Chapter 8 - THE PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN LAST MONTH
The photograph had been printed on ordinary paper.
Ethan stood outside an unfamiliar medical building, holding a gray stuffed rabbit identical to Lily’s. His hair was longer than Claire remembered, and a pale scar crossed the side of his face.
He looked older.
Alive.
A date appeared in the lower corner.
Thirty-two days earlier.
Claire studied the image until the lines of his face became impossible to separate from memory.
“That could be altered,” she said.
Detective Moreno nodded.
“We are verifying it.”
“Where was it taken?”
“We identified the building as a private research facility outside Vancouver.”
“Why did Marcus have it?”
“He is still refusing to answer.”
Claire placed the photograph on the hotel desk.
Lily slept in the next room, unaware that the father she had mourned might have been alive throughout most of her childhood.
Adrian remained near the window.
“There was a note behind the photograph.”
“What did it say?”
“He remembers everything.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Six years earlier, Ethan had called her from the road on the night he disappeared.
His final words had been difficult to hear through the storm.
He had told her he found proof.
Claire asked proof of what.
The call ended.
She had always assumed he was referring to Marcus’s theft from the family business.
Now she wondered whether Ethan had discovered something involving Lily before she was born.
Dr. Reed returned shortly after midnight.
She carried a hospital laptop and looked shaken.
“I found the archived research records.”
Claire stood.
“Was Lily enrolled?”
“No.”
Relief came too quickly.
Dr. Reed continued.
“But her prenatal information was used to create a potential participant file.”
“Who authorized it?”
“Dr. Vale.”
“How did he obtain the records?”
“The file says they were provided by a family representative.”
“Evelyn.”
“Possibly.”
Dr. Reed opened the laptop.
“The program studied inherited immune conditions. Researchers were seeking newborns with specific genetic markers.”
Claire felt sick.
“Lily had not been born.”
“They used your prenatal screening.”
“Without my permission.”
“Yes.”
“What does Ethan have to do with it?”
Dr. Reed displayed a scanned letter.
Ethan had written it two weeks before his disappearance.
The letter accused Dr. Vale of obtaining private medical information through the Shaw family foundation. It also accused Marcus of accepting money in exchange for access to Claire’s records.
Claire read the final paragraph aloud.
If anything happens to me, the account created for Lily contains copies of every transaction and communication. No member of the Shaw family has access.
The mysterious account had never been a financial account alone.
It was a vault.
The deposits were not only money. They were signals confirming that evidence remained protected.
“Why did he use Lily’s identity?” Claire asked.
Adrian examined the document.
“He may have believed an account connected to an unborn child would be difficult to locate.”
“Then why deposit money?”
“To keep it active. Or to pay for something connected to her protection.”
Detective Moreno’s phone vibrated.
She read the message.
“Marcus has agreed to speak.”
Claire wanted to attend the questioning.
Moreno refused.
Instead, she returned three hours later with a recorded statement.
Marcus admitted using Lily’s trust to save his failing company. He claimed Evelyn approved the first transfer but did not know about the later withdrawals.
He also admitted that Dr. Vale provided false hospital invoices.
In return, Marcus gave Vale access to Lily’s medical data and promised to convince Claire to enroll her in a private treatment study.
“Bring me the child first,” Claire said.
Moreno nodded.
“Vale wanted Lily brought to the research facility before the bank freeze became public.”
“Why?”
“Marcus claims he does not know.”
“He was going to take my daughter to another country without telling me?”
“He says Vale told him the program would restore the stolen money.”
Claire laughed once in disbelief.
“He tried to solve stealing from Lily by selling access to Lily.”
“Essentially.”
“What does Marcus know about Ethan?”
Detective Moreno pressed play on the recording.
Marcus’s voice filled the room.
Ethan discovered the agreement before Lily was born. He threatened to report Vale and Grandfather’s foundation. Vale said he would handle it.
The detective paused.
Claire could hear her own heartbeat.
“Did Vale cause the crash?”
“Marcus says he does not know.”
“Do you believe him?”
“I believe he knows more than he has admitted.”
“Where is Dr. Vale now?”
“Missing.”
Dr. Reed looked up.
“He attended a board meeting yesterday.”
“He left the country this afternoon on a private aircraft.”
Claire turned toward Adrian.
“Can he reach Ethan?”
“We do not know where Ethan is.”
“The photograph was taken at his facility.”
“The building is owned through another company.”
“Connected to Vale?”
“Yes.”
Claire walked into the next room and sat beside Lily.
Her daughter stirred.
“Mommy?”
“I am here.”
“Did you find Daddy?”
Claire looked toward the photograph on the desk.
“We found a picture.”
“Is he smiling?”
“No.”
“Maybe he forgot how.”
Claire pressed her lips to Lily’s forehead.
The next morning, authorities arrested Marcus on charges of fraud, identity misuse, conspiracy, and exploitation of a protected medical fund.
Evelyn was charged with unlawful trust transfer and obstruction for hiding the ledger, although prosecutors noted that her cooperation could affect the final outcome.
Dr. Vale’s accounts were frozen.
The research program was suspended.
Assets worth more than seven hundred thousand dollars were seized.
For the first time since the investigation began, the immediate danger to Lily’s fund started to recede.
Then a package arrived at the hotel.
There was no return address.
Inside was Lily’s original stuffed rabbit.
Not an identical copy.
The real one.
The toy that had disappeared from their home the morning Marcus entered.
A small recorder had been sewn into its back.
May you like
When Claire pressed the button, Ethan’s voice filled the room.
“Claire, do not trust the hospital.”
