Slowly, he pulled it out.
It was old.
Faded.
Dirty.
The material was badly damaged from years of being hidden.
At first, Noah didn’t know what he was looking at.
Then he noticed the stitching.
Three tiny white flowers.
His hands began shaking.
“No.”
He stared at the fabric.
“No, no, no.”
He remembered those flowers.
Three little white flowers.
Lily’s flowers.
Noah fell backward onto the floor.
“Dad!”
Daniel rushed into the room.
“What happened?”
Noah couldn’t answer.
He held up the fabric.
Daniel stared at it.
His expression changed instantly.
“What is that?”
Noah swallowed.
“I think it’s Lily’s.”
Daniel stepped closer.
Noah watched the color disappear from his father’s face.
“Where did you find that?”
“Under the mattress.”
Daniel didn’t touch it.
Instead, he backed away.
“Don’t touch anything else.”
Noah looked at him.
“Why?”
His father didn’t answer.
He simply pulled out his phone.
Twenty minutes later, police cars surrounded Harold’s house.
—
## The Investigation Begins
Detective Claire Bennett arrived shortly afterward.
She entered Harold’s bedroom and immediately treated it as a potential crime scene.
The house was no longer simply an old property being emptied after someone’s death.
It was evidence.
The pink fabric was carefully photographed and collected.
Margaret was called to the house.
When she saw the fabric, she froze.
Noah expected her to collapse.
Instead, she stood completely still.
“Mom?”
Margaret stared at the evidence bag.
Her lips trembled.
“It’s Lily’s.”
Detective Bennett looked at her.
“You’re certain?”
Margaret nodded.
“I made those flowers.”
Her voice became barely audible.