Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN RICHARD NEEDED
We searched every exit.
Nothing.
No cameras showed Claire leaving.
No ambulance had arrived.
No hospital employee remembered seeing her.
It was as if she had vanished.
Mason pulled security footage.
We watched the corridor.
Claire walked out of her room at 8:42.
She wore a hospital sweater.
She looked confused.
Then a nurse approached her.
They walked together.
The camera lost them at the elevator.
Three minutes later, the nurse returned alone.
Mason paused the video.
“That's not a nurse.”
I looked closer.
The woman's face was unfamiliar.
She had deliberately avoided the camera.
“Richard?”
“Possibly.”
I looked at the screen.
“Where did they go?”
Mason checked the elevator records.
“Basement.”
We ran downstairs.
The basement was empty.
But one service door stood open.
Outside was a black van.
No license plate.
Mason cursed.
“They planned this.”
I felt helpless.
Claire had just been rescued.
Now she was gone again.
And Richard had taken her because he needed something.
The trust.
The guardianship.
Or both.
Then Lily spoke behind me.
“Daddy.”
I turned.
She was holding the brass key.
“Maybe this tells us where Aunt Claire went.”
“How?”
She pointed at the number.
Then she looked at the hospital directory.
“Room numbers can be buildings too.”
I stared at her.
She was right.
The old hospital had several wings.
Wing 4.
Floor 1.
Room 7.
Mason looked at the map.
“Building Four, First Floor, Room Seven.”
We ran.
The room was locked.
The brass key opened it.
Inside was another hidden archive.
Files filled the shelves.
Richard had kept records of everything.
Bank transfers.
Medical files.
Property deeds.
Photographs.
There was even a file labeled:
LILY HAYES — GUARDIANSHIP
I opened it.
My daughter's birth certificate.
Medical history.
School records.
Photographs.
Every detail of her life.
Richard had been tracking her.
For years.
Then I found another file.
MARK HAYES — ASSET STATUS
My entire financial history.
Then:
CLAIRE HAYES — SIGNATURE ACQUISITION
I felt sick.
Richard hadn't just planned to steal the trust.
He had been building a legal case to make Claire look mentally unstable.
If she signed under pressure, he could claim she had acted voluntarily.
I opened the final folder.
DANIEL HAYES — COMPLIANCE
Inside were payment records.
Richard had paid Daniel for years.
But then something unexpected appeared.
A second set of payments.
From Daniel to Richard.
Daniel had eventually started paying him.
Why?
The answer was in the final document.
DANIEL KNOWS ABOUT LUCAS.
I stared.
Daniel knew his own brother existed.
I called Mason.
“We need to find Daniel.”
He nodded.
But before we left, Lily pointed toward a shelf.
“Daddy.”
“What?”
She pointed to a red folder.
“That's Grandma's name.”
My mother's name was written across the front.
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
My mother stood outside the old house.
Beside her was a young man.
Lucas.
The date was twenty years earlier.
On the back:
She knows where he is.
I immediately called my mother.
She didn't answer.
I called again.
Nothing.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
Richard's voice.
“Now you are finally asking the right questions.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Where is Claire?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere your family used to hide people.”
“You're not getting the trust.”
Richard laughed.
“You still think this is about money.”
“Then what is it about?”
“Your father.”
I froze.
“What did he do?”
“He betrayed me.”
“Why?”
“Because he chose you.”
I didn't understand.
“What?”
“He chose his children.”
Richard's voice became colder.
“And that was his greatest mistake.”
The call ended.
Mason stared at me.
“Can you trace it?”
“Not yet.”
Lily looked at me.
“Daddy?”
I knelt.
“What?”
“Is Aunt Claire coming home?”
I hugged her.
“Yes.”
I didn't know if that was true.
But I needed her to believe it.
Then my mother finally called.
Her voice was shaking.
“Mark.”
“Mom, where are you?”
“At the old church.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard found me.”
My heart stopped.
“Are you safe?”
“For now.”
“What do you know about Lucas?”
Silence.
Then:
“Everything.”
“Tell me.”
She began crying.
“Your father had another child.”
“I know.”
“He was born before you.”
I froze.
“Lucas is my older brother?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Richard threatened to kill him.”
“Where is he?”
May you like
My mother whispered:
“He is closer than you think.”
