Chapter 10: He Took My Daughter
“Lily is missing.””
The nurse's words kept repeating in my head.
Not kidnapped.
Not taken.
Missing.
As if my three-day-old daughter were a misplaced chart.
I grabbed Marcus's jacket.
“Where would Richard take her?””
“I don't know.””
“You worked with him!””
“I never knew he would touch Lily.””
“WHERE?””
My scream tore through the alley.
Daniel stepped between us.
“Claire.””
“Don't tell me to calm down.””
“I wasn't going to.””
He held my shoulders carefully.
“I need you thinking.””
That reached me.
Barely.
Daniel turned to Marcus.
“Every property. Office. Hotel.
Warehouse. Vehicle. Give me everything Richard used.””
Marcus pulled out his phone.
Arthur interrupted.
“Not here.””
“What?””
“If Richard planned this, he may expect Marcus to contact us electronically.””
Daniel nodded.
“Phone off.””
Marcus obeyed.
We drove toward the hospital while Daniel coordinated with police.
When we arrived, the maternity floor looked like a crime scene.
Officers.
Hospital administrators.
Security staff.
A nurse was crying near the station.
I walked straight to Lily's room.
Her bassinet was empty.
Her pink blanket lay on the floor.
I picked it up.
It still smelled like her.
My knees buckled.
Arthur caught me.
“No.””
I pressed the blanket against my face.
“I left her.””
“You placed her in a secured hospital.””
“I left her.””
“Claire.””
Marcus appeared in the doorway.
I turned on him.
“This is because of you.””
“I know.””
“You brought Richard into our lives.””
“I know.””
“You helped him erase her paperwork.””
His eyes filled.
“I know.””
I slapped the doorframe beside him, too exhausted even to strike the man who deserved my rage.
“Stop saying you know!””
Marcus flinched.
Daniel entered carrying a tablet.
“We have footage.””
Everything inside me froze.
The video showed a man in hospital scrubs pushing a covered bassinet toward a service elevator.
His face was partially hidden.
But his walk—
Marcus whispered, “That's Richard.””
At 12:31 a.m., the elevator descended to the parking garage.
Another camera showed Richard lifting something wrapped in a hospital blanket into a black sedan.
I stopped breathing.
Daniel immediately corrected what my mind was imagining.
“We have no evidence Lily was harmed.””
“Find the car.””
“We are.””
A detective entered.
“Vehicle recovered.””
“Where?””
“Six blocks away.””
My hope vanished.
“Empty?””
“Yes.””
“Car seat?””
The detective hesitated.
“No.””
I grabbed the table.
Arthur asked, “Any secondary vehicle?””
“We're checking cameras.””
Marcus suddenly stepped closer to the screen.
“Wait.””
He pointed at Richard's wrist.
“What?””
“That watch.””
I stared at him.
“Marcus—”
“He doesn't wear watches.””
Nobody spoke.
Marcus enlarged the image.
“Richard has a scar across his left wrist. This man doesn't.””
Daniel leaned toward the screen.
“Are you certain?””
“Yes.””
Arthur whispered, “Then who took Lily?””
Marcus stared at the footage.
“I don't know.””
A nurse appeared at the door.
“Ms. Whitmore?””
She held an envelope.
“This was found beneath the bassinet mattress.””
My name was written across it.
CLAIRE.
Inside was a single card.
BRING SECTION FOURTEEN TO WHITMORE HOUSE AT 2:00 A.M.
COME WITH MARCUS.
NO POLICE.
YOUR DAUGHTER FOR THE ORIGINAL.
Arthur read it twice.
“He doesn't know the original was in the archive.””
“Then we use that.””
Daniel shook his head.
“We use a copy.””
“He'll inspect it.””
“We buy time.””
I looked at the clock.
1:19.
Forty-one minutes.
“What's Whitmore House?””
Marcus asked.
Arthur and I answered simultaneously.
“The first family estate.””
Nobody had lived there for twenty years.
It stood almost fifty miles outside the city.
Daniel cursed.
“We can't reach it by two.””
“Yes, we can.””
Arthur looked at me.
“Claire, absolutely not.””
“He asked for me.””
“He kidnapped your newborn.””
“Exactly.””
Daniel studied the note.
“Why Marcus?””
That stopped us.
Arthur turned toward him.
“Good question.””
If Richard only wanted Section Fourteen, Marcus was irrelevant now.
Unless—
“He needs Marcus to sign something.””
Arthur's expression changed.
“The succession petition.””
Marcus went pale.
“He told me he'd prepared one.””
“What does it say?””
“That Claire is medically incapacitated.””
My stomach turned.
“Because of the C-section?””
Marcus nodded.
“And that Lily's status is legally unconfirmed.””
Arthur slammed his hand against the table.
“With Marcus claiming temporary control as spouse and designated successor.””
“He needs your signature,” I said.
Marcus looked at me.
“Yes.””
“Will you give it to him?””
“No.””
For the first time all night, I believed him.
Not because Marcus had become a good man.
Because Richard had made the mistake of making Marcus feel disposable.
Daniel began issuing instructions.
“We'll have teams positioned outside the estate.””
The detective nodded.
“Air support?””
“No helicopters. Too obvious.””
I looked at Arthur.
“Prepare the best copy possible.””
He hesitated.
Then nodded.
At 1:56 a.m., Marcus and I stood outside Whitmore House.
Rain fell through the trees.
The mansion had been abandoned since my grandfather died.
One light glowed upstairs.
The front door opened.
Vanessa stepped onto the porch.
Marcus whispered, “What the hell?””
She looked terrified.
“Come inside.””
“Where's Lily?”” I demanded.
“She's alive.””
“Let me see her.””
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“Claire, please.””
“MY DAUGHTER.””
A baby's cry came from somewhere inside.
My entire body reacted.
Lily.
I moved forward.
Marcus caught my arm.
“Wait.””
Then a man appeared behind Vanessa.
Not Richard.
Someone younger.
Forties.
Dark hair.
Familiar eyes.
My eyes.
He held Lily against his chest.
And he smiled at me.
“Hello, Claire.””
I couldn't move.
“Who are you?””
He looked down at my daughter.
Then back at me.
“The man your mother was trying to tell you about.””
My heart hammered.
He took another step into the light.
“My name is Thomas Bennett.””
I looked at Arthur's distant car beyond the trees.
Bennett.
May you like
The stranger smiled.
“And Arthur Bennett is my father.””
