Chapter 4
I don't remember deciding to run.
One second I was outside.
The next I was pushing through hospital doors with Calvin behind me.
I nearly collided with Detective Cole near the elevators.
"Where?"
"Fourth floor stairwell."
"What happened?"
"A nurse entered the room. Window was open."
My stomach dropped.
"Fourth-floor window?"
"Not outside. It opens onto a maintenance terrace."
We reached the floor.
Aaron stood in the hallway, white-faced.
"I left for five minutes."
"Stop blaming yourself."
"She was right there."
"Where's Maria?"
"Searching with security."
Detective Cole raised her voice.
"Nobody searches alone."
Hospital staff divided areas.
I refused to leave the unit until I knew where I could help without getting in the way.
Then I noticed something.
Sophie's horse drawing was gone from the wall.
So was the denim jacket Aaron had brought her.
She had planned to leave.
That changed everything.
She hadn't been grabbed from the room.
She had run.
Why?
I stepped into the empty room.
On the bed lay a folded piece of paper.
Aaron reached for it.
Cole stopped him.
"Let me."
She unfolded it wearing gloves.
Three words were written inside.
SORRY. MY FAULT.
My chest hurt.
That child believed the chaos around her belonged to her.
"Daniel contacted her."
Cole looked at me.
"Possibly."
Aaron shook his head.
"She doesn't have a phone."
"Tablet?"
"Police have it."
"Hospital phone?"
"No outgoing calls except through the desk."
Then Maria rushed in.
"We found a nurse who saw her."
"Where?"
"Elevator."
"What floor?"
"Parking garage."
We ran.
Security footage showed Sophie entering the garage twelve minutes earlier.
Alone.
She wore her denim jacket over hospital clothes.
No shoes.
She walked toward the far corner.
Then disappeared behind a concrete support.
Another camera picked her up entering an employee stairwell.
"Where does that lead?" Cole asked.
"Service level and loading dock."
My heart pounded.
Outside.
We reached the loading dock.
Cold air hit my face.
No Sophie.
Then I noticed something on the ground.
A hospital sock.
Thirty feet away, another.
She had taken them off.
Why?
Aaron suddenly pointed.
"There!"
A small figure moved beyond a row of delivery trucks.
Sophie.
I started forward.
Detective Cole grabbed my arm.
"Slow."
I understood.
A crowd of adults charging toward a frightened child would make her run.
"Sophie!"
Aaron called.
She turned.
Her face changed.
Then she ran.
Straight toward the service road.
My heart stopped.
"Sophie!"
A delivery van was coming around the corner.
I shouted.
The driver braked.
Sophie froze in the road.
Aaron reached her first.
He didn't grab her.
He stopped several feet away.
"Sophie."
She was shaking.
"Don't come closer."
He obeyed.
So did we.
"I have to leave."
Aaron's voice broke.
"Why?"
"Because Daniel said he'd hurt Mom."
Detective Cole stepped forward slowly.
"How did he contact you?"
Sophie pulled something from her pocket.
A cheap prepaid phone.
"He put it in my jacket."
My anger became ice.
"When?"
"I don't know."
Cole held out her hand.
"May I see it?"
Sophie hesitated.
Then gave it to her.
Aaron whispered.
"What did he say?"
Sophie stared at him.
"He said all this happened because I lied."
"You didn't lie."
"He said Mom would go to jail because of me."
Aaron's face twisted.
"That isn't your fault."
"He said if I tell where the backup is, he'll hurt her."
"Where is the backup?"
Sophie immediately stepped backward.
"I can't."
Cole kept her tone gentle.
"You don't have to tell me right now."
Sophie looked confused.
"You're not going to make me?"
"No."
"But it's evidence."
"You're a child."
Cole crouched slightly.
"My job is not to frighten you into helping me."
Sophie started crying.
I turned away for a second because something about that broke me.
Every adult had been demanding things from her.
Tell us.
Explain.
Remember.
Prove it.
Maybe the strongest thing anyone could do was give her back control.
We returned upstairs.
The hospital assigned another room.
No personal items entered without being checked.
Security stayed outside.
The prepaid phone went to evidence.
An hour later, the child advocate arrived.
Her name was Rachel Shaw.
She explained every step to Sophie.
Slowly.
No pressure.
No promises.
Then Sophie asked for me.
I entered.
She was sitting by the window.
"I messed everything up."
"No."
"I ran away."
"That was dangerous."
She looked down.
"But being scared isn't the same as being bad."
She studied me.
"Do you have kids?"
My throat tightened.
"I had a daughter."
"Had?"
"She died."
Sophie immediately looked horrified.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be."
"How old?"
"Seventeen."
"What was her name?"
"Emily."
She stared outside.
"Did she like motorcycles?"
I smiled faintly.
"She loved pretending she did."
Sophie smiled too.
Then silence.
"I think my mom hates me."
"No."
"She chose Daniel."
"She made terrible choices."
"That's the same."
"It feels the same."
She looked at me.
"Would you forgive her?"
I didn't answer quickly.
"Forgiveness isn't something people can order you to do."
"So no?"
"I think you get to decide later."
That seemed to surprise her.
"Later?"
"After you're safe."
She stared at me.
Then whispered.
"The second recording isn't on a device."
I kept my expression calm.
"What is it?"
"Grandpa's old camera."
I waited.
"He gave it to me before he died. It records sound and video."
"Where is it?"
She looked toward the closed door.
"In Daniel's garage."
My heart sank.
Of course.
"Does he know?"
"No."
"You're sure?"
"He thinks I copied the tablet."
That was the first good news we had received.
I stood.
"I'm getting Detective Cole."
Sophie grabbed my sleeve.
"Graves."
I stopped.
"Don't let him destroy it."
"I won't promise something I can't control."
She looked disappointed.
So I finished.
"But I promise we'll tell the right people exactly where it is."
She released my sleeve.
Cole secured a warrant within hours.
Nobody from our group went near Daniel's property.
That mattered.
We waited.
Night fell.
The riders remained outside.
Some slept in chairs.
Others brought coffee.
At 11:43 p.m., Cole called.
I answered.
"Did you find it?"
"We found the camera."
Relief hit me.
"Does it work?"
"Yes."
"What did it record?"
Silence.
Then Cole said quietly.
"More than the stairwell."
My skin prickled.
"What does that mean?"
"It recorded Daniel talking to Rebecca after Sophie was injured."
I gripped the phone.
"And?"
May you like
Cole exhaled.
"He told her exactly what story to give police."
