Chapter 16 - THE BAIT
I showed the messages to Detective Carter immediately.
His expression hardened as he read them.
“She's trying to control the investigation.”
“She knows we found Eleanor.”
“Or someone is feeding her information.”
I looked at the phone.
“Either way, she knows we have the report.”
Carter nodded.
“We need to assume the clinic is a trap.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
His voice was sharper than usual.
“Daniel, Vanessa has demonstrated that she can manipulate people, forge documents, access private information, and arrange for others to carry out dangerous acts. She has also threatened your sister. If you go there alone, you may not come back.”
“I won't go alone.”
“You won't go at all until we've planned the operation.”
I wanted to argue, but I forced myself to listen.
For the first time in my life, I understood that courage did not mean rushing toward danger.
It meant allowing other people to help protect the ones you loved.
Carter assembled a small team of investigators and tactical officers. They examined the old clinic's layout, reviewed its security systems, and studied the surrounding roads.
The building had been closed for several years.
It stood on the edge of an industrial district, surrounded by a high fence and a row of abandoned warehouses.
If Vanessa had chosen it as a meeting place, she had selected somewhere with few witnesses and several possible escape routes.
We developed a plan.
The police would monitor the perimeter, secure the exits, and maintain a line of communication with the team inside. I would not enter the building unless Carter determined it was safe.
The original medical report would remain in police custody.
Instead, we prepared a packet containing copies of the documents, with identifying marks removed.
It would look convincing from a distance but would not expose the original evidence.
At six thirty that evening, I called Emily.
She was resting at the secure facility, and Lily was sitting beside her bed.
“Daddy?” Lily said when she heard my voice. “Are you coming back tonight?”
“Yes, sweetheart.”
“Promise?”
I hesitated.
Then I answered honestly.
“I will do everything I can to come back tonight.”
She was quiet for a moment.
“Mommy says promises should be things you can control.”
I closed my eyes.
“She said that?”
“Yes. She says it's better to tell the truth, even when the truth is scary.”
I swallowed.
“Your mother is a very wise woman.”
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Are you going to find the other woman?”
I looked toward Carter, who was reviewing the operation plan.
“Yes,” I said. “We're going to try.”
“Then tell her she can come home.”
“I will.”
Lily paused.
“And tell her that she doesn't have to be scared anymore.”
My throat tightened.
“I'll tell her.”
After the call, I sat alone for several minutes.
I thought about Lily's simple request.
Tell her she doesn't have to be scared anymore.
It was something I had wanted to tell Emily for three years.
Something I had wanted to tell my daughter every time she woke from a nightmare.
And now it was something I needed to tell a woman I had never met, a sister whose existence had been hidden from me for most of my life.
At eight fifteen, the police operation began.
I remained in an unmarked vehicle several streets away from the clinic. Carter and two officers approached the building through the main entrance, while another team secured the rear perimeter.
The building was dark except for a single light on the second floor.
My phone vibrated.
Vanessa.
YOU'RE LATE.
I didn't respond.
A second message appeared.
THE WOMAN YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IS INSIDE.
Then a photograph.
It showed a woman sitting in a chair beneath a hanging light.
Her face was hidden by shadows, but I recognized the shape of her hands.
The same hands that appeared in my father's old photographs.
Victoria.
Carter's voice came through my earpiece.
“We're inside. No sign of movement on the ground floor.”
I watched the building.
A light flickered in the second-floor window.
Then a shadow crossed it.
“Do you see that?” I asked.
“Affirmative,” Carter replied. “We're moving toward the stairs.”
I gripped the packet of documents.
My heart was beating so hard that I could hear it.
Then a voice came through the earpiece.
“Detective, we have a problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
“The building is empty.”
I froze.
“What?”
Carter's voice grew tense.
“The room is staged. There's a chair, a lamp, and a photograph. No person.”
I looked at the image Vanessa had sent.
The woman in the photograph had been a prop.
A deliberate deception.
Then the earpiece crackled again.
“Daniel, get out of the vehicle.”
I looked up.
A black sedan had pulled alongside us.
The passenger window lowered.
Dr. Mercer sat inside.
He wore a dark coat and the same gold ring with the black stone.
He smiled at me.
“Mr. Hayes,” he said. “You brought the wrong documents.”
I reached for the door handle.
Before I could move, two men appeared beside the vehicle.
One opened my door.
The other pointed a weapon toward my chest.
“Don't make this difficult,” Mercer said.
I looked toward the street.
Police lights flashed at the far end of the road.
But the men were already pulling me from the vehicle.
I fought to keep my balance.
“Where is Victoria?”
Mercer smiled.
“Somewhere your wife should have stayed.”
He struck me across the face.
The world spun.
I felt myself being forced into the sedan.
As the door slammed shut, I caught one last glimpse of the police vehicle racing toward us.
Then Mercer leaned close.
“Your father asked too many questions,” he whispered.
His breath smelled of mint.
“And look what happened to him.”
The sedan accelerated.
I tried to reach for my phone, but a hand seized my wrist.
May you like
Mercer removed the device and held it up.
“Now,” he said, “we're going to have a very honest conversation.”
