Chapter 7 - THE WAREHOUSE
The warehouse smelled like oil, rust, and rain.
I parked three blocks away.
Anna stared at the building.
"My daughter is in there."
"I know."
"No."
She grabbed my arm.
"You don't."
Her hands were shaking.
"I have spent three years imagining this moment."
I looked at her.
"Then don't go in afraid."
"What should I go in as?"
"A mother."
We approached the warehouse.
The doors were open.
Inside, one light flickered.
"Sophia!" Anna screamed.
A voice answered.
"Mommy!"
Anna ran.
I followed.
Sophia was sitting on a wooden chair.
Her wrists weren't tied.
A woman stood beside her.
Anna stopped.
"Maria."
Her sister looked at her.
"Hello, Anna."
"Let her go."
Maria's eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't hurt her."
"Then why is she here?"
"Because Dad said—"
She stopped.
Anna froze.
"Dad?"
Maria looked away.
Then a man's voice came from the darkness.
"Because your sister still refuses to understand."
Charles Whitmore stepped forward.
I had met him at charity events.
He had always seemed charming.
Tonight, he looked different.
Cold.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
"Mr. Martin."
I stepped in front of Anna.
"Let the girl go."
Charles smiled.
"You've become quite protective."
"She's three."
"She's an heir."
"She's a child."
"Both can be true."
Daniel appeared behind him.
His face was bruised.
David stood beside Charles.
Anna gasped.
"What did you do to him?"
Charles didn't answer.
Daniel looked at Anna.
"Don't trust him."
Charles laughed.
"You still think you're the hero."
Daniel said nothing.
Charles turned toward me.
"Here's the arrangement."
"I'm listening."
"You resign."
I frowned.
"From the hotel."
"Yes."
"Then?"
"You transfer controlling ownership to a trust."
I laughed.
"You kidnapped a child for a business negotiation?"
Charles smiled.
"I prefer leverage."
I looked at Sophia.
She was crying.
I felt something inside me snap.
"You don't get the hotel."
Charles shrugged.
"Then the story goes public."
"Which story?"
He pulled out his phone.
"That you kidnapped an employee's children."
I stared at him.
"You fabricated evidence."
"I don't need to prove everything."
He stepped closer.
"I only need people to believe enough of it."
He was right.
That was how modern scandals worked.
Truth didn't have to win.
It only had to arrive too late.
Then I noticed Maria.
She wasn't looking at Charles.
She was looking at me.
Her eyes moved toward a metal door.
Then back.
A signal.
I understood.
"Charles," I said.
He turned.
I threw my phone.
It hit the light switch.
Darkness.
Maria grabbed Sophia.
Daniel tackled David.
Anna ran toward her daughter.
I lunged at Charles.
He swung.
I ducked.
Security alarms suddenly erupted.
Police lights flashed outside.
Charles looked shocked.
I had called the police before entering.
But the police weren't the only ones arriving.
News cameras appeared.
Someone had leaked everything.
Charles looked at me.
"You think this is over?"
"No."
I looked at Daniel.
"It isn't."
Charles was arrested.
David was arrested.
Maria surrendered.
Sophia was safe.
But there was still one problem.
Samuel.
We rushed back to the hotel.
The secured room was empty.
Anna screamed.
"No."
I ran inside.
The crib was overturned.
The window was open.
On the floor was the stuffed elephant.
And beside it was a note.
ONE CHILD WAS ENOUGH TO BRING YOU HERE.
NOW BRING ME THE OTHER.
Anna collapsed.
I picked up the note.
Then I saw something written on the back.
A hotel room number.
ROOM 1907.
My blood froze.
That room had been occupied for six weeks.
By one guest.
A man using the name:
Samuel Martin.
May you like
My own last name.
And suddenly I realized someone had been planning this long before Anna ever entered my suite.
