Chapter 10: The Choice No Mother Should Face
“Where is Lily?”” I screamed.
Daniel stood beyond the glass entrance, holding the metal box against his chest. Smoke curled from the stairwell behind him, and the fire alarm continued to shriek overhead.
“Answer me!””
He glanced toward the officers approaching from either side.
“Tell them to back away, Sarah.””
“You've lost your mind!””
“No. For the first time in years, I'm thinking clearly.””
An officer raised his voice.
“Daniel Mercer, put the box down and step away from the entrance!””
Daniel laughed.
“You don't understand what you're dealing with. This woman has spent years stealing from me, and now she's using my daughter to destroy my family.””
I stared at him in disbelief.
“Your daughter is trapped inside a burning building because of you!””
His expression flickered.
For a moment, I saw the man I had married, the man who once stayed awake all night beside Lily's crib because she had a fever. Then the mask returned.
“Give me the original recording,” he said.
“Tell the police you made a mistake, and I'll bring Lily out.””
“I don't have the recording.””
“But Ethan does.””
I turned toward my brother.
Ethan had gone pale.
Daniel noticed.
“Ah,” he said.
“There he is. The little brother who sold his sister for two hundred thousand dollars.””
Ethan stepped forward.
“I didn't know what you were doing with the money.””
“You knew enough to keep it.””
“I was wrong.””
“You were useful.””
Daniel smiled at him with such contempt that my brother stopped moving.
Then Daniel looked at me again.
“Sarah, you have five seconds.””
An officer moved closer.
“Sir, this is your final warning.””
Daniel opened the metal box just enough for me to glimpse stacks of documents and a small black memory card.
“The original agreement,” he said.
“The insurance application. The records that connect everyone in this family to Rebecca's death. Give me what I want, and I can still make this disappear.””
“You mean destroy the evidence.””
“I mean protect Lily from a lifetime of scandal.””
“You don't protect a child by threatening her mother.””
His face hardened.
“You think you're some kind of hero because you raised her? You were convenient, Sarah. You were a woman who wanted a family, and I gave you one.””
The words struck deep.
Then I remembered Lily's small hands holding mine in the courtroom.
Mommy Sarah, please don't leave.
Daniel had mistaken my love for weakness.
He had mistaken my willingness to sacrifice everything for permission to control me.
“No,” I said.
“You used me because you thought I would never fight back.””
His smile vanished.
The officers moved in.
Daniel suddenly threw the metal box through the glass door.
It shattered against the tiled floor.
Documents scattered everywhere.
“Find the recording!”” he shouted.
Then he turned and ran toward the stairwell.
The officers pursued him while another team moved to evacuate the building.
I heard Lily screaming somewhere above us.
I ran toward the stairs.
A firefighter blocked my path.
“Ma'am, you cannot go up there!””
“My daughter is inside!””
“We have a rescue team entering now.””
“I am not leaving without her!””
He looked at my face and softened his voice.
“Then help us by staying out of their way.””
Every second felt like an hour.
Smoke thickened near the ceiling. People emerged from the elevators coughing, their faces streaked with soot. An officer carried a plastic evidence container filled with scattered documents from the lobby.
Then a firefighter appeared at the top of the stairs.
He was carrying Lily.
Her yellow raincoat was covered in dust, and she clutched her pink rabbit against her chest.
“Mommy!””
I rushed forward as the firefighter brought her down.
I dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around her.
“Oh, sweetheart. Oh, my baby.””
Lily buried her face in my neck.
“Daddy told me you wouldn't come.””
I held her tighter.
“I will always do everything I can to find you.””
“He said you wanted the papers more than me.””
I pulled back to look at her.
“Listen to me. No paper, no money, no secret in the world matters more to me than you.””
She began sobbing.
“I was scared.””
“I know.””
I kissed her forehead again and again.
“You're safe now.””
Behind us, officers dragged Daniel from the stairwell in handcuffs. He fought against them, shouting that the documents were his property and that everyone was conspiring against him.
Then he saw Lily in my arms.
“Lily! Tell them what happened! Tell them Sarah made you do this!””
She flinched.
I turned my body to shield her.
“Don't speak to her.””
Daniel's eyes burned with hatred.
“You think you've won?””
“No,” I replied.
“I think my daughter is alive.””
He struggled against the officers as they led him away.
For the first time in nine years, I didn't look back.
An ambulance examined Lily and the other people evacuated from the building. Thankfully, Lily appeared physically unharmed, although the paramedics wanted to monitor her breathing because of the smoke.
Michael joined us near the ambulance.
“Daniel has been detained. The fire department is investigating the cause of the fire, and officers recovered several documents from the lobby.””
“Did they find the recording?””
He shook his head.
“Not yet. But they found something else in the box.””
“What?””
“A signed transfer agreement for the company. It shows Daniel moved a substantial portion of the business into a holding company controlled by Evelyn Price.””
I stared at him.
“So Evelyn was helping him all along.””
“That's what the document suggests. We need to verify the signatures and financial records.””
Lily tugged at my sleeve.
“Mommy?””
I turned toward her.
“What is it, sweetheart?””
“When I was upstairs, I heard Daddy talking to the lady.””
“Which lady?””
“The one with the red purse.””
My heart sank.
“Was Evelyn with you?””
Lily nodded.
“She told Daddy she had already sent the important recording to someone else.””
Michael crouched beside us.
“Did you hear who she sent it to?””
Lily thought carefully.
“She said the person was waiting at the hospital.””
Michael and I exchanged a glance.
“Which hospital?”” he asked.
Lily shook her head.
“I don't know. But Daddy said, 'If that recording reaches the wrong person, all three of us are finished.''”
I looked toward the police vehicles.
Daniel had been arrested. Evelyn had disappeared into the chaos. Ethan was standing nearby, speaking with an officer.
For one fragile moment, I thought the worst was over.
Then Michael's phone rang.
He listened without speaking.
His face changed.
“What happened?”” I asked.
He lowered the phone.
“Evelyn Price has been found.””
“Where?””
“At a hospital in downtown Atlanta.””
“Is she alive?””
Michael hesitated.
“Yes. But she has been seriously injured.””
He looked at Lily, then back at me.
“Before losing consciousness, she gave a nurse a name.””
My mouth went dry.
“Whose name?””
May you like
Michael answered quietly.
“Your mother's.””
