Chapter 8 - WHERE IS SOPHIE?
Nathan remembered almost nothing about the drive back to Lakeshore.
Red lights.
Marcus shouting into a phone.
Lauren beside him repeating that hospital security had locked down exits.
The city passing in a blur.
Only one thought remained clear.
Sophie.
Seven years old.
Small enough to still believe every promise adults made.
Nathan had promised he would come back.
He had promised she would be safe.
The moment the car stopped, Nathan was out.
He ran through the emergency entrance.
A security supervisor met him.
“Mr. Cole—”
“Where is she?”
“We’re reviewing cameras.”
“Where is Emma?”
“Room 814.”
Nathan took the stairs because the elevators were locked during the security response.
Emma was sitting on the edge of the bed when he entered.
Her face was white.
“Find her.”
Nathan crossed the room.
“We will.”
“No.”
Emma’s voice cracked.
“You don’t understand.”
“I do.”
“I was supposed to protect her!”
“She disappeared during a hospital emergency.”
“I’m her sister!”
“And you have fractured ribs and a concussion.”
Tears spilled down Emma’s cheeks.
“That doesn’t matter!”
“It matters to me.”
She pushed at him weakly.
Nathan caught her shoulders.
“Emma.”
“She’s all I have.”
The words cut through him.
Nathan stared at her.
“No.”
Emma stopped.
He softened his voice.
“She is not all you have anymore.”
Emma’s face crumpled.
Nathan pulled her against him carefully.
For the first time, his daughter let him hold her.
Only for a few seconds.
Then she whispered, “Bring her back.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“I will.”
Marcus entered.
“We found video.”
Nathan turned.
A hospital security clip showed the fire alarm beginning at 10:42 p.m.
Nurses moved patients.
Staff flooded the corridor.
At 10:44, Sophie stepped outside Emma’s room, probably looking for Nathan.
A woman in blue scrubs approached.
She crouched.
Said something.
Sophie hesitated.
Then took her hand.
Nathan’s jaw tightened.
“Who is she?”
“Not hospital staff.”
The next camera showed the woman leading Sophie into a service elevator.
“Exit?”
“Loading dock.”
“Vehicle?”
Marcus switched clips.
A gray minivan.
Temporary plate.
Nathan stared.
“Can we track it?”
“Traffic cameras caught it heading west.”
“Do it.”
Lauren entered.
“I know who the woman is.”
Everyone turned.
She held up her phone.
“Facial match from an old employee file.”
Nathan took it.
Name: Celeste Ward.
Former executive assistant.
Worked for Northstar eleven years earlier.
Terminated after internal theft allegations.
Reporting executive?
Graham Cole.
Nathan looked at Lauren.
“Find Graham.”
Marcus answered first.
“Gone.”
“What?”
“He left the building five minutes after we did.”
Nathan called his uncle.
Voicemail.
Again.
Voicemail.
Emma watched.
“Your uncle took her?”
Nathan didn’t answer.
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
The room froze.
Nathan answered immediately.
“Where is she?”
A woman’s voice.
“Mr. Cole?”
Sophie.
Nathan closed his eyes.
“Sophie.”
“Are you mad?”
His heart nearly broke.
“No. Never.”
“The lady said Emma needed medicine and I had to go help.”
Nathan stared at Marcus.
Marcus was already tracing.
“Where are you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Look around.”
“It’s dark.”
“Are you in a car?”
“No.”
“A building?”
“Yes.”
“Is the woman there?”
A pause.
“No.”
Nathan lowered his voice.
“Listen to me carefully. You did nothing wrong.”
Sophie sniffed.
“I should’ve stayed with Emma.”
“Not your fault. I need you to help me find you.”
There was a sound near her.
She whispered, “Someone’s coming.”
“Sophie—”
The line disconnected.
Nathan’s face went cold.
Marcus spoke.
“Call originated from an industrial area near Cicero.”
“How accurate?”
“Within about six blocks.”
Nathan grabbed his jacket.
Emma said, “I’m coming.”
“No.”
She opened her mouth.
Nathan looked at her.
“Not this time.”
Something in his expression stopped the argument.
Nathan crouched beside the bed.
“I need you safe when I bring her back.”
Emma swallowed.
“When.”
“Yes.”
Not if.
When.
Nathan, Marcus, and four private security officers left.
Lauren stayed with Emma.
Chicago police were notified, but Nathan did not wait for the investigation to move at normal speed.
Marcus pulled property records.
Six abandoned warehouses.
Three active businesses.
One storage company.
Then Lauren called.
“Nathan.”
“What?”
“I searched Celeste Ward.”
“And?”
“She owns a storage facility through an LLC.”
Nathan’s pulse jumped.
“Address.”
She gave it.
Marcus looked at the map.
“Four blocks from the phone signal.”
They reached the building in nine minutes.
Police were seconds behind them.
Nathan was ordered to remain outside.
He ignored the order until Marcus physically blocked him.
“You go charging in and you become another problem.”
“My seven-year-old—”
“I know.”
Nathan stopped.
Technically Sophie was not his daughter.
Not biologically.
But the distinction suddenly felt meaningless.
He had promised her.
That was enough.
Police entered.
Three minutes.
Four.
Five.
Nathan watched the doors.
At six minutes, an officer came out.
“We found the girl.”
Nathan nearly collapsed.
Sophie emerged wrapped in a police blanket.
The second she saw him, she ran.
Nathan dropped to his knees.
She slammed into him.
“You came again.”
He held her so tightly she squeaked.
“Always.”
“I was scared.”
“So was I.”
“Really?”
“Terrified.”
Sophie buried her face in his shoulder.
Nathan looked toward Marcus.
“Celeste?”
“Gone.”
“Anyone else?”
“They found one security camera and a burner phone.”
Nathan stood with Sophie in his arms.
“Take me inside.”
Police objected.
Nathan waited until the scene was cleared enough.
Inside the storage office, officers had found the phone Sophie used.
A chair.
Water.
Snacks.
No obvious evidence anyone intended to physically hurt her.
Which meant the kidnapping had another purpose.
Marcus examined the desk.
“Here.”
A printed note.
Nathan read it.
STOP THE PATERNITY FILING.
COMPLETE THE STERLING ACQUISITION.
THE GIRLS GO HOME.
Nathan stared.
Sophie was leverage.
Not target.
Marcus said, “This links the abduction to the deal.”
Nathan folded the paper.
“And Graham.”
“Probably.”
“Not probably.”
Marcus looked at him.
“We still need proof.”
Nathan’s phone rang again.
This time Graham.
Nathan answered.
“You took a child.”
Graham’s voice was calm.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You’re finished.”
“Nathan, you sound unstable.”
Nathan almost laughed.
“You always underestimate me when I’m angry.”
“I’m asking you to think rationally.”
“You’re asking me to complete a fraudulent acquisition.”
A pause.
Then Graham said, “Come to my house.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re blaming the wrong person.”
Nathan stared into the darkness.
“Convince me.”
“Midnight. Alone.”
Marcus shook his head.
Nathan ignored him.
“What are you offering?”
“The truth about Rachel.”
Nathan’s chest tightened.
“You had her followed.”
“Yes.”
“You tried to silence her.”
“No.”
“The SUV?”
“Not mine.”
“The kidnapping?”
“Not mine.”
Nathan clenched his jaw.
“Then whose?”
Graham’s next words were barely audible.
“The same person who killed Rachel.”
Nathan stopped breathing.
“Rachel died from a heart condition.”
“No.”
Graham’s voice changed.
For the first time, Nathan heard fear.
“Rachel Bennett was murdered.”
The call ended.
Nathan stared at the phone.
Sophie tugged his sleeve.
“Can we go see Emma?”
Nathan looked down at her.
“Yes.”
On the drive back, Sophie fell asleep against him.
Nathan held her carefully.
Marcus sat opposite.
“You’re not going alone.”
“I know.”
“You said that too quickly.”
“I’m learning.”
Marcus looked surprised.
Nathan glanced at Sophie.
“I have daughters watching now.”
“Plural?”
Nathan looked down at the sleeping child.
He did not correct himself.
Back at the hospital, Emma cried when Sophie entered.
The sisters held each other for several minutes.
Nathan stepped into the hallway.
Lauren followed.
“You’re meeting Graham.”
“Yes.”
“Nathan, this could be a trap.”
“Almost certainly.”
“And you’re going?”
“Yes.”
Lauren stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because for sixteen years, every person involved decided which truths I was allowed to know.”
Nathan looked through the window at Emma and Sophie.
“That ends tonight.”
At 11:58 p.m., Nathan arrived outside Graham Cole’s mansion in Lake Forest.
He appeared to be alone.
Marcus and two officers were three minutes away, monitoring through a hidden microphone.
Nathan entered.
The house was dark.
“Graham?”
No answer.
Nathan walked toward the study.
The door stood open.
A lamp burned beside the desk.
Graham was sitting in a chair.
His shirt was torn.
Blood marked his temple.
Nathan rushed forward.
“Graham.”
His uncle opened his eyes.
“Nathan.”
“What happened?”
Graham gripped his sleeve.
“You need to listen.”
“Who did this?”
Graham looked terrified.
“He knows everything.”
“Who?”
“The Sterling deal. Rachel. Emma.”
“WHO?”
Graham’s fingers tightened.
May you like
Then he whispered a name Nathan never expected.
“Robert Sterling.”
