Chương 1
""The first thing the little girl noticed was the sound of her own heartbeat echoing louder than the music playing through the luxury store speakers.
She stood beside the glass display counter, clutching the small pink box against her chest as if it were the only thing keeping her safe.
The polished floor beneath her reflected the bright white ceiling lights, making the entire shopping mall look beautiful and cold at the same time.
Around her, wealthy shoppers walked past with expensive bags in their hands, barely noticing the frightened child standing in the middle of the elegant store.
The girl’s blonde hair was tied into two small sections, but several loose strands had fallen around her face as she looked up at the woman standing over her.
The elderly woman wore a perfect expression of control, the kind of expression that made strangers believe she was calm and respectable.
Her jewelry sparkled beneath the store lights, and her expensive appearance made everyone around her assume she belonged there.
But the little girl saw something different.
She saw the anger hidden behind the woman’s careful smile.
She saw the tightness in her jaw.
She saw the way her fingers kept moving impatiently near the pink box.
“Give it back,” the elderly woman said quietly.
Her voice was soft enough that people nearby would not immediately notice anything wrong.
The girl shook her head slowly.
Her eyes filled with fear, but she forced herself not to look away.
“I can’t,” the girl whispered.
The woman’s expression changed slightly.
“You don’t understand what you’re holding.”
The girl looked down at the small pink box.
Her fingers tightened around it.
“I know what it is.”
The woman stepped closer.
The little girl instinctively moved backward until her shoulder touched the display case behind her.
The glass was cold against her arm.
“Then you know why you need to give it to me.”
The girl swallowed hard.
“No.”
The elderly woman stared at her.
For a moment, the entire luxury store seemed silent.
“You really think someone is going to believe you?”
The girl’s lips trembled.
“I think someone should know the truth.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed.
That sentence changed everything.
The calm mask disappeared for a brief second.
The girl noticed.
And that frightened her even more.
The woman reached toward the pink box, but the girl pulled it away.
“Please,” the girl said.
Her voice was small.
“Just listen to me.”
The woman looked around the store.
She noticed the people nearby.
She lowered her voice.
“You have no idea what you just ruined.”
Before the girl could respond, the woman’s hand moved sharply.
The sudden slap against the girl’s arm shocked her.
The pink box almost slipped from her fingers.
The girl gasped and stepped backward.
Her eyes widened instantly.
She looked more confused than hurt, as if she could not understand why an adult would do that to her.
A small red mark appeared where the woman’s hand had struck.
The girl held her arm close to her body.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Her voice broke.
The elderly woman looked away for a moment, then immediately regained her cold expression.
“You should have stayed quiet.”
The girl’s eyes moved around the store.
She searched the faces of strangers passing by.
Nobody stopped.
Nobody understood.
The luxury lights continued shining above them as if nothing terrible had happened.
The girl looked back at the woman.
“Someone has to know the truth.”
The woman’s expression tightened.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I do.”
The girl’s voice was barely louder than a whisper.
“I saw everything.”
The woman froze.
A brief flash of fear crossed her face.
Then she reached for the box again.
But before she could touch it, a deep voice came from behind them.
“Step away from her.”
The woman stopped.
The girl turned toward the sound.
A tall man stood several steps away near the entrance of the store.
He had dark hair, sharp features, and a serious expression that showed he had already understood something was wrong.
He did not look confused.
He did not look uncertain.
He looked like someone who had been searching for this exact moment.
The elderly woman slowly turned around.
“This is not your business.”
The man walked forward.
Every step against the polished floor sounded heavier than the last.
“It became my business when you touched her.”
The girl stared at him.
She did not know who he was.
But for the first time in several minutes, she felt like she was not completely alone.
The man stopped between them.
His body created a barrier between the child and the woman.
The elderly woman forced a small laugh.
“You have no idea what is happening here.”
The man looked at the girl’s arm.
Then he looked back at the woman.
“I know enough.”
The girl quietly moved closer behind him.
The woman noticed.
Her eyes became colder.
“She manipulated you.”
The man did not react.
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“She was afraid of you.”
The woman stepped forward.
“You should be careful with accusations.”
The man reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded white document.
He did not open it yet.
He simply held it in his hand.
The woman’s eyes immediately went to the paper.
And that reaction told him everything.
The girl noticed the change.
The woman who had seemed powerful only moments earlier suddenly looked uncertain.
“What is that?”
The man stared at her.
“You already know.”
The store seemed quieter.
Even the people walking nearby began to notice the tension.
The woman took another step forward.
“You have no right to show that.”
The man’s expression hardened.
“You lost that right a long time ago.”
The girl looked between them.
She did not understand every word.
But she understood one thing.
The man was not there by accident.
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The elderly woman tried to move around him toward the girl.
The man immediately blocked her path.
