Chapter 5
I ran so fast that I nearly knocked over a nurse.
"LILY!"
People turned.
I didn't care.
I raced down the corridor toward the children's waiting area.
The chair where my daughter had been sitting was empty.
Her coloring book lay open on the floor.
One pink crayon had rolled beneath the table.
I felt my heart stop.
"Lily!"
Detective Brooks came rushing around the corner.
"What's wrong?"
I shoved my phone toward her.
"Someone took my daughter!"
She read the message.
Her expression changed instantly.
"Where was she last seen?"
"Right here!"
Brooks spoke into her radio.
Within seconds, hospital security began searching the building.
Doors were monitored.
Parking exits were checked.
Officers reviewed camera footage.
I stood in the corridor feeling like I was being torn apart.
Fourteen months ago, someone had stolen my wife.
Now they had taken my daughter.
And I had failed them both.
Brooks returned.
"We have footage."
I followed her into a security office.
A technician played a recording from eleven minutes earlier.
Lily was sitting beside the social worker.
Then a woman in blue medical scrubs approached.
She bent toward Lily.
The social worker looked up.
The woman showed her something on a tablet.
After a brief conversation, the social worker stood and stepped toward the nurses' station.
The woman took Lily's hand.
My daughter followed her through the corridor.
I stared at the screen.
"Zoom in."
The technician enlarged the image.
The woman wore a surgical mask.
Her hair was tucked beneath a cap.
But I recognized the watch on her wrist.
A gold watch with a green face.
I had bought it for Vanessa's birthday.
"That's Vanessa."
Brooks leaned closer.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes."
My voice shook.
"I gave her that watch."
We followed the footage.
Vanessa led Lily through a service hallway.
Then through a staff exit.
A silver SUV waited outside.
The rear passenger door opened.
Lily climbed in.
My chest tightened.
"She's going to think she's going to see her mother."
I turned toward Brooks.
"Vanessa knew exactly what to say."
The detective was already speaking into her radio.
A regional alert went out.
Vehicle cameras were checked.
Officers began searching for the SUV.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered immediately.
"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?"
A familiar voice laughed softly.
"Marcus."
Vanessa.
I nearly crushed the phone.
"If you hurt her—"
"Don't threaten me."
I closed my eyes.
"Please."
The word tasted bitter.
"Please just let me hear her."
There was silence.
Then a small voice spoke.
"Daddy?"
My knees almost gave out.
"Lily!"
"Daddy, I'm scared."
I pressed my hand over my mouth.
"Baby, listen to me. I'm coming."
"Vanessa said Mommy is going away again."
My blood turned cold.
"Lily, don't believe her."
Vanessa took the phone.
"Enough."
I gritted my teeth.
"What do you want?"
"The drive."
I looked at Brooks.
She silently signaled me to keep talking.
"What drive?"
"Don't insult me, Marcus."
Vanessa's voice sharpened.
"Elena told you about the nursery."
I felt sick.
"You're holding a six-year-old child hostage over financial records."
"I'm protecting my future."
"You destroyed my family!"
She laughed bitterly.
"Your family?"
I heard a car door close on her end.
"Marcus, do you have any idea what it feels like to spend years watching someone else have everything you wanted?"
I stared at the wall.
"You were my friend."
"I was always more than that."
"No."
"You just never noticed."
I felt nothing but disgust.
"Where is Lily?"
"Bring the drive to the old Bennett textile warehouse by six."
"Let me speak to her again."
"Come alone."
The call ended.
I stared at my phone.
Brooks stepped toward me.
"We have the location."
I looked at the clock.
It was 4:37.
Less than ninety minutes.
"I need that drive."
Brooks nodded.
"We'll get a search team to the house."
I shook my head.
"Elena said the nursery wall. I know the room."
"You're not going in alone."
"I understand."
Within twenty minutes, officers escorted me back to the mansion.
The house looked different.
The same white columns.
The same polished floors.
The same family photographs.
But everything felt contaminated.
Vanessa had walked these halls.
Eaten at our table.
Comforted my daughter.
And all that time, she had known Elena was alive.
I went upstairs.
The nursery door was closed.
I opened it.
The room smelled faintly of cedar.
Lily's old wooden crib stood against the wall.
A stuffed giraffe sat on the rocking chair.
Nothing had changed.
I moved toward the painted stars.
Elena had painted them herself.
I remembered one evening when she had stepped back, smiling.
"If you ever need to find something important, Marcus, remember that the brightest star isn't always the biggest."
At the time, I thought she was talking about Lily.
Now I looked at the wall.
Dozens of tiny yellow stars surrounded one small silver star near the baseboard.
I knelt.
Pressed it.
A soft click sounded.
My breath caught.
A narrow panel released.
Behind it was a metal compartment.
Inside lay a waterproof pouch.
I opened it.
A black flash drive.
A thick envelope.
And a photograph.
I picked up the photograph.
It showed Elena standing beside Adrian Cole.
Vanessa was there too.
But the fourth person made my stomach drop.
It was my attorney.
Daniel Price.
The man who had handled Elena's estate.
The man who had helped transfer foundation authority after her supposed death.
The man I had trusted with nearly every financial decision I made.
Written on the back were five words.
MARCUS, HE IS PART OF IT.
I stared at the message.
Then I heard footsteps behind me.
"Mr. Bennett?"
I turned.
Detective Brooks stood at the door.
"We have a problem."
"What?"
She looked at the envelope in my hand.
"Daniel Price just contacted the police."
My pulse quickened.
"Why?"
"He claims you kidnapped your own daughter."
I stared at her.
"What?"
May you like
Brooks's expression was grim.
"And he says he has documents proving you're mentally unfit to care for her."
