Chapter 4: The Man Behind Me
I didn't turn around immediately.
Lily's fingers were wrapped tightly around mine. Her eyes were wide, her breathing shallow.
“Sweetheart,” I whispered, “are you sure?””
She nodded.
“That's him.””
Daniel stood near the window, staring at the photograph on my phone.
“Ryan, don't move.””
That was when I heard the door click.
A familiar voice came from behind me.
“Ryan? What exactly is going on here?””
Robert Hayes.
My accountant.
My business partner.
The man who had attended my wedding, helped me bury Claire, and supposedly protected my family's finances for years.
I slowly stood.
“Robert. What are you doing here?””
He held up a paper bag.
“Brought you some coffee. I heard you were at the hospital.””
His eyes moved toward Lily.
For a fraction of a second, his expression changed.
Then he smiled.
“Is this the little girl?””
I stepped between him and the bed.
“Don't come closer.””
Robert stopped.
“What's wrong with you?””
Lily began trembling.
Daniel moved toward the bedside.
“Robert Hayes, I believe we need to have a conversation.””
Robert looked at him.
Then he laughed.
“Daniel Carter. I wondered when you'd crawl out of whatever hole you've been hiding in.””
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“You recognize me.””
“Of course I do. You were at Claire's funeral.””
“Then you remember what she told me.””
Robert placed the coffee on the counter.
“I remember a grieving woman making accusations she couldn't prove.””
I felt my pulse pounding.
“What did Claire accuse you of?””
Robert looked at me with something resembling pity.
“Ryan, you're exhausted. Your wife is missing, there's a frightened child involved, and this man is feeding you stories. You need to calm down.””
“My wife is sitting at home. And my daughter has been imprisoned inside a wall.””
His smile disappeared.
For the first time, I saw anger behind his eyes.
“Be careful what you call imprisonment. You don't know the whole story.””
Lily suddenly spoke.
“You hurt Mommy.””
Robert turned toward her.
The room became silent.
“What did you say, sweetheart?”” he asked.
“You made Mommy cry.””
Robert took one step forward.
I immediately blocked him.
“Stay away from her.””
He raised both hands.
“I'm not threatening anyone.””
But Lily had begun crying.
“He came to our house. Mommy told me to hide. Then I heard a loud noise.””
Daniel reached for his phone.
Robert noticed.
“Don't.””
Daniel ignored him.
Robert suddenly lunged.
I caught his arm, and the coffee bag crashed to the floor.
A plastic container rolled across the tiles.
Robert struggled against me.
“Get your hands off me!””
A nurse rushed into the room.
Within seconds, two hospital security officers arrived.
Robert straightened his jacket and looked directly at me.
“You've made a terrible mistake.””
“Maybe,” I answered.
“But I won't make another one.””
Security escorted him into the hallway.
Before disappearing around the corner, Robert turned his head.
“Ask Daniel what happened to the original recording.””
The words stayed with me.
I looked at Daniel.
“What did he mean?””
Daniel didn't answer.
Instead, he picked up the coffee bag.
Something small had fallen from it.
A brass key.
Attached was a paper tag with a handwritten number.
214.
I recognized the number immediately.
It was the storage locker Claire had rented shortly before her death.
I hadn't known it still existed.
“Why would Robert have this?”” I asked.
Daniel stared at the key.
“Because Claire must have hidden something there.””
I called the police and reported Robert's appearance, the threatening behavior, and the evidence involving the forged financial documents.
Then I asked the hospital to arrange additional security for Lily.
I wasn't leaving my daughter alone again.
That evening, I returned home with Daniel.
Melissa was waiting in the kitchen.
She stood beside the counter wearing the same silk robe she'd worn when I left that morning.
A glass of wine sat untouched beside her.
“You went to see Daniel,” she said.
I placed the brass key on the counter.
“Robert visited the hospital.””
Her face changed.
“What did he do?””
“He recognized Lily.””
Melissa closed her eyes.
“Ryan, you don't understand what you're getting into.””
“Then explain it.””
She walked toward me.
“I loved Claire. She was my best friend.””
“You loved her so much that you helped steal her daughter's inheritance?””
Melissa slapped the counter.
“I never wanted Lily to get hurt!””
“Then why did you lock her inside a wall?””
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Because Robert said he would take her.””
I stared at her.
“Robert?””
Melissa nodded.
“He told me Claire had enemies. He said Lily wasn't safe. He said if I cooperated, he'd protect her.””
“Protect her from whom?””
Melissa opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, someone knocked on the front door.
Three sharp knocks.
I opened it.
A police officer stood outside.
“Mr. Mitchell?””
“Yes?””
“We need you to come with us.””
“Why?””
The officer glanced at the house.
“Your wife has just been named in a criminal complaint involving the disappearance of a child.””
I turned toward Melissa.
She was already crying.
Then the officer added something that made my blood run cold.
“The complaint was filed by someone claiming to be Lily's legal guardian.””
“Who?””
The officer checked his paperwork.
“Your first wife's brother.””
I froze.
Claire had never told me she had a brother.
May you like
And according to the officer, he had been missing for eight years.
Now he was demanding custody of my daughter.
