Chapter 4 - THE WINDOWI ran.
“Lily!”
My daughter was beside me one second and gone the next.
I tore through the hallway.
Ryan followed.
Behind us, I heard Robert shouting and Melissa crying.
The stairs blurred beneath my feet.
“Lily!”
No answer.
I reached her bedroom.
The door was open.
The window was raised.
Curtains fluttered violently in the afternoon wind.
For one horrible second, I couldn't see her.
Then I noticed the stuffed rabbit on the floor.
Her favorite one.
The one she never left behind.
“LILY!”
Ryan grabbed my shoulders.
“Claire, look.”
He pointed.
The window led to the small porch roof.
There were muddy footprints.
Small ones.
And beside them—
a larger footprint.
My blood turned to ice.
Someone had been here.
Someone had taken my daughter outside.
I climbed through the window.
“Claire!”
Ryan grabbed my waist.
“Don't!”
“I’m going after her!”
We stepped onto the roof.
The backyard stretched below us.
Empty.
Then I heard a sound.
A car engine.
I looked toward the driveway.
A black SUV was accelerating away.
Ryan pulled out his phone.
“I’m calling the police.”
I froze.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“Look at the license plate.”
He squinted.
I memorized the first three characters.
The SUV disappeared around the corner.
We climbed down.
When we reached the yard, Daniel was already standing there.
His face was unreadable.
“Where is my daughter?” I demanded.
“I don't know.”
“You know who took her.”
“No.”
“Then why aren't you surprised?”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Because whoever did this is trying to force the truth into the open.”
I wanted to hit him.
Instead, I screamed:
“MY DAUGHTER IS EIGHT YEARS OLD!”
The words echoed across the yard.
“You don't get to talk about truth while my child is missing!”
Daniel looked at Ryan.
“Call the police.”
Ryan already had.
Sirens sounded in the distance.
Five minutes later, officers flooded the property.
The house became chaos.
Questions.
Photographs.
Fingerprints.
Statements.
I stood in Lily's bedroom hugging her stuffed rabbit.
It still smelled like her shampoo.
A detective approached.
“Mrs. Bennett?”
“Yes?”
“Did your daughter know the man who entered the house?”
I looked at Daniel.
“No.”
The detective followed my gaze.
“Who is he?”
“I don't know anymore.”
Ryan stepped beside me.
“He's my father's former attorney.”
The detective looked at Daniel.
“Mr. Mercer, you'll need to stay here.”
Daniel nodded.
Then he looked directly at me.
“Claire.”
I ignored him.
“Claire.”
I finally turned.
“Find her.”
His expression hardened.
“I will.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“I will.”
Something changed in his face.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
Not for himself.
For Lily.
That scared me more than anything.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A child's breathing came through the line.
My heart stopped.
“Lily?”
Silence.
Then her voice.
“Mommy…”
I nearly collapsed.
“Lily! Where are you?”
“It's dark.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Who are you with?”
She started crying.
“Mommy, he said Daddy knows.”
I looked at Ryan.
“Who?”
Lily whispered:
“The man from the picture.”
The call ended.
I screamed her name into the phone.
Nothing.
The detective took my phone.
“Can you trace it?”
“I'm trying.”
Ryan looked at me.
“What picture?”
I stared at him.
“The photograph Daniel showed us.”
Ryan's face went white.
“Ethan.”
“Yes.”
“But Ethan is dead.”
I shook my head.
“Daniel says he's alive.”
Ryan's breathing became shallow.
Then Robert spoke from behind us.
“No.”
We turned.
He was standing in the doorway.
Tears filled his eyes.
“I saw him.”
My heart stopped.
“When?”
Robert looked at Ryan.
“Eight years ago.”
Ryan whispered:
“Where?”
Robert swallowed.
“At the hospital.”
Silence.
“What hospital?”
Robert looked at me.
“The hospital where Lily was born.”
I felt the room disappear around me.
“What did you see?”
Robert's voice broke.
“I saw Ethan leave the maternity ward.”
I stared at him.
“And you never told me?”
He shook his head.
“Your father threatened me.”
“My father?”
Robert nodded.
“He said if I told you, Lily would disappear.”
My knees weakened.
Ryan caught me.
Then my phone rang again.
This time, there was no voice.
Only a recording.
A man's voice.
Calm.
Cold.
“Bring the envelope to the old Bennett property before midnight.”
A pause.
“Come alone.”
Then another voice whispered:
“Or Lily stays missing.”
The recording ended.
I looked at Ryan.
He was already shaking his head.
“You're not going.”
I wiped my tears.
“Yes, I am.”
“Claire—”
“My daughter is out there.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“No.”
I looked him directly in the eyes.
“You've kept secrets from me for eight years.”
His face crumpled.
“I know.”
“I don't know if I can trust you.”
He nodded slowly.
“Then don't trust me.”
He reached for my hand.
“Just let me help you bring her home.”
I looked at the envelope.
Then toward the darkening sky.
Midnight was less than six hours away.
May you like
And somewhere in the darkness—
someone was waiting for me.
