Chapter 7 - the empty bed)
Rachel drove faster than she had ever driven in her life.
Daniel sat beside her.
Laura followed in the silver sedan.
Rachel called Megan repeatedly.
No answer.
She called the police.
Cole answered on the second ring.
"Rachel?"
"Go to Megan's house."
"What happened?"
"Evelyn knows where Oliver is."
Cole's voice changed immediately.
"Are you there?"
"Ten minutes away."
"Do not enter until officers arrive."
Rachel ignored him.
When she turned onto Megan's street, the front door was open.
Rachel did not stop the car properly.
She ran.
"Megan!"
No answer.
The living room lamp was broken.
A glass lay shattered near the staircase.
Rachel raced upstairs.
Oliver's bed was empty.
The blankets were on the floor.
"Megan!"
A sound came from the bathroom.
Rachel opened the door.
Megan was sitting against the bathtub, dazed.
Blood ran from a small cut near her forehead.
"Megan."
Rachel dropped beside her.
"Where's Oliver?"
Megan looked confused.
"She took him."
Rachel's body went cold.
"Who?"
"The old woman."
Evelyn.
Daniel reached the doorway.
Megan saw him and recoiled.
"You."
Daniel stopped.
Rachel grabbed Megan's shoulders.
"Where did she take Oliver?"
"I don't know."
"What happened?"
"Someone knocked. I thought it was the police."
Megan began crying.
"Evelyn came in with a man."
"What man?"
"I don't know."
"Was it Doctor Vale?"
Megan shook her head.
"Young. Maybe thirty."
Daniel crouched.
"Did he have a scar?"
Megan looked at him.
"On his neck?"
Daniel stood abruptly.
Rachel stared at him.
"You know him."
Daniel did not answer fast enough.
"Daniel."
"His name is Connor Briggs."
Rachel remembered the insurance paperwork.
"Nolan Briggs?"
"His son."
"What does he do?"
Daniel looked sick.
"Private security."
Rachel stood.
"Security for who?"
"My mother."
Police sirens approached.
Cole entered minutes later with officers.
They immediately issued an abduction alert.
Rachel gave them Evelyn's vehicle information.
Daniel provided addresses.
Laura remained outside until Cole noticed her.
He stared at her for several seconds.
"Laura Mercer."
Laura said nothing.
Cole approached slowly.
"My father spent years wondering what happened to you."
Laura's expression was cold.
"Your father wrote that I left voluntarily."
"He regretted it."
"Convenient."
Cole accepted the accusation.
"We can discuss him later. Right now your nephew is missing."
Laura nodded.
For the next hour, the house became a command center.
Then Rachel remembered the hidden cameras.
"Evelyn watched our house."
Cole looked up.
"If she took Oliver, maybe she's still using the same system."
Daniel opened a laptop.
"The cameras routed through a private server."
"Can you access it?"
"I don't know."
He entered passwords.
Nothing.
Laura watched.
"Try Dad's birthday."
Daniel did.
The system opened.
Rachel stared at dozens of camera feeds.
Her house.
The basement.
The driveway.
An empty office.
A warehouse.
Cole leaned closer.
"What is that location?"
Daniel recognized it.
"My father's old textile property."
"Address."
Daniel gave it.
Rachel stared at one feed.
A camera showed a small room.
A chair.
A metal table.
Then someone entered.
Evelyn.
Rachel grabbed the screen.
"Where is Oliver?"
Evelyn walked across the room.
Behind her appeared Connor Briggs.
He was carrying a sleeping child.
Oliver.
Rachel made a sound that was barely human.
Cole turned to his officers.
"Move."
Rachel grabbed his arm.
"I'm coming."
"No."
"That is my son."
"And we're going into a potentially hostile location."
"Then arrest me later."
Cole stared at her.
He realized arguing would waste time.
"Stay behind the entry team."
Rachel nodded.
Daniel followed.
Cole stopped him.
"You remain here."
Daniel shook his head.
"She is my mother."
"Exactly."
Laura spoke.
"I'm going."
Cole looked at her.
Laura said, "That building has a second tunnel."
Daniel turned.
"What tunnel?"
Laura looked at him.
"Dad showed me when we were children."
Cole paused.
"Where does it exit?"
"Behind the eastern loading dock."
Cole changed the plan.
Twenty minutes later, police vehicles stopped two streets away from the abandoned textile building.
Rachel could see the broken windows.
Laura pointed toward an overgrown drainage area.
"The tunnel entrance is there."
Cole divided the officers.
Rachel remained behind him.
They approached quietly.
Then the warehouse lights turned off.
Every window went black.
A phone rang in Rachel's pocket.
Unknown number.
She answered.
Evelyn whispered, "You should have listened to your husband."
Rachel closed her eyes.
"Give me my son."
"He is my grandson."
"Give him back."
"He deserves a stable family."
"You chained him."
"He needed correction."
Rachel's rage returned.
"If you touch him again, I swear to God."
Evelyn laughed softly.
"You still think this is about discipline."
Rachel froze.
"What is it about?"
A pause.
Then Evelyn answered.
"Ask Laura why your son matters so much."
The call ended.
Rachel turned.
Laura stood several feet away.
Her expression was different.
"What did she mean?"
Laura looked toward the warehouse.
"Not now."
"What did she mean?"
Cole interrupted.
"We move now."
They entered through the tunnel.
The underground corridor smelled of rust and damp concrete.
At the end, a steel door opened into the warehouse basement.
A child's cry echoed above them.
Rachel ran.
Cole grabbed her.
"Stay behind me."
They climbed.
The main floor was empty.
Then Rachel saw the silver chain.
It lay across the floor like a trail.
One end disappeared through a doorway.
Rachel followed it.
Inside the room, Oliver sat on a chair.
He was crying.
The chain was not around his neck this time.
It had been wrapped around the chair legs.
"Mommy."
Rachel ran to him.
Evelyn was nowhere.
Neither was Connor.
Cole's officers swept the rooms.
Laura helped Rachel free Oliver.
He threw himself into her arms.
Rachel kissed his hair repeatedly.
"It's okay. Mommy's here."
Oliver sobbed against her.
Then he whispered something.
"Grandma said Daddy isn't my daddy."
Rachel stopped moving.
Laura stepped backward.
Rachel looked at her.
"Laura."
Laura's eyes filled with fear.
"What does she know?"
Laura said nothing.
May you like
"Laura."
A gunshot exploded somewhere in the warehouse.
