For half a second, there was no sound at all.
Then Lily let out a sharp, breathless gasp that turned immediately into a high, piercing wail of pain and shock.
At that exact moment, the double doors at the opposite end of the parlor swung open.
Ethan Caldwell stepped into the room.
He was carrying a stack of architectural blueprints for the new wing of his corporate headquarters in Manhattan, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his expression locked in the calm, detached focus that made him a terror in boardrooms. He didn't look at the piano. He didn't look at Victoria, who was already opening her mouth to explain away the situation with a practiced, society-bred smile.
Ethan looked at the little girl lying on the marble floor, clutching her stuffed rabbit to her chest, sobbing with a terror that cut through the silence of the mansion like glass.