Mr. & Mrs Meropide

Chapter Fifty-Four: A Child's Honesty

They sat together on the couch, trying to piece together what little they knew. "That's a nice drawing," Maria complimented Lilly, a soft smile playing on her face despite the tension in the room.

"It's my dad," Lilly replied with a bright smile, holding up her drawing. The adults exchanged a glance, a mix of sadness and uncertainty passing between them.

"I'm sorry, we don't know where your dad is," Maria said, brushing a gentle hand through Lilly's hair.

"That's okay, I do," Lilly said casually, reaching for another piece of paper. Her words brought the entire room to a standstill. Everyone stared at her, their attention laser-focused.

"You do?" Maria asked, a flicker of hope lighting up her voice.

Lilly nodded, distractedly picking up a crayon. "He was mumbling something about having discovered a plot," she said, her focus shifting back to her drawing.

"What plot?" Clorinde's tone turned sharp, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Something about bad guys," Lilly said, pointing under the table without looking up. "He read the newspaper."

Clorinde and Maria glanced at the empty floor beneath the table, puzzled, but the Duke understood. He jumped up from his seat and hurried over to the spot where Vire usually sat. Leaning down, he felt around the underside of the table and found it—a newspaper taped to the bottom. He ripped it off, recognizing it immediately as the kind Vire always read, a criminal's publication.

He sat down next to Maria, who handed Lilly over to Clorinde before taking the newspaper from the Duke's hands. Clorinde, still confused about the significance of the newspaper, took Lilly and watched as Maria flipped through the pages, her eyes scanning each one, searching for any clue that Vire might have left behind. Maria's movements slowed when she reached a page with dog-eared corners, her gaze catching on Vire's handwritten review of an article scribbled in the margin. A small, determined smile appeared on her face—she had found what Vire had left for them.

"But we can't read it," the Duke said, frustration creeping into his voice as he stood up and searched under the table again, hoping to find something more. His eyes darted around the room, trying to piece together Vire's intentions. Vire might have been a lone wolf, but he wasn't careless. He would have made sure to leave behind some breadcrumb to follow, something that made sense.

Maria's eyes hadn't left Vire's handwriting once. "I can," she said, her focus unbroken as she scanned the page. She grabbed a pen and paper and began scribbling notes, slowly at first, biting her lower lip in concentration. The Duke leaned over to glance at Maria's notes, but they were utterly unreadable—scribbles and symbols that offered him no insight into the hidden code. He itched to ask her how she was deciphering it, how she could make sense of something that seemed like gibberish to him. But he held back, knowing better than to interrupt her—especially when they had finally stumbled upon a real clue.

Clorinde, meanwhile, had Lilly on her lap, curiosity bubbling inside her. "How did you know about the paper, Lilly?" she asked gently.

"Dad said if you have trouble, I can help you out!" Lilly giggled, clearly pleased to be of assistance.

The Duke and Clorinde exchanged a look—half incredulity, half exasperation. Vire's security measure was his own child. "He's infuriating," the Duke muttered, shaking his head at the audacity.

"But at the same time, it's perfect. It's a secluded area, and nobody would assume him working together with anybody, and his child wouldn't tell anyone," Clorinde replied, nodding, though equally frustrated. Vire had left everything they needed right under their noses.