Chapter 6 - The Secret Hidden in Lily's Bedroom
By the time I reached the safe house, Emily was gone.
The front door stood open.
A lamp lay broken beside the couch.
And the woman assigned to stay with her was sitting on the kitchen floor, pressing a towel against a cut above her eyebrow.
Her name was Karen Doyle.
Rebecca had hired her through a private security firm.
She looked up when I entered.
"James, I'm sorry."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"Where is she?"
"Two men came through the back entrance."
"Did they take Emily?"
Karen shook her head.
"She ran."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
I called Emily's phone.
Straight to voicemail.
Again.
Nothing.
I stepped outside, scanning the empty street.
The safe house was located in a quiet residential neighborhood outside Denver.
Small houses.
Neatly trimmed lawns.
A basketball hoop over a garage.
The kind of place where children played outside after school.
And somewhere nearby, men were hunting my sister.
Detective Morales arrived fifteen minutes later with two officers.
She examined the broken lamp and spoke privately with Karen.
Then she approached me.
"Your sister may have escaped through the rear window. We found blood on the frame."
I felt sick.
"Whose blood?"
"We don't know yet."
"Ryan did this."
"We're investigating that possibility."
"He's going to kill her."
Morales held my gaze.
"James, listen carefully. The best thing you can do is give us every piece of evidence you have. Don't confront him."
I almost laughed.
Ryan had declared my sister dead.
He had imprisoned her.
He was threatening her child.
And I was supposed to stay calm.
But Morales was right about one thing.
If I lost control, Ryan would use it.
He'd tell everyone I was unstable.
He'd turn my anger into a weapon.
Just as he'd done with Emily.
I forced myself to breathe.
Then my phone rang.
A blocked number.
I answered immediately.
"Emily?"
"No."
Ryan.
His voice sounded cheerful.
"Hey, James. Big day tomorrow."
My jaw tightened.
"Where's my sister?"
"How should I know?"
"Stop playing games."
He sighed.
"You always were dramatic."
I stepped away from the officers.
"If you've hurt her—"
"Careful."
His tone changed.
"You're starting to sound threatening."
I looked through the window at Morales.
She was watching me.
"Where's Emily?"
Ryan ignored the question.
"Lily's having a hard time. She's been asking about her mother again."
"Because you lied to her."
"She's confused."
"She's seven."
"Exactly. Seven. Children need stability."
I nearly crushed the phone.
Ryan continued.
"She told me something interesting this morning."
I said nothing.
"She said you promised Mommy might come back."
My blood ran cold.
"Did you say that to her?"
Ryan laughed quietly.
"You should hear the things she asks."
"Leave her alone."
"She's my daughter."
"She's not your property."
There was a pause.
Then Ryan said, "Come to the wedding tomorrow. Bring whoever you want."
I stared at the phone.
"What?"
"I've got nothing to hide."
The call ended.
Morales approached.
"Was that him?"
I nodded.
She asked me to preserve the call details.
Then she said something I hadn't expected.
"We've received another report involving Havenridge."
"From whom?"
"Someone who worked there."
"Nora?"
"No."
"Who?"
"I can't identify the person while we're arranging an interview."
I rubbed my face.
"Please tell me you can find Emily."
"We're working on it."
An hour later, I returned to my apartment.
I had barely stepped inside when I noticed a small white envelope on the floor.
Someone had slipped it beneath my door.
Inside was a photograph of Emily and Lily at a birthday party three years earlier.
Behind the photograph was a handwritten note.
Remember where we hid the stars.
I knew the handwriting.
Emily.
I stood perfectly still.
Then I remembered.
When Lily turned four, Emily and I helped decorate her bedroom.
We painted the walls pale yellow and attached glow-in-the-dark stars to the ceiling.
Lily insisted that one star needed a secret.
So Emily placed a tiny keepsake box inside a hollow decorative moon on the bookshelf.
It became their special hiding place.
A place for birthday wishes, tiny drawings, and letters Lily wanted to send to the moon.
Emily had mentioned it once.
But I'd forgotten.
Until now.
I called Rebecca.
"I think Emily left something in Lily's room."
"James, you cannot enter Ryan's home without permission."
"I know."
"Then don't."
I sat down.
There had to be another way.
Then I remembered Mrs. Patterson.
She had worked as Lily's nanny since infancy.
She adored Emily.
And after the supposed death, Ryan had reduced her hours.
I called her.
She answered after six rings.
"James?"
"Mrs. Patterson, I need your help."
Her voice dropped.
"Is this about Emily?"
"Yes."
A long silence.
Then she whispered, "Thank God."
I closed my eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"Because I never believed she was dead."
Mrs. Patterson told me she had seen Ryan carrying boxes out of Emily's office shortly after her disappearance.
She'd heard shouting.
And she'd once walked into Lily's room to find Ryan searching through the toy chest.
He demanded to know where Emily kept her papers.
"When I said I didn't know," she told me, "he fired me for the week."
I explained the hiding place.
Mrs. Patterson went quiet.
Then she said, "I know exactly what you're talking about."
"Can you get it?"
"I'm not working there today."
"Please."
She hesitated.
"Ryan's housekeeper called me yesterday. She said Lily hasn't been sleeping. I'll see whether I can arrange to visit her."
"Don't put yourself in danger."
"That little girl is already in danger."
Twenty minutes later, I received another call.
Mrs. Patterson had spoken to the housekeeper, who invited her over under the pretext of helping Lily prepare for the wedding.
She wouldn't search the room without permission.
But she could ask Lily about the moon.
The wait was unbearable.
I paced my apartment.
Checked my phone.
Looked out the windows.
Finally, a message arrived.
I have it.
I nearly collapsed from relief.
Mrs. Patterson met me outside a grocery store shortly before midnight.
She handed me a small purple box decorated with faded silver stars.
"Lily knew where it was," she said.
"She said her mommy told her never to let Daddy open it."
I swallowed.
"What else did she say?"
Mrs. Patterson looked away.
"She asked if I thought her mother was cold in heaven."
I felt something break inside me.
Then I opened the box.
Inside was a folded drawing.
A friendship bracelet.
Three birthday candles.
And a small memory card sealed inside a plastic bag.
There was also a handwritten letter.
Jimmy, if you're reading this, I couldn't keep my promise to come back safely.
The card contains what Ryan thought he deleted.
Don't trust Keller.
Don't trust Margaret.
And please, whatever happens, don't let them tell Lily she was unwanted.
I read the final sentence twice.
Then I took out the memory card.
Back at my apartment, I inserted it into an old laptop disconnected from the internet.
There were six files.
Five audio recordings.
One video.
I clicked the video first.
The screen showed Ryan sitting in his home office.
Margaret Price stood beside him.
Dr. Keller sat across the desk.
The date in the corner was three days before Emily disappeared.
Ryan's voice came through the speakers.
"Once she's inside Havenridge, how long before we can get the trust transferred?"
Margaret answered.
"As long as she keeps refusing to cooperate, we have to use another route."
Keller leaned back.
"The medical record can support an incapacity petition, but the court still has to approve it."
Ryan slammed his palm against the desk.
"I don't have time for another court."
Margaret glanced toward the door.
"Then you should have thought about that before you forged the first documents."
I stopped breathing.
Ryan looked straight at Keller.
"What if everyone thinks she's dead?"
Keller shook his head.
"That's not a medical decision."
Margaret folded her arms.
"Ryan, don't say things you can't take back."
But Ryan was smiling.
"No one looks for a dead woman."
The recording ended.
And I understood why my sister had hidden it.
Ryan hadn't lost Emily.
He'd planned to erase her.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Emily.
Jimmy, I'm safe. Don't call. Tomorrow, come to the wedding.
May you like
Then another message appeared.
Bring Lily's box.
