Chapter 3 - Saint Ormond House
Evelyn rode in the back of an unmarked police car as it sped through the city.
Detective Lena Ortiz sat beside her, speaking rapidly into her phone.
The message on Preston’s device had been traced to a prepaid number that stopped transmitting thirty seconds after the van left the hotel. Traffic cameras had captured the vehicle crossing two intersections before it disappeared into an industrial district.
The license plate belonged to a delivery company whose van had been reported stolen that morning.
Saint Ormond House was not listed on any current city map.
But the name meant something to Evelyn.
She had heard Daniel mention it once.
Three weeks before his death, he had come home after midnight with rain on his coat and fear in his eyes.
Evelyn had asked where he had been.
“At Saint Ormond,” he had said.
She had assumed he meant the old church near the financial district.
The next morning, when she asked again, Daniel denied saying it.
At the time, Evelyn thought exhaustion had confused him.
Now she knew he had lied.
“What was your husband investigating?” Detective Ortiz asked.
“He worked in corporate compliance.”
“For Mercer Development?”
“For Ashford Holdings before that.”
Ortiz looked up.
“Julian Ashford’s company?”
“Daniel left five years ago. He started his own consulting firm.”
“Why did he leave?”
“He said the company was becoming something he didn’t recognize.”
“Did he ever mention Preston Vale?”
“Several times.”
“In what context?”
“He said Preston was dangerous because he looked harmless.”
Ortiz wrote that down.
Evelyn looked through the windshield.
“Do you believe Daniel could be alive?”
The detective did not answer immediately.
“We confirmed that a body was recovered from his vehicle.”
“I identified him.”
“You identified personal effects and viewed him through a hospital window after extensive trauma.”
Evelyn turned toward her.
“What are you saying?”
“I reviewed the original report on the way here. The body was released quickly. No independent DNA comparison appears in the file.”
Evelyn’s pulse quickened.
“The hospital said identification was certain.”
“The medical examiner who signed the report retired two days later.”
“What was his name?”
Ortiz checked her phone.
“Dr. Nathaniel Crowe.”
Evelyn knew the name.
He was one of Julian’s wedding guests.
She had seen him speaking with Caroline near the ballroom entrance.
“Turn around,” Evelyn said.
Ortiz frowned.
“What?”
“Dr. Crowe was at the wedding.”
The detective immediately called the officers still at the hotel.
No one could find him.
He had left the ballroom during the blackout.
The police car crossed an abandoned railway line and entered the oldest industrial district in the city. Warehouses stood silent behind rusted fences.
Marcus had joined the search in another vehicle. He called Ortiz with new information.
Hotel records showed the woman in green had entered using an invitation issued to Beatrice Ashford, Julian’s estranged aunt.
Beatrice had supposedly died twelve years earlier.
There was no photograph attached to the invitation.
The wedding planning office claimed the guest had been approved personally by Caroline.
When questioned, Caroline denied it.
Evelyn called her.
Caroline answered after six rings.
“Have you found Sophie?”
“Why was Beatrice Ashford on your guest list?”
Silence.
“Who told you that name?”
“Security records.”
“Evelyn, this isn’t the time.”
“It is exactly the time.”
“I didn’t invite her.”
“The wedding office says you approved her.”
“Someone used my access.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Evelyn lowered her voice.
“Preston mentioned Daniel before he lost consciousness.”
Caroline stopped breathing for a moment.
“What did he say?”
“That Daniel found an account.”
Another silence.
Then Evelyn heard a door close on Caroline’s end of the call.
“You need to stop asking questions,” Caroline whispered.
“My daughter has been kidnapped.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me what you know.”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“If I tell you, Sophie may never come home.”
Evelyn’s blood turned cold.
“Caroline, are you involved?”
“No.”
“Then help me.”
Caroline began crying.
“Daniel made me promise.”
“Daniel is dead.”
“He wasn’t supposed to be.”
The call disconnected.
Evelyn stared at the phone.
Detective Ortiz had heard enough to understand.
“She knows something.”
“She knows everything.”
They traced Caroline’s location, but her phone had stopped transmitting from the hotel.
The convoy reached a dead end near the river.
Ahead stood a long-abandoned children’s hospital built from dark brick. A stone plaque above the entrance read SAINT ORMOND CONVALESCENT HOUSE.
The building had been closed for nearly thirty years.
The front gates were open.
The stolen white van stood in the courtyard.
Evelyn was out of the car before Ortiz could stop her.
The van was empty.
Inside the hospital, dust covered the floors. Torn curtains moved in broken windows. The smell of mildew filled the corridors.
“Sophie!”
Her voice echoed.
Then came a faint reply.
“Mommy?”
Evelyn ran toward the sound.
It came from the second floor.
Police officers followed with weapons drawn.
At the top of the stairs, a narrow hallway stretched into darkness. A child’s shoe lay near the last door.
Evelyn reached it and pushed inside.
The room contained an iron bed, a wooden chair, and an old projector.
Sophie sat on the bed.
Her wrists were tied with white ribbon.
Evelyn rushed to her.
“Mommy!”
She tore the ribbon away and held her daughter.
“Are you hurt?”
Sophie shook her head.
“A lady brought me here.”
“The woman in green?”
“No.”
“What did she look like?”
“She wore a mask.”
The projector clicked on by itself.
A grainy image appeared on the wall.
Daniel stood in front of the camera.
He looked thinner than Evelyn remembered, with a bruise along his jaw. A date in the corner showed the recording had been made six months after his supposed death.
“Evelyn,” Daniel said, “if you are seeing this, then they have taken Sophie.”
Evelyn covered her mouth.
Sophie stared at the wall.
“Daddy?”
Daniel continued.
“Do not trust Caroline. Do not trust Julian. And whatever happens, do not take Sophie home.”
The video distorted.
Then Daniel leaned closer to the camera.
“The person who ordered my death has been living inside our family from the beginning.”
A sound came from behind Evelyn.
The door slammed shut.
May you like
A lock turned on the other side.
And smoke began pouring through the ventilation grate.
