Chapter 18 - The Woman in the Photograph
The recording lasted twenty-seven minutes.
Andrew explained that Leah had been adopted by Daniel and Celia Mercer, a couple living in Wisconsin. They had been told her birth mother died during delivery.
The Mercers appeared to have been loving parents.
Andrew did not intend to remove Leah from them. He only wanted her to know the truth and decide whether she wished to meet her biological family.
Martin Voss arranged the first contact.
Then everything changed.
According to Andrew, Martin demanded money before revealing Leah’s location. When Andrew refused, Martin warned that exposing the altered adoption could destroy the Mercers’ family and lead to criminal charges against hospital employees.
Andrew began investigating Martin instead.
He found dozens of sealed maternity files connected to Martin’s mother, Claudia Voss, who had worked as an administrator at the hospital.
The recording contained no proof that Claudia had taken babies. Andrew only knew records had been changed and parents had been deceived.
Near the end, his voice became quieter.
“Lorraine cannot know yet. She wants our daughter back so badly that she will not care who gets hurt. She will call it love. She will believe that makes everything acceptable.”
Jake stopped the recording.
His father had understood Lorraine years before Megan entered the family.
The woman with red hair in the photograph was Celia Mercer. Public records showed she had died seven years earlier. Daniel Mercer had died the previous winter.
Leah’s current address was protected.
Detective Bennett contacted Wisconsin authorities and requested assistance.
Before they responded, Emma noticed something in the photograph.
A man stood in the reflection of a shop window behind Leah and Celia.
His face was partly blocked by a street sign.
But the briefcase in his hand carried a metal emblem.
MV.
Martin Voss had been watching Leah since she was a child.
That evening, Bennett received confirmation that someone named Leah Mercer still lived in Wisconsin.
Then a second message arrived.
May you like
Leah’s apartment had been empty for three days.
On her kitchen table, police found a recent photograph of Jake, Megan, and Grace.
