Chapter 11 - The Night the Power Went Out
Detective Ortiz moved the Hale family to a protected apartment owned by the district attorney’s office.
Only Ortiz, Naomi, and two vetted officers knew the address.
Claire sat at the kitchen table reviewing the court petition while Ethan spoke with a new attorney, Margaret Vale. Margaret had worked with Evelyn years earlier and agreed to represent the family after hearing Mercer’s name.
“He will try to make you look reckless,” Margaret warned through the phone. “He will say you created a conspiracy because you could not accept professional criticism.”
“We have evidence.”
“You have evidence of crimes, but most of it has not been formally authenticated. Mercer only needs to create enough uncertainty for a temporary order.”
“Can he really give Ava to Dr. Wynn?”
“Not permanently. But even a temporary placement could give Northbridge access to her, her records, and parts of the trust.”
Claire looked across the room.
Ava was building a small house from wooden blocks.
The roof kept falling. Each time, Ava quietly rebuilt it.
At 11:47 p.m., the lights went out.
The refrigerator stopped humming.
The apartment fell completely silent.
One of the officers immediately moved everyone into an interior room. The second officer checked the hall.
The building’s backup generator should have activated within seconds.
It did not.
Ava reached for Claire.
“Is this them?”
“We don’t know,” Claire said. “Stay beside me.”
Ethan used a flashlight to guide them.
A noise came from the front door.
Three slow knocks.
The officer looked through the security viewer.
“No one there.”
Another knock came from the rear stairwell.
The officers communicated over radios, but static filled the channel.
Ava whispered, “They did this at the blue room.”
Claire crouched beside her.
“What happened there?”
“The lights went out when a child tried to leave.”
Naomi knelt nearby.
“What did they do after that?”
“They played voices.”
“What voices?”
“Our parents.”
A speaker hidden somewhere in the apartment suddenly activated.
Claire heard her own voice.
“Ava, come into the hallway.”
It sounded completely real.
Ava covered her ears.
Claire held her.
“That isn’t me speaking. I am right here.”
The recording continued.
“Ava, open the door.”
Ethan found the speaker beneath a side table. It had been installed before they arrived.
The safe apartment had been compromised.
The emergency lights finally turned on.
An officer opened the bedroom door and reported that the hallway was clear.
Then Detective Ortiz appeared at the apartment entrance with her weapon secured at her side and two additional officers behind her.
“We’re moving now,” she said.
“How did they find us?” Ethan asked.
“I don’t know.”
Ava pointed toward the window.
A red light flashed from the roof across the street.
Ortiz closed the curtains.
As they prepared to leave, Claire noticed one of Ava’s wooden blocks was missing. In its place sat a small black device.
It contained a message.
The screen displayed a countdown ending at 9:00 a.m., the time of the hearing.
Beneath it were the words:
THE COURT ONLY NEEDS ONE FRIGHTENED CHILD.
A second line appeared.
ASK AVA WHAT SHE HID INSIDE THE DOLL.
Everyone looked toward her.
Ava stared at the floor.
“I didn’t tell them everything,” she whispered.
“What did you hide?” Claire asked.
Ava reached into her backpack and removed a small folded paper.
She had taken it from the doll before police collected the camera.
It was a list of names and dates.
At the bottom, beside M-17, was Claire’s name.
Above Claire’s was another entry.
M-16: HELENA VOSS.
Beside it, someone had written:
STATUS UNKNOWN.
Ava turned the page over.
May you like
There was one final message in Evelyn’s handwriting.
CLAIRE, HELENA IS NOT DEAD.
