CHAPTER 6 — VANESSA’S SECRET PARTNER
The payment notification remained on my screen.
$25,000 — C.M. CONSULTING
NOTE: KEEP RYAN AWAY FROM HIS DAUGHTER.
I stared at it until the words blurred.
Then I looked at Lily.
She was still sitting on the bed, swinging her little legs back and forth.
She had no idea that people had been moving millions of dollars in her name.
No idea that strangers had photographed her while she slept.
No idea that her mother might still be alive.
And absolutely no idea that the person controlling everything might be someone from my own family.
I closed the banking application.
"We're leaving."
Vanessa stood near the doorway.
"Where?"
"Somewhere safe."
"Where?"
"I don't know yet."
She stared at me.
"Ryan, you can't just disappear."
"Watch me."
"You need protection."
"I have my brother."
"Don't trust Ethan."
I turned.
"Why?"
Vanessa hesitated.
"I don't know if he's involved."
My eyes narrowed.
"That's a serious accusation."
"I know."
"Do you have proof?"
"No."
"Then don't say it."
She looked down.
"Okay."
I picked up Lily.
She wrapped her arms around my neck.
"Daddy?"
"I'm here."
"Can we bring Bunny?"
I smiled faintly.
"Of course."
She grabbed her stuffed rabbit.
I carried her downstairs.
Vanessa followed.
At the bottom of the stairs, I stopped.
Something felt wrong.
The house was too quiet.
I checked the windows.
Locked.
Front door.
Locked.
Back door.
Locked.
Then I noticed the security panel.
It was blinking.
Red.
I walked closer.
SYSTEM ACCESS — ADMINISTRATOR
Someone had entered the security system.
I looked at Vanessa.
"Did you do this?"
"No."
I pulled out my phone.
The hidden cameras were still online.
One by one, I checked them.
Kitchen.
Empty.
Living room.
Empty.
Garage.
Empty.
Upstairs hallway.
Empty.
Then I opened the newest camera.
CAMERA 9 — BASEMENT
My heart stopped.
I had never installed a camera in the basement.
Yet there it was.
A live feed.
The hidden room behind the wine shelves.
Someone had installed their own camera.
I watched the footage.
A man walked into the room.
Tall.
Gray suit.
Silver hair.
He carried a black briefcase.
I couldn't see his face.
Then he turned toward the camera.
My blood froze.
I knew him.
Not personally.
But from photographs.
My father had kept one picture of him in a locked drawer.
My uncle.
Richard Carter.
I stared at the screen.
"He's here."
Vanessa moved closer.
"What?"
I showed her.
She stepped backward.
"That's him."
"You know him."
"Yes."
"How?"
She looked terrified.
"I've met him."
"When?"
"Six months ago."
"Where?"
"At a hotel."
"Why?"
"He wanted me to sign something."
"What?"
"A confidentiality agreement."
I stared at her.
"What was it about?"
"Emily."
I felt anger rise.
"You signed it?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I knew it was wrong."
"What did he threaten you with?"
She didn't answer.
"Vanessa."
"My sister."
Again.
Her sister.
The same sister she claimed Claire had kidnapped.
"What did he say?"
"He said if I didn't cooperate, I'd never see her again."
"And you believed him?"
"I saw photographs."
I lowered my voice.
"Did you ever meet Richard before?"
"No."
"Then how did he know about you?"
"I don't know."
I looked at the camera.
Richard was opening the black briefcase.
Inside were files.
Photographs.
Documents.
Then he pulled out something small.
A silver pendant.
My stomach tightened.
The same pendant Lily had given me.
The same pendant I had been holding moments earlier.
I looked down.
Lily's hand was still around my neck.
"Where did he get that?"
Vanessa whispered:
"I don't know."
Richard placed the pendant on a table.
Then he took out a photograph.
He looked at it.
I zoomed in.
It was Emily.
Pregnant.
Standing beside my father.
And beside them...
was Richard.
My father's brother.
I had never seen that photograph.
But there was something strange.
Emily wasn't looking at the camera.
She was looking at Richard.
And she appeared terrified.
I zoomed in further.
There was a bruise on her wrist.
My stomach dropped.
"She was afraid of him."
Vanessa nodded.
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"Because I've seen that photograph before."
"When?"
"At Saint Mary's."
I turned.
"Why was it there?"
"Because Richard kept it."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
I watched the footage.
Richard placed the photograph inside a folder.
Then he opened another.
A birth certificate.
I couldn't read everything.
But one word was visible.
LILY.
My heart pounded.
I looked at Vanessa.
"What does he have?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"No."
"You've seen these documents."
"I saw some of them."
"What did you see?"
Vanessa swallowed.
"A paternity test."
My body went cold.
"For Lily?"
"Yes."
"Who was the father?"
She didn't answer.
"Vanessa."
"I don't know."
"Tell me."
"I don't know."
I stared at her.
"Was it me?"
She looked at me.
"Yes."
I felt a strange sense of relief.
Then she added:
"Probably."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"There was another test."
"What test?"
"Emily."
"What about her?"
"Richard claimed Emily wasn't Lily's biological mother."
I stared at Vanessa.
"That's impossible."
"I know."
"Emily gave birth to her."
"Yes."
"Then how could she not be her mother?"
"I don't know."
"Unless..."
Vanessa nodded.
"They switched babies."
My stomach dropped.
"No."
"I don't know if it's true."
"Lily is my daughter."
"Yes."
"But..."
"Someone may have switched her with another baby."
I looked at Lily.
She was playing with Bunny.
I couldn't imagine it.
I didn't want to.
But the photograph.
The strange dates.
The missing week.
The secret trust.
The medical records.
Everything suddenly pointed toward one horrifying possibility.
What if Lily wasn't the baby born to Emily?
What if the reason people wanted her so badly...
was because she was someone else's child?
I refused to believe it.
"Where is the DNA test?"
Vanessa pointed at the phone.
"Richard has it."
I watched the basement feed.
Richard opened another envelope.
Then froze.
Someone had entered the room.
A woman.
Long yellow hair.
Claire.
Richard looked at her.
They spoke.
I couldn't hear them.
Then Claire handed him a folder.
He opened it.
His expression changed.
He looked directly at the camera.
Then smiled.
I felt a chill.
He knew.
He knew I was watching.
The feed suddenly switched.
My screen went black.
Then a message appeared.
COME ALONE.
Underneath it was an address.
The warehouse.
The one connected to Lily's pendant.
Vanessa saw it.
"No."
"I'm going."
"Ryan, it's a trap."
"Probably."
"You can't go."
"I need answers."
"You'll die."
"Maybe."
"Don't say that."
I looked at her.
"You've been telling me for four years that you're protecting Lily."
She looked down.
"Yes."
"Then prove it."
She stared at me.
"How?"
"Tell me what you haven't told anyone."
Her face changed.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Your secret partner."
She went still.
"What?"
"You had someone helping you."
"No."
"You weren't working alone."
"I wasn't."
"Who was he?"
Her face turned pale.
I stepped closer.
"Who?"
She whispered:
"Daniel."
"Who is Daniel?"
"My husband."
I stared at her.
"Your husband?"
"Before you."
"What happened to him?"
"He died."
"When?"
"Four years ago."
"How?"
"Car accident."
I stared at her.
"Where?"
"Near the warehouse."
The room went silent.
I understood.
"Daniel wasn't your husband."
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
"Yes, he was."
"No."
"What?"
"Daniel was Claire's brother."
Vanessa froze.
I had seen the name in the files.
Daniel Morgan.
Former employee at Northstar Family Services.
Security consultant.
Missing four years ago.
Reported dead.
But no body had ever been recovered.
I looked at Vanessa.
"You knew Claire before you met me."
"Yes."
"And Daniel."
"Yes."
"Did you love him?"
She looked away.
"Yes."
"Did he know about Lily?"
"Yes."
"What did he know?"
"Everything."
My heart pounded.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
"You said he died."
"I believed he did."
"Why?"
"Claire told me."
I stared at her.
"Claire lies."
"I know that now."
"Then what happened?"
Vanessa took a breath.
"Daniel discovered what Northstar was doing."
"What were they doing?"
"Buying children."
I felt sick.
"What?"
"Not exactly buying."
"Then what?"
"Moving them."
"Where?"
"Different families."
"Why?"
"Money."
"That's insane."
"I know."
"Why would anyone do that?"
"Some families paid to get children."
"Why?"
"To replace children they'd lost."
I couldn't speak.
"Others paid to make children disappear."
"Why?"
"Because the children were witnesses."
I looked at Lily.
"Is she a witness?"
Vanessa nodded.
"To what?"
"The accident."
I felt my chest tighten.
"But she was a baby."
"She saw something."
"How?"
"She was there."
"Where?"
"At the warehouse."
I remembered Lily's words.
Grandpa was there.
I felt dizzy.
"Richard was there?"
"Yes."
"Four years ago?"
"Yes."
"Then my father?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"Your father was dead."
"Then why did Lily say Grandpa was there?"
Vanessa looked at me.
"Because someone looked exactly like him."
I stared.
"Who?"
"Richard."
The room went silent.
Richard had impersonated my father.
He had used the resemblance.
He had been there the night Emily disappeared.
And Lily had remembered him.
Suddenly everything made sense.
The old photograph.
The black car.
The bad man.
The words:
Daddy won't find us.
My father wasn't there.
Richard was.
I turned toward the basement camera.
Richard was gone.
Claire was gone.
The room was empty.
Then I noticed something.
A piece of paper on the floor.
Richard had left it behind.
I zoomed in.
A single sentence.
RYAN, IF YOU'RE WATCHING THIS, YOU'RE ALREADY TOO LATE.
I felt a surge of anger.
I grabbed my jacket.
Vanessa stepped in front of me.
"Where are you going?"
"The warehouse."
"I told you it's a trap."
"I know."
"Then why?"
"Because Emily is alive."
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
"Ryan."
"And Lily remembers."
She nodded.
"But there's something else."
"What?"
"The person who sent you the photograph yesterday."
"What about them?"
"It wasn't Claire."
I froze.
"How do you know?"
"Because Claire doesn't use that symbol."
I looked at the black symbol from the files.
Circle.
Three lines.
"Then who does?"
Vanessa whispered:
"Daniel."
I stared at her.
"Your dead husband?"
"Yes."
"Why would he contact me?"
"I don't know."
"Unless..."
She nodded.
"Unless he's alive."
My phone buzzed.
A new message.
This time there was no photograph.
Only an address.
And a sentence.
I CAN PROVE WHAT HAPPENED TO EMILY.
Then another message appeared.
COME TO THE WAREHOUSE ALONE.
I looked at Lily.
I couldn't leave her.
Not again.
I turned to Vanessa.
"You're staying with Lily."
"What?"
"You're the only person I know who understands these people."
She shook her head.
"No."
"Please."
She looked at me.
I had never asked her for anything.
Not like this.
"I need you to protect her."
Vanessa stared at Lily.
Then nodded.
"I will."
I walked toward the door.
Lily suddenly ran to me.
"Daddy!"
I knelt.
She wrapped her arms around my neck.
"Don't go."
"I have to."
"Where?"
"To find Mommy."
She looked at me.
Then whispered:
"Don't trust the man in the black car."
I froze.
"What man?"
"The one who came last night."
My heart stopped.
"Did you see him?"
She nodded.
"When?"
"While you were sleeping."
"What did he do?"
"He talked to Vanessa."
I slowly looked over my shoulder.
Vanessa's face went white.
I turned back to Lily.
"What did he say?"
She whispered:
"He said..."
She paused.
"He said Vanessa did what she was told."
I stood.
My eyes locked onto Vanessa.
She didn't move.
"Lily..."
My daughter continued:
"He gave her money."
Vanessa began crying.
"No."
I stared at her.
"Is that true?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"Did someone pay you?"
"No."
"Vanessa."
"I swear."
Lily looked at her.
Then said quietly:
"He gave her a little black bag."
Vanessa's face collapsed.
I knew immediately.
There had been another secret.
Another transaction.
Another lie.
And before I could ask what was inside that black bag, Vanessa reached into her purse.
She pulled out a small black pouch.
She placed it on the table.
"I was going to tell you."
I opened it.
Inside was a key.
A USB drive.
And a photograph.
The photograph showed Daniel.
Alive.
Standing beside Emily.
And written across the bottom were four words:
THEY BOTH KNOW EVERYTHING.
I looked at Vanessa.
"Where did you get this?"
She whispered:
"Daniel gave it to me."
"When?"
"Last night."
My heart stopped.
"Where is he?"
Vanessa looked toward the window.
"He was outside."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because he told me not to."
"Why?"
"Because he said..."
She took a shaky breath.
"He said there is someone inside your family who has been reporting everything you do."
I stared at her.
"Who?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"He wouldn't tell me."
"Then we're going to find out."
I picked up the USB drive.
The label contained only one word.
BIRTH.
I looked at Lily.
Then at Vanessa.
Then at the door.
Whatever was on that drive could change everything.
But before I could open it, my phone rang.
Ethan.
I answered.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Ryan."
"What?"
"I found Daniel."
"Where?"
"Dead."
My heart dropped.
"What?"
"His body was found twenty minutes ago."
I looked at Vanessa.
She was staring at me.
Ethan continued:
"And Ryan..."
"What?"
"The body was discovered at the warehouse."
I looked down at the USB drive.
The same warehouse where someone had just told me to come.
The same warehouse connected to Lily's missing week.
The same place where Emily had allegedly disappeared.
Then Ethan said:
"There's something else."
"What?"
"They found a second body."
My blood ran cold.
"Whose?"
Ethan hesitated.
"Claire Morgan."
I couldn't breathe.
"But Claire was alive."
"I know."
"Then who did we see?"
Ethan's voice dropped.
"That's exactly what the police are trying to figure out."
I looked at Vanessa.
Then at Lily.
And suddenly the question wasn't whether Claire was alive.
May you like
It was much worse.
Who had been pretending to be Claire?
