Chapter 4: The Girl Who Vanished Twice
For three seconds, nobody moved.
James stared at Martin Hale, waiting for him to take back the words.
“What do you mean, Lily has disappeared?”” James demanded.
Martin crumpled the envelope in his fist.
“Keep your voice down.””
“My daughter is missing, and you want me to keep my voice down?””
One of the men who had arrived at the house stepped inside. He was broad-shouldered, with a shaved head and a small earpiece tucked behind his right ear. The other remained outside, watching the street.
“Mr. Hale,” the first man said, “we lost contact with the driver at 11:40 this morning.””
Martin turned sharply.
“You were supposed to have two people watching her.””
“We did.””
“Then how did she disappear?””
The man hesitated.
“She left through the rear entrance of the building. We found her coat in the parking lot.””
Martin struck the kitchen counter with his palm.
“You had one job!””
Rebecca flinched. James immediately moved between her and Martin.
“Enough,” James said.
“Where was she living?””
Martin ignored him.
“Did she take anything?””
“A backpack. Some cash. Her identification documents.””
“Who helped her?””
“We don't know.””
Martin turned toward James, his eyes narrowing.
“This is your fault.””
James almost laughed.
“You've spent fifteen years keeping my daughter from me. Now she's missing, and somehow that's my fault?””
“You appeared at the house, and within hours everything fell apart.””
“Maybe your entire operation was already falling apart.””
The broad-shouldered man stepped closer.
“Mr. Carter, you should leave.””
James didn't even look at him.
“Tell me where she was living.””
Martin pulled a sheet from the envelope and threw it across the counter.
“Pine Hollow Residential Academy. Outside Columbus. She was enrolled under another name.””
James picked up the paper.
*Lillian Morgan. Age sixteen.*
Her photograph showed a girl with dark curls falling over her shoulders. Her eyes were unmistakably his.
But it wasn't the photograph that stopped him.
It was the date stamped beneath it.
The picture had been taken three days earlier.
James pressed the paper flat against the counter.
“Why was she living in a residential academy?””
Martin folded his arms.
“Because she needed structure.””
“She needed her family.””
“She had a family.””
“Not one that told her lies about her father.””
Martin's jaw tightened.
“You have no idea what she was told.””
“Then tell me.””
For a moment, Martin looked toward the two men, as if calculating how much he could reveal.
Finally, he said, “Lily was told that you died in a motorcycle accident when she was little.””
James felt the words settle inside him like stones.
Rebecca covered her mouth.
“I didn't know,” she whispered.
“I swear, James, I didn't know they told her that.””
James looked at her.
“Who told her?””
“Patricia handled the arrangements,” Martin replied.
“She was the only person Lily trusted.””
“Patricia isn't Lily's mother.””
“No. But she's been the closest thing to one.””
James seized the edge of the counter.
“Where is Patricia now?””
Martin shook his head.
“Probably looking for Lily.””
“Then we'll find her first.””
“You think you can walk into a school and demand information? The records are sealed. Her identity was changed. Her guardianship was arranged through people who won't appreciate you digging into it.””
James pulled out his phone.
“Then I'll start with the police.””
Martin laughed bitterly.
“Go ahead. But before you do, you might want to know that someone filed a complaint against you this morning.””
James stared at him.
“What complaint?””
“Harassment. Threats. Trespassing. And an allegation that you attempted to abduct a minor.””
The broad-shouldered man reached inside his jacket and produced a folded document.
James scanned the first page.
His own name was typed at the top.
The complaint claimed that he had approached Lily's school, threatened her guardians, and tried to take her away.
The date was yesterday.
James had never been near the academy.
“Someone forged this.””
“Perhaps,” Martin said.
“But the police will investigate it.””
Rebecca grabbed James's sleeve.
“James, you have to go. Please.””
He turned toward her.
“I'm not leaving you here with him.””
“You don't understand what he'll do.””
Martin's expression hardened.
“Rebecca, go upstairs.””
She didn't move.
“Now.””
James watched Rebecca's face. The fear there wasn't ordinary fear. It was the terror of someone who had learned, through repetition, exactly what happened when she disobeyed.
“Rebecca,” James said softly, “come with me.””
She shook her head.
“He'll find us.””
“Let him try.””
Martin stepped between them.
“Touch that door, Carter, and I'll have you arrested before you reach the street.””
James looked at the two men in dark jackets. Neither moved, but both were watching his hands.
He had spent enough years in dangerous places to recognize when a confrontation would accomplish nothing.
So he did something Martin didn't expect.
He smiled.
“You're right,” James said.
“I should leave.””
Martin relaxed slightly.
James placed the school photograph inside his jacket.
“But I'm taking this.””
Martin lunged for it.
James caught his wrist and pushed him back against the counter.
“Don't.””
The room went silent.
James released him.
Then he walked toward the front door without looking back.
Outside, the afternoon wind cut through his jacket. He mounted his motorcycle, but before starting the engine, he called Frank.
“I need you to find Pine Hollow Residential Academy.””
“Already working on it,” Frank replied.
“James, there's something else. I ran the name Rebecca gave you through the old records.””
“And?””
“Her sister Patricia was reported missing six years ago.””
James frowned.
“Missing?””
“That's what the report says. But here's the strange part. The report was filed by Martin Hale.””
James looked through the window.
Martin stood inside the house, watching him.
“Frank, I want everything you can find on Martin. His businesses, his properties, his financial records. Everything.””
“What's going on?””
“I think my daughter has been hidden inside a lie for fifteen years.””
“And now?””
James started the motorcycle.
“Now somebody's afraid she's finally going to tell the truth.””
He pulled away from the curb, heading toward the highway.
His phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
He answered without slowing down.
A girl's voice came through the speaker, thin and frightened.
“Are you James Carter?””
James gripped the handlebars.
“Yes. Who is this?””
“I don't have much time.””
“What's your name?””
The girl took a shaky breath.
“My name is Lily.””
His heart slammed against his ribs.
“Lily, sweetheart, where are you?””
“I can't tell you. They're looking for me.””
“Listen to me. I'm your father.””
Silence.
Then came a broken little laugh.
“No,” she whispered.
“My father is dead.””
“That's what they told you, but it's not true.””
“I saw your picture.””
James nearly missed the turn onto the highway.
“What picture?””
“The one they keep in the office. They said you were a dangerous man who tried to take me away from my mother.””
James felt tears sting his eyes.
“Lily, none of that is true.””
A door slammed somewhere on her end of the call.
The girl gasped.
“Someone's here.””
“Lily, stay on the phone!””
“There's something you need to know about Patricia. She didn't take me because she hated you.””
A man's voice shouted in the background.
The call crackled.
Then Lily whispered the words that made James's blood turn cold.
May you like
“She took me because she knew what happened to my real mother.””
The line went dead.
