Emily found a lost phone and returned it to its owner. But when he saw the pendant around her neck, he froze
“Emily!” came the gruff voice of her stepfather from deep inside the flat.
“Wake up,” the girl thought sadly. “Here we go again”
She glanced around quickly, grabbed a hoodie, threw it over her shoulders, and bolted out the door into the courtyard.
“Em, where are you off to?” her grandmothers frail voice called after her. “Not for long, Gran!”
At the entrance, two neighbours watched her uneasily. “Is she causing trouble again?”
Emily just nodded politely. Maybe she could wait out his morning temper somewhere on the street.
She walked slowly along the pavement leading to the nearby shop, kicking pebbles now and then. The same thought circled in her head: “If Mum were still here he wouldnt treat me like this.”
Emilys mother, Charlotte, had passed away a year ago. A drunk driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, his car slamming into a bus stop at full speed. Charlotte and three others died instantly. Several passengers were badly injured. The driver only woke when rescuers surrounded him.
After the funeral, the question arose: who would take care of the girl? Her grandparents refused outright.
“Were too old to raise a teenager,” her grandmother said. “Kids these days arent easy. And our health isnt what it used to be Please, say something,” she urged her husband. “We cant manage. Let her stay with Jameshe adopted her anyway.”
James, Charlottes husband, had indeed legally adopted Emily after her birth. But he never saw her as his own. He never hurt herhe just ignored her. At first, the little girl called him “Dad,” but one day he snapped, “Im not your dad. Call me Uncle James, understand?”
Emily once tried to ask her mother about her real father, but Charlotte only laughed it off. After her death, James drank more often.
When Emily turned seven, school was inevitable.
“Half my wages go to you,” James grumbled, tossing a new backpack full of textbooks and stationery onto her bed. “Now its your turn to help. Youll cook, clean, and keep the house in order.”
“Of course, who else?” Emily thought, but she nodded silently to avoid a row.
James started sending her to the shop for food, having arranged with the cashier not to ask questions. At first, Emily was embarrassed, but she got used to it. She also got used to the cashier sometimes slipping her a treat out of kindness.
And now, once again, she walked the familiar path to the shop, crossing the car park. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted somethinga mobile phone.
She looked around, then picked it up.
“Wow,” she murmured. “Not even scratched!”
She pressed the power button. Miracleit turned on, and the screen wasnt locked. Emily sat on a bench near the shop and scrolled through the contacts. Most were business names with “Ltd” or “PLC,” followed by surnames. Finally, she found “Wife” and dialled.
After a few rings, someone answered.
“Hello! I found your husbands phone,” Emily said calmly.
“How did you know who to call?”
“It wasnt locked. I found you in his contacts.”
“Right. Where are you? Ill come and get it.”
“Sure, but dont go through anything else, alright?” Emily felt a little offended.
“Fine, fine. Im on my way.”
She gave the address and hung up. The moment the screen dimmed, it buzzed. “Snout” flashed on the display. Emily chuckled. It reminded her of a boy from nursery with a big nose, whom James had nicknamed “Snout the Nose Bug.”
“Hello?” she answered.
“Thats my phone! Im calling from a friends.”
“Oh, from Snout?”
“Exactly! So, my wifes coming?”
“Shes almost here.”
“Waitwhats your name?”
“Emily.”
“Right, Emily. Dont hand it to her. Ill be there in a flash. Where can I find you?”
She started explaining but was cut off.
“I know where you are. I was there an hour agomustve dropped it getting into the car. Wait there!”
The call ended. Emily tucked the phone under her hoodie and waited. Soon, a red foreign car pulled up, and a beautiful woman stepped out. Emily stared, awestruck. The woman scanned the area and walked toward her.
“Hello, are you the one who called?”
“No, he stepped aside. Said hed be back in a minute.”
“How impatient!” the woman huffed. “Im in a hurry!”
“Wonder where Im headed,” a mans amused voice said behind them.
The woman turned to see a tall, dark-haired man. His face was serious, but his eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Didnt come for the money on my card, did you?” he continued. “Rocketed over when you heard the phone wasnt locked?”
“Ha ha,” she tried to joke, but it was clear hed hit the mark.
He sat beside Emily.
“Hi. Thanks for finding my phone. Youre a very decent girl. Tell your mumshell be proud.”
“I dont have a mum,” Emily whispered, looking down.
She unzipped her hoodie and handed over the phone. The man reached for it but froze. His gaze fixed on the pendant around her necka tiny resin maple leaf with a ladybird at its base.
The woman tensed at his expression. She closed her eyes as if escaping memories, and when she opened them, every muscle in her face seemed to resist what she saw.
“Where did you get that pendant?” he asked coldly, lifting it gently with two fingers. The touch seemed to pain him, and he dropped it quickly. Emily jumped back, frightened.
“My mum gave it to me before she died. II have to go home.”
She leaped off the bench and ran. But the man called after her.
“Wait! Im Robert Maxwell. How can I thank you?”
“Dont need anything. Bye.”
Emily walked away, puzzled. “Why did he react so strangely to my pendant?”
She remembered her mother fastening it around her neck when she was five.
“Sweet pea, may it bring you the same happiness it brought me.”
“What kind of happiness did it bring you?”
“You silly! Youre my happiness!”
And Charlotte had spun her around the room, laughing and kissing her cheeks.
Emily kept walking, unaware Robert was following at a distance. Hed sent his wife home, drawn to the girl inexplicably.
When Emily passed some elderly neighbours on a bench and vanished into the building, Robert approached them.
“Evening. Could you tell me which flat the girl who just went in lives in?”
“Whore you?” one asked warily.
“Just wanted to return some money. She dropped a tenner at the shop, and I couldnt catch her in time. Heres the receipt.”
“Oh, well then!” The neighbours softened. “Poor Em, with that stepfather of hers Probably gave her grief again today. Go on up.”
They told him everything they knew about Emilys family. Just then, the sound of smashing crockery and a drunken shout came from above
“Emily, you brat! Whereve you been?” Jamess hoarse voice roared from the hallway. “Ill box your ears!”
Robert flew up the stairs and knocked. The door swung open. James stood theregaunt, red-eyed, reeking of alcohol.
“Whore you? What dyou want?” he growled.
Robert didnt answer. He pushed past him and stepped inside. Emily was huddled in the corner of the sofa. She looked up, meeting his gazewarm and kind. Without a word, she stood, took his hand, and walked toward the door.
But James blocked their path.
“Where dyou think youre going?” he slurred, coughing.
Robert calmly pressed a hand to his forehead, and James wobbled, then slumped to the floor.
“Did you kill him?” Emily whispered, eyeing the motionless figure.
“Dont be daft. You cant kill a man that easily,” Robert smiled. “Hell sleep it off. Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head. James wasnt a villainjust a man drowning in his own pain. Lucy, her mothers best friend, had asked the same question.
“Emily, love,” shed said after the funeral, handing her a number. “Call me if he ever gets bad. Dont stay a second longer than you have to.”
Lucy had visited a few times until James, drunk, chased her off: “Think you live here now? Clear out!”
Since then, shed only waited outside for Emily.
Roberts home stunned her. It wasnt huge, but it was bright, cosy,
