down and picked it up.
Then turned it over.
CASTER.
Marcus froze.
His face drained.
Lily noticed.
So did the vice principal stepping out of a nearby classroom.
Marcus stared at the patch again.
Then at Lily.
“It can’t be…”
Lily frowned.
“What?”
Marcus took one involuntary step backward.
Tyler stared at his father.
“Dad?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
The hallway had gone strangely quiet.
Lily bent down to pick up her backpack.
Marcus suddenly grabbed the patch tighter.
“Where did you get this?”
Lily looked at him.
“It was my dad’s.”
Marcus stopped breathing for a moment.
That answer terrified him more.
The vice principal stepped between them.
“Mr. Hayes, give Lily her property back.”
Marcus barely heard her.
His eyes were locked on Lily.
Blonde hair.
Blue eyes.
Nine years old.
Then he whispered something he clearly hadn’t meant anyone to hear.
“Daniel had a daughter?”
Lily went still.
“My dad’s name is Daniel.”
Marcus immediately realized his mistake.
He handed the patch back.
“We’re done here.”
“No,” the vice principal said. “We’re not.”
Security cameras had recorded Tyler’s attack.
And Marcus taking Lily’s backpack.
Marcus looked toward the ceiling.
Another flicker of fear.
Not because of Tyler.
Not because of the school.
May you like
Because if anyone reviewed that footage, they would hear him recognize Daniel Caster’s name.
A man Marcus had spent nearly ten years pretending he had never known.
