Chapter 5
Everything moved faster after that.
Police contacted airports.
State patrol received vehicle information.
An Amber Alert was prepared for Chloe.
Marcus called detectives directly.
For the first time, Evelyn was no longer just an abusive grandmother hiding family secrets.
She was a woman who had taken a child without permission and disappeared with passports and cash.
Daniel stood near Lily’s hospital window, staring outside.
I watched his reflection.
He looked destroyed.
“You should go home,” I said.
He turned.
“What?”
“The police may need you.”
“I’m not leaving Lily.”
I almost said she needed him now more than she had earlier.
But I stopped.
There would be time for anger.
Lily needed calm.
A nurse entered and told us her blood sugar had stabilized.
She could probably go home in a few hours.
The word home sounded strange now.
Our house no longer felt safe.
I asked Daniel, “Where are we supposed to take her?”
His face fell.
“I’ll change every lock.”
“It isn’t just locks.”
“I know.”
“No, Daniel. I need to know everything.”
He stared at me.
“Everything about your mother.”
“I told you everything I know.”
“You didn’t tell me you saw her grab Lily.”
He looked down.
I continued.
“So try again.”
He sat.
For a while, he didn’t speak.
Then he said, “Mom has always been controlling.”
“That isn’t new information.”
“She controlled Dad too.”
“How?”
“Money. Friends. Phone calls. Everything.”
He swallowed.
“She hated people having private relationships she wasn’t part of.”
I thought about Marcus.
“She kept your brother away.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“Did you suspect?”
Daniel shook his head.
“But there were things.”
“What things?”
“When I was maybe sixteen, Dad and Mom had a huge fight. I heard him say, ‘You stole my son from me.’”
My heart stopped.
“And you never wondered what that meant?”
“She told me he meant me.”
“How?”
“She said Dad wanted to send me to boarding school and she refused.”
Daniel gave a bitter laugh.
“I believed her.”
I sat beside him.
“Your mother lies professionally.”
He nodded.
“I’m starting to understand that.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A child whispered, “Aunt Claire?”
Every hair on my arms stood up.
“Who is this?”
“It’s Chloe.”
I stood so quickly my chair scraped the floor.
Daniel stared at me.
I put the call on speaker.
“Chloe, where are you?”
“I don’t know.”
Her voice trembled.
“Grandma said we’re going on vacation.”
“Are you in a car?”
“No.”
I heard a bathroom fan.
Maybe water running.
“Where are you, sweetheart?”
“A bathroom.”
Daniel moved closer.
“Chloe, this is Daniel.”
Silence.
Then she whispered, “Uncle Daniel?”
He nearly broke.
“Yes.”
“How do you know my name?”
“Your daddy told me about you.”
That was a lie.
But a kind one.
“Is my daddy mad?”
“No,” Daniel said quickly. “He loves you. He’s looking for you.”
Chloe started crying.
“Grandma said Daddy doesn’t want me anymore.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course she had.
“Chloe,” I said, “listen carefully. Your daddy wants you very much.”
“I want to go home.”
“We’re going to help you.”
Daniel whispered, “Can you tell us what you see?”
“A sink.”
“What else?”
“Blue doors.”
“Can you hear anything outside?”
She went quiet.
Then I heard a distant voice over a speaker.
An announcement.
Daniel leaned toward the phone.
“Chloe, put the phone near the door.”
She did.
We heard the announcement again.
Faint.
But one phrase was clear.
“...passengers traveling to Fort Lauderdale...”
Detective Ramirez, who had just returned, raised her hand.
She motioned for silence.
Another announcement followed.
This time we heard a name.
DeKalb-Peachtree Airport.
Ramirez was already dialing.
“Chloe,” I said, “stay in the bathroom.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Grandma is knocking.”
My blood froze.
A fist pounded in the background.
“Chloe!”
Evelyn’s voice.
“Open this door!”
Chloe whimpered.
“I’m scared.”
“Lock it,” I said.
“It is.”
“Good. Keep it locked.”
The pounding became harder.
“Chloe, sweetheart, give Grandma the phone!”
Evelyn sounded sweet now.
That was somehow worse.
Daniel shouted into the phone.
“Mom!”
Everything stopped.
Silence.
Then Evelyn’s voice became cold.
“Daniel.”
“What are you doing?”
“Protecting this child.”
“From her parents?”
“From people who don’t understand what she needs.”
“You kidnapped her.”
“I did nothing of the kind.”
“You took her from school without permission.”
“I am her grandmother.”
“You’re also the woman who hit my daughter.”
Silence.
Then Evelyn said, “Claire has poisoned you.”
I grabbed the phone.
“You hit Lily because she tried to eat bread.”
“She is spoiled.”
“She fainted from not eating.”
Evelyn said nothing.
The detective gestured for us to keep her talking.
I forced myself to breathe.
“Where are you going, Evelyn?”
“Somewhere people respect family.”
“Where?”
“You would never understand.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“Mom, police are already coming.”
Evelyn laughed.
“You always were easy to frighten.”
Then I heard a man in the background.
“We need to move.”
Thomas.
Evelyn said, “I’m coming.”
Then to us:
“Goodbye, Daniel.”
“No!”
The call ended.
Detective Ramirez ran out.
Daniel followed.
I stayed because of Lily.
Ten minutes passed.
Twenty.
Thirty.
I watched the hospital television without seeing it.
Then Ramirez called.
“They found the vehicle.”
My heart leaped.
“And Chloe?”
“Not there.”
“What?”
“The car was abandoned near the airport.”
“Then where is she?”
“We’re searching.”
I grabbed the edge of the table.
“Did they board a plane?”
“No recorded departure fits the timeline.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means they may still be nearby.”
Lily woke.
“Mommy?”
I forced my voice to stay calm.
“I’m right here.”
She looked around.
“Where’s Daddy?”
“Helping someone.”
“The little girl?”
I stared at her.
“How did you know?”
“Chloe.”
I froze.
“You know her name?”
Lily nodded.
“Grandma talks to her on the tablet.”
“What tablet?”
“Grandma’s secret one.”
My heart accelerated.
“Where does she keep it?”
“In the sewing box.”
I called Daniel.
Police searched Evelyn’s room again.
They found the tablet under layers of fabric.
It was locked.
But Daniel knew one of Evelyn’s common passwords.
His father’s birthday.
It worked.
The device contained dozens of messages.
Photos.
Video calls.
Flight searches.
Banking information.
And one conversation between Evelyn and Thomas from two nights earlier.
Daniel read it to me over the phone.
Thomas: We can leave Friday.
Evelyn: Too late. Claire is suspicious.
Thomas: Then take Chloe early.
Evelyn: And Lily?
Thomas: Not possible.
Evelyn: She belongs with me too.
My blood turned to ice.
“What?”
Daniel’s voice cracked.
“She planned to take Lily.”
I looked at my daughter.
She was coloring on a hospital tray.
Completely unaware.
Daniel continued reading.
Evelyn: Claire is ruining her. Once Daniel understands, he’ll thank me.
Thomas: We can’t travel with two children without documents.
Evelyn: I know where Claire keeps Lily’s passport.
I felt nauseated.
“She took the passports because she planned to take our daughter.”
“Yes.”
“If I hadn’t come home early…”
Daniel didn’t finish.
Neither did I.
We both knew.
If my meeting had not been canceled, Evelyn might have disappeared with Lily before either of us came home.
My knees became weak.
I sat.
Then Daniel said, “There’s more.”
“What?”
“Mom sent Thomas an address this morning.”
“Where?”
He read it.
I recognized the area.
A warehouse district ten minutes from the airport.
Detective Ramirez sent officers.
They found the building locked.
A private hangar.
Registered to one of Thomas Vale’s companies.
Inside was a small charter plane.
Still warm.
But no Evelyn.
No Thomas.
No Chloe.
There was, however, a second car missing from the hangar.
Police pulled traffic cameras.
An hour later, they found it heading south.
Toward Macon.
Then the tablet revealed another clue.
A reservation.
A small airfield outside the city.
Daniel called me.
“They’re trying to reach another plane.”
“Can police stop them?”
“They’re working on it.”
I looked at the clock.
Almost six.
The doctor finally discharged Lily.
Detective Ramirez arranged an officer to escort us home.
But I refused.
“I’m not taking Lily back there tonight.”
Daniel nodded.
“Where do you want to go?”
“My brother’s.”
He stared at me.
“Matthew’s?”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked surprised.
So was I.
But after eleven years, Matthew had shown up when I needed him.
And right now, I trusted him more than the house where my daughter had been hurt.
As we walked toward the exit, my phone rang again.
This time it was Marcus.
I had never heard his voice before.
“Claire?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Chloe’s father.”
“I know.”
His breathing was rough.
“They found them.”
I stopped walking.
“Where?”
“At the airfield.”
My knees almost gave out.
“Is Chloe okay?”
A pause.
Then Marcus started crying.
“They have her.”
“Who?”
“The police.”
“Is she safe?”
“Yes.”
I covered my mouth.
Daniel grabbed my shoulder.
I nodded.
His eyes closed with relief.
But Marcus wasn’t finished.
“Evelyn got away.”
My relief vanished.
“What?”
“Thomas surrendered. Evelyn ran.”
“Where?”
“They don’t know.”
I looked at Lily.
Then at Daniel.
Marcus continued.
“And Claire?”
“Yes?”
“When they searched the plane, they found two children’s suitcases.”
My skin prickled.
“One for Chloe.”
I already knew what came next.
May you like
Marcus’s voice broke.
“And one with Lily’s name on it.”
