Chapter 5 - The Dead Daughter
Vanessa talked.
And every sentence destroyed another part of the life I thought I knew.
“Sophie was Victor Crane’s youngest daughter.”
“How young?”
“Eight years younger than Amelia.”
I stared at the old photograph.
The child beside Amelia looked almost exactly like Lily.
Same eyes.
Same dimple.
Same stubborn little chin.
Vanessa continued.
“Victor had an affair with Amelia’s mother for years. Amelia was born first. Sophie came later.”
“Why erase Sophie?”
“Because Sophie saw something.”
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
Marco leaned forward.
“Yes, you do.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Victor never told me.”
“Then how do you know she was erased?”
“Because he hired me.”
I almost hit the table.
“To do what?”
“To watch Lily.”
“You married me to watch my daughter?”
Vanessa looked ashamed.
“At first.”
Rachel covered her mouth.
I felt physically sick.
Vanessa continued.
“Victor told me Lily could lead people to Sophie.”
I looked toward the door.
“My daughter has been kidnapped because of this.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew it might happen?”
“No.”
“Stop lying!”
“I swear!”
Marco placed a hand on my shoulder.
Not to comfort me.
To keep me from doing something stupid.
Vanessa cried.
“Victor promised nobody would hurt Lily. He said I only had to keep her isolated. Make her stop asking questions. Make her afraid of the old rooms.”
“You abused a child for money.”
Her face twisted.
“Yes.”
At least she finally said it.
Marco stood.
“We go to St. Matthew’s.”
The hospital had been abandoned three years earlier.
Victor Crane’s company closed the maternity wing after a contamination scandal.
Marco contacted police, but the kidnappers had warned us.
So we drove ahead while officers followed at a distance.
The old hospital looked dead.
Broken windows.
Dark hallways.
Rainwater running down concrete walls.
I carried the photograph.
Marco carried something else.
A pistol.
We entered through the old maternity entrance.
“Lily!” I shouted.
A speaker crackled.
“Second floor.”
We climbed.
Room 214 was open.
I walked in.
Lily sat in a chair.
Alone.
“Daddy!”
I ran to her.
She threw herself into my arms.
I checked her face, wrists, neck.
“Did they hurt you?”
“No.”
“Who brought you here?”
“A man.”
“Where is he?”
She pointed toward the hallway.
Gone.
Marco searched.
Nobody.
On the floor beside Lily lay an envelope.
Old.
Yellow.
Sealed.
Across the front:
DANIEL REED — IF LILY IS EVER TAKEN, OPEN THIS.
My hands shook.
“Amelia’s handwriting.”
Marco nodded.
I opened it.
Inside was a key.
And a note.
The truth is still in the nursery. Vanessa will search the obvious place. She does not know about the second wall.
Marco looked at me.
“There’s another compartment.”
Lily tugged my sleeve.
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“The man told me something.”
“What?”
“He said I have the same eyes as my real mommy.”
My throat closed.
“Did he tell you her name?”
Lily nodded.
“Sophie.”
Marco and I looked at each other.
Then Lily reached into her pocket.
“And he gave me this.”
A hospital identification bracelet.
The faded name was still readable.
BABY GIRL CRANE.
Beneath it was a date.
November 18, 2020.
Lily’s birthday.
May you like
And under “Mother” was one name.
SOPHIE CRANE.
