Chapter 4
Victor ran.
He didn’t remember crossing the driveway.
He didn’t remember shouting for Daniel.
He only remembered Lily’s voice.
Someone followed us.
“Where are you?” Victor demanded.
“In your car.”
“Where?”
“We’re about ten minutes away.”
“Tell the driver not to come home.”
There was a pause.
“He’s trying to lose them.”
Victor turned toward Daniel.
“Track the vehicle.”
Daniel already had his phone out.
Victor could hear Ethan crying in the background.
His chest tightened.
“Lily, listen carefully. Is Ethan okay?”
“Yes.”
“Are the doors locked?”
“Yes.”
“What vehicle is following you?”
“A dark SUV. No license plate on the front.”
Victor looked at Hayes.
The detective immediately signaled two officers.
“Keep talking to me,” Victor said.
Lily’s breathing was fast.
“They turned with us again.”
“Police are coming.”
“Victor…”
“I’m here.”
“The SUV is getting closer.”
Victor’s blood turned cold.
He walked toward his own vehicle.
Hayes grabbed his arm.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“That’s my son.”
“And racing into an unknown situation will help him how?”
Victor pulled free.
“If something happens—”
“We have officers moving now.”
Daniel shouted from the security room.
“I have their location.”
He turned a monitor toward them.
The Blackwood SUV appeared as a blinking dot on a map.
Hayes relayed the coordinates.
Victor kept Lily on speaker.
“Where are you now?”
“Industrial road. Near the old textile warehouses.”
Victor cursed.
It was mostly abandoned at night.
Then Lily screamed.
A crash sounded through the phone.
Victor’s heart stopped.
“Lily!”
“Something hit us!”
Ethan started screaming.
Victor gripped the phone.
“Are you hurt?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Ethan?”
“He’s okay. Scared.”
Another impact.
Lily cried out.
Victor looked at Hayes.
“How far are your officers?”
“Three minutes.”
Three minutes felt like three years.
The driver’s voice suddenly came through Lily’s phone.
“Hold on!”
Tires squealed.
Victor heard the engine roar.
Then another crash.
The call went silent.
“Lily?”
Nothing.
“Lily!”
The line disconnected.
Victor stared at the phone.
“No.”
Daniel was tracking the car.
“It’s still moving.”
Victor looked at Hayes.
“I’m going.”
This time Hayes didn’t stop him.
Two police vehicles took Victor and Daniel.
Serena remained in custody at the mansion.
As they raced through the city, Victor watched the tracking dot.
It moved.
Stopped.
Moved again.
Then it stopped completely.
“Why did it stop?”
Daniel’s face was pale.
“I don’t know.”
Victor called Lily.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Again.
Still nothing.
Victor pressed his fist against his mouth.
Every nightmare ran through his mind.
Ethan hurt.
Lily unconscious.
A stranger taking his son.
He thought about Serena’s final words.
Ask Lily.
Had Serena known someone was waiting?
Had the arrest triggered something?
The police car turned onto the industrial road.
Red and blue lights flashed against dark warehouses.
Ahead, Victor saw his SUV.
It had crashed against a chain-link fence.
The rear door was open.
Victor was moving before the police vehicle completely stopped.
“Ethan!”
Hayes shouted after him.
Victor ran toward the car.
The driver was lying beside the road.
Blood covered his forehead.
An officer knelt beside him.
Victor reached the back seat.
Empty.
His world disappeared.
“No.”
He looked underneath the seats.
As though Ethan might somehow be hiding there.
Nothing.
“Ethan!”
A weak sound came from behind the damaged fence.
Victor turned.
“Victor…”
It was Lily.
He climbed through the opening.
She was sitting on the ground behind a stack of wooden pallets.
Ethan was in her arms.
Victor nearly collapsed.
He ran to them.
Lily’s face was bruised.
Her shirt was torn.
But Ethan was alive.
Victor dropped to his knees.
“My God.”
He pulled them both into his arms.
Ethan cried against his chest.
Victor kissed his hair over and over.
“I’ve got you.”
For several seconds, he could do nothing except hold his son.
Then he looked at Lily.
“What happened?”
“They forced us off the road.”
“Who?”
“Two men.”
“Where are they?”
“I don’t know.”
Police spread through the area.
Victor examined Lily’s face.
“You’re bleeding.”
“I’m okay.”
“You’re not.”
“One of them opened the back door.”
Victor went still.
“What?”
“He grabbed for Ethan.”
Victor’s expression darkened.
“What happened?”
“I kicked him.”
Despite everything, Victor almost laughed with relief.
Lily continued.
“The driver hit the other man with the door. I took Ethan and ran through the fence.”
“You saved him.”
“I just ran.”
“You saved him.”
She looked away.
Police officers returned minutes later.
“They’re gone,” Hayes said. “Their SUV was abandoned two blocks away.”
Victor stood.
“You let them escape?”
Hayes remained calm.
“We arrived after they fled.”
“Find them.”
“We will.”
Victor looked down at Ethan.
Then at Lily.
“This was Serena.”
Hayes didn’t answer.
“It had to be.”
“Possibly.”
“Possibly?”
“We need evidence.”
Victor was tired of that word.
Lily suddenly spoke.
“I recognized one of them.”
Everyone turned.
“You did?”
She nodded.
“Where from?”
Lily hesitated.
Victor remembered Serena’s words.
Ask Lily.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Lily stared at the ground.
“Victor…”
“Tell me.”
“The man who opened the door…”
She swallowed.
“I’ve seen him before.”
“Where?”
“At Serena’s apartment.”
Victor frowned.
“You were at Serena’s apartment?”
“No. I followed her there.”
Silence.
Victor stared at her.
“When?”
“Two months ago.”
“Why?”
“Because Ethan kept getting bruises, and I thought Serena was doing something.”
Victor’s confusion became anger.
“You followed her and never told me?”
“I tried.”
“You keep saying that.”
Lily flinched.
Victor immediately regretted his tone.
She had just protected his son.
He forced himself to calm down.
“What did you see?”
“She met a man outside her building.”
“The attacker?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“They argued.”
“About what?”
“I couldn’t hear everything.”
“Tell me what you heard.”
Lily looked at Hayes.
Then Victor.
“She said something about money.”
“And?”
“The man said she still owed him for the first job.”
Victor felt a chill.
“What first job?”
“I don’t know.”
Lily continued.
“Then Serena said, ‘Claire is gone. That was the agreement.’”
No one spoke.
Victor’s face turned white.
Hayes stepped forward.
“Are you certain those were the words?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you report this?”
“Because Serena saw me.”
Victor stared at Lily.
“She saw you following her?”
“Yes.”
“What did she do?”
“She confronted me the next day.”
Lily’s voice dropped.
“She said if I told anyone, my brother would go back to prison.”
Victor looked confused.
“How could she do that?”
“She claimed she had evidence connecting him to something he didn’t do.”
Victor looked at Hayes.
The detective’s expression was grim.
“This man you saw,” Hayes said. “Could you identify him?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Victor looked at Lily.
“You’re coming back to the mansion.”
Hayes shook his head.
“No.”
Victor turned.
“What?”
“If Serena arranged this attack, your home may be compromised.”
Victor almost laughed.
“My home has private security.”
“Your security cameras were disabled inside that same home.”
The words hit hard.
Hayes continued.
“Someone knew your son’s route from the hospital.”
Victor slowly looked at Daniel.
Daniel understood immediately.
“They knew the vehicle.”
“They knew when it left,” Hayes said. “They knew where it was heading.”
Victor’s mind raced.
One possibility became impossible to ignore.
Someone inside his own security team was helping Serena.
He looked toward Daniel.
“How many people knew Lily was leaving the hospital?”
Daniel thought.
“Me. You. The driver.”
“And security?”
Daniel’s face changed.
“The gate team knew when to expect them.”
Hayes nodded.
“Then we start there.”
Victor looked at his son.
He had built walls around his family.
Gates.
Cameras.
Guards.
None of it mattered if the danger was already inside.
Then Lily whispered:
“There’s somewhere Ethan can stay.”
Victor looked at her.
“Where?”
“My mother’s house.”
“No.”
“She lives outside the city. Serena doesn’t know where.”
Victor shook his head.
“I’m not sending my son away.”
“I’m not saying send him alone.”
Lily met his eyes.
“I’m saying you should come too.”
Before Victor could answer, Hayes’ phone rang.
He listened.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He ended the call.
Victor immediately knew something was wrong.
“Detective?”
Hayes looked at him.
“Serena never made it to the station.”
Victor stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
“The transport vehicle was hit.”
Silence.
May you like
Hayes’ jaw tightened.
“Serena escaped.”
