Chapter 13: My Daughter Was the Final Piece of His Plan
For three seconds, I couldn't understand the words on my phone.
Lily had disappeared.
Someone had shown my five-year-old daughter a photograph of her dead mother and convinced her to leave with them.
I called Mrs. Henderson immediately.
"Where are you?""
"I'm at your house, Michael. The police are here.""
"Who took her?""
"I don't know. A woman came to the front door. She said she was a family friend and had a message from Emily.""
I gripped the phone.
"What woman?""
"She showed me a photograph of herself with Emily. She knew your daughter's name, her favorite toys, everything.""
"Why did you let Lily go?""
Mrs. Henderson began crying.
"She said Lily's mother had left something for her. I was in the kitchen for less than a minute. When I came back, they were gone.""
I closed my eyes.
"Did you get the license plate?""
"No. But one of the neighbors saw a black Mercedes.""
I ended the call.
Daniel was already contacting the police.
"Michael, we need to stay calm. We'll issue an alert and check nearby cameras.""
I grabbed my jacket.
"James took her.""
"We don't know that.""
"Who else knows about Emily's photograph? Who else knows about the family secrets? Who else has been trying to get control of Lily?""
Daniel didn't argue.
Within minutes, investigators were reviewing traffic cameras around my neighborhood.
I called James.
He answered after two rings.
"Michael.""
"Where is my daughter?""
Silence.
Then he sighed.
"You're making accusations again.""
"Where is Lily?""
"I don't know what you're talking about.""
"Someone took her using a photograph of Emily. If you know anything, I swear—"
"Don't threaten me.""
I heard a faint noise in the background.
A child's voice.
"Daddy?""
My heart nearly stopped.
"Lily!""
The sound disappeared.
"James!"" I shouted.
"Put my daughter on the phone!""
He laughed quietly.
"She's safe.""
I almost dropped the phone.
"Let her speak to me.""
"Not yet.""
"She's five years old!""
"And she deserves to know the truth about her family.""
I clenched my fists.
"What truth?""
James lowered his voice.
"That you've been lying to her about who her father really is.""
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Daniel grabbed my arm.
"Did you hear her?""
"Yes.""
"Was she crying?""
"No. She sounded confused.""
Daniel immediately relayed the information to investigators.
I looked at him.
"He has her.""
"We have enough to treat James as a person of interest. But we need to locate the vehicle.""
An investigator approached with a laptop.
"We found something.""
He showed us a traffic camera image.
A black Mercedes had passed through an intersection six minutes after Lily disappeared.
The vehicle belonged to a rental company.
The registration led to a woman named Vanessa Reed.
I felt sick.
"Vanessa.""
Daniel shook his head.
"She may have arranged the vehicle, but we need to establish who's driving.""
The investigator opened another image.
A man was visible behind the steering wheel.
James.
I slammed my palm against the desk.
"Find him!""
The investigator nodded.
"We're tracking the vehicle.""
My phone rang again.
This time, James had sent a video.
I opened it.
Lily was sitting on a sofa in an unfamiliar room. Her pink dress was wrinkled, and her stuffed rabbit was missing.
She looked frightened.
A few feet behind her stood James.
"Hello, Michael," he said.
I could barely look at the screen.
"Where are you?""
James ignored the question.
"There's something you need to understand. Everything I've done was to protect this family.""
I stared at him.
"You kidnapped my daughter.""
"I brought her somewhere safe.""
"Let her go!""
He crouched beside Lily.
"Tell Daddy what you know, sweetheart.""
Lily shook her head.
James placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Tell him who your real father is.""
She began crying.
"I don't know.""
James sighed impatiently.
"Your mother told you, remember?""
Lily looked toward the camera.
Then she whispered:
"Mommy said Daddy Michael was my daddy.""
I felt tears burning behind my eyes.
James stood.
"Emily was always good at making you believe what you wanted.""
I shouted at the screen.
"Don't you dare speak about her!""
He smiled faintly.
"Come alone to the old Carter warehouse. Bring the original documents and the silver key.""
Daniel shook his head violently.
"Absolutely not.""
James continued.
"If you bring the police, you'll never see Lily again.""
The video ended.
I turned to Daniel.
"We have to go.""
He grabbed my shoulders.
"Listen to me. We're not going to let him dictate the situation. The police can coordinate a rescue.""
"I heard my daughter crying.""
"I know.""
"I am not waiting.""
Daniel looked at me for several seconds.
Then he said, "We'll make a plan. But you will not approach him without backup.""
An investigator entered.
"We traced the rental vehicle. The warehouse is within the old industrial district. We're coordinating with the tactical unit.""
I nodded.
Then I noticed something in the video.
Behind James, on the wall, was an old company sign.
Carter Construction.
But not the current logo.
It was the logo from our first warehouse, the building we'd sold five years earlier.
I recognized the room.
It was the old office where James and I had started the company.
I looked at Daniel.
"He's not just asking for the documents.""
"What do you mean?""
"He wants to take me back to where everything started.""
My phone vibrated again.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
**Michael, this is Patricia. I found Emily's original DNA report. James altered the hospital records.
Lily is your daughter. But there's another result you need to see.**
I stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
*James is not her biological father either. He was only using that possibility to control everyone.*
I looked toward the investigators.
"There's another document.""
Daniel read the message.
"Then we need Patricia here.""
I nodded.
May you like
Because if James had spent five years building a lie around Lily's identity, I was finally going to discover what he had been hiding.
And this time, he wasn't getting away with it.
