Chapter 6: The Girl Behind the Glass
The room went silent.
Maya stared at Sarah.
“A prison?””
Sarah nodded.
“Daniel wasn't the only person involved.””
Marcus picked up the birth record.
“Who was incarcerated?””
Sarah looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“My father.””
Marcus frowned.
“You told me your father died.””
“He did.””
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
Sarah shook her head.
“That's not what the number means.””
Vanessa looked at her.
“You know what it means?””
Sarah nodded.
“I found it in Daniel's files.””
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“What files?””
“The files I stole six months ago.””
Maya stared at her.
“You broke into his house?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I knew someone had been tracking me.””
Sarah pulled out her phone.
“I found photographs.””
She opened a folder.
The first image showed an old brick building.
The second showed a hallway.
The third showed a young Black woman standing behind a glass partition.
Maya's heart stopped.
She took the phone.
“Who is that?””
Sarah didn't answer.
Maya zoomed in.
The woman had long braids.
A small scar crossed her eyebrow.
She looked about seventeen.
Maya stared at the face.
Something about it felt terrifyingly familiar.
Marcus looked over her shoulder.
His eyes widened.
“That's her.””
Maya turned.
“How do you know?””
Marcus swallowed.
“Because I saw that face once.””
“When?””
He looked toward Vanessa.
“Seventeen years ago.””
Vanessa began crying.
Maya turned back to the photograph.
“That's Amara?””
Sarah nodded.
“I believe so.””
Maya stared at the screen.
“Where was this taken?””
Sarah answered,
“Juvenile detention.””
Maya's mouth fell open.
“Why would my sister be in detention?””
“We don't know.””
Vanessa whispered,
“I know.””
Everyone turned.
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“She was arrested.””
Sarah's voice sharpened.
“For what?””
Vanessa looked at Maya.
“For a fire.””
Maya stared at her.
“What fire?””
“The night she was taken.””
Marcus shook his head.
“No.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“Daniel said she started it.””
“Why?””
“To destroy the hospital records.””
Sarah stepped closer.
“My daughter was a newborn.””
“Not Amara.””
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“Someone switched the babies.””
Silence.
Maya stared at her.
“What?””
Vanessa looked at Marcus.
“Daniel wasn't supposed to take Amara.””
Marcus went still.
“Then who?””
Vanessa's lips trembled.
“You.””
Maya's blood ran cold.
“What?””
“They wanted Maya.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“Why?””
“Because of Sarah's inheritance.””
Sarah's face hardened.
“My inheritance?””
Vanessa nodded.
“Your father left everything to your children.””
Marcus looked confused.
“I thought Sarah had no inheritance.””
“She did.””
Vanessa wiped her face.
“A trust worth millions.””
Maya stared at Sarah.
Sarah shook her head slowly.
“I never knew.””
“Because Daniel made sure you didn't.””
Marcus's voice was low.
“And where does Vanessa fit into this?””
Vanessa looked at him.
“I was supposed to help Daniel take Maya.””
Maya stepped backward.
Her face went blank.
“You were going to take me?””
Vanessa nodded.
“But I couldn't.””
“So you took Amara instead?””
“I thought I was saving you.””
Maya's voice broke.
“You gave them my sister.””
“I thought they would let her go.””
“They put her in prison.””
“I know.””
“You knew.””
“I found out years later.””
Maya stared at Vanessa.
“You had seventeen years to tell me.””
“I was afraid Daniel would kill you.””
Sarah stepped forward.
“He wouldn't have to.””
Vanessa looked at her.
“What?””
Sarah held up another photograph.
“He already killed someone.””
She turned the screen toward Vanessa.
The photograph showed an older man lying unconscious in a hospital bed.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“Dad.””
Sarah nodded.
“He survived.””
Vanessa's eyes widened.
“He's alive?””
“He woke up last month.””
Marcus stared at Sarah.
“Why didn't you tell us?””
“Because he told me something.””
Sarah's voice became barely audible.
“He said Amara wasn't transferred to juvenile detention.””
Maya frowned.
“But the photograph—”
“She was there.””
Sarah looked at Maya.
“For two days.””
“Then where did she go?””
Sarah hesitated.
“Daniel took her.””
Maya felt the room spinning.
“Where?””
Sarah looked toward the window.
The dark SUV was still parked across the street.
But Daniel was gone.
Marcus checked the street.
“He left.””
Vanessa suddenly screamed.
“Get down!””
The kitchen window exploded.
Glass sprayed across the marble floor.
Marcus tackled Maya to the ground.
Sarah pulled Vanessa behind the island.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Maya heard her own breathing.
Fast.
Sharp.
Alive.
Marcus lifted his head.
“Everyone okay?””
Sarah nodded.
Vanessa was shaking.
Maya looked toward the broken window.
A small black object had landed on the kitchen floor.
Marcus crawled toward it.
It was a phone.
Not Vanessa's.
Not Maya's.
Marcus picked it up.
The screen lit automatically.
A live video appeared.
A young woman sat in a dim room.
Long braids.
The scar above her eyebrow.
Maya stared.
The woman looked directly into the camera.
Then she spoke.
Her voice was quiet.
“Dad?””
Marcus stopped breathing.
Maya grabbed his arm.
The girl continued.
“If Maya is with you…”
She swallowed.
“Tell her I'm sorry.””
Maya's eyes filled.
“Amara…”
The video suddenly changed.
A man's face appeared.
Daniel.
He leaned toward the camera.
“Now you know where your sister is.””
The screen went black.
Then one final message appeared.
May you like
*COME ALONE, MAYA.*
*OR SHE DISAPPEARS AGAIN.*
