Chapter 8 - The Empty Cradle
Julian reached the Vance estate in eleven minutes.
The security gates had been forced open.
Two guards lay unconscious near the entrance.
The front doors were wide.
Clara arrived moments later against every medical instruction she had been given.
She left the vehicle before it fully stopped.
Pain tore through her abdomen as she crossed the marble foyer, but she did not slow down.
“Lucas!”
No answer.
The nursery door stood open.
The bassinet was empty.
A white blanket lay on the floor.
Clara stopped breathing.
The room blurred around her.
Julian searched the adjoining bathroom and closet. Daniel contacted police. Security teams spread through the estate.
Clara picked up the blanket.
It was still warm.
A sound came from beneath the crib.
Julian dropped to his knees.
A small monitor had been taped under the wooden frame.
Its screen displayed a live video.
Arthur Sterling sat in a dim room holding Lucas.
The baby was unharmed, wrapped in a dark blue blanket.
Beatrice stood behind Arthur.
Clara moved toward the screen.
“Give him back.”
Arthur looked directly into the camera.
“Bring the twelve percent.”
Julian’s voice became lethal.
“If you hurt him, there is nowhere on earth you can hide.”
Arthur smiled.
“You still believe this is about hiding.”
Beatrice lifted a silver case into view.
Inside were medical vials.
Clara recognized the emblem.
“What are those?”
“The reason Sterling Medical became an empire,” Arthur said.
“The reason Vance Biomedical became one.”
Julian’s jaw tightened.
“My company never used Meridian research.”
“Your father did.”
“I am not my father.”
“No. You are much more sentimental.”
Arthur adjusted Lucas carefully.
Despite everything, he held the baby securely.
That frightened Clara more than cruelty would have. Arthur did not see himself as a kidnapper. He saw himself as a grandfather correcting an arrangement.
“You will transfer Clara’s shares into North Valley,” Arthur continued. “Julian will withdraw every legal action against Sterling Medical. The Meridian archive will be destroyed.”
“And then?” Clara asked.
“You and the child will return to the Sterling estate.”
Beatrice smiled.
“We can still repair this family.”
Clara stared at her.
“You shot my sister.”
“She was unstable.”
“You kidnapped my son.”
“To protect him from Julian.”
Julian stepped closer to the monitor.
“Where are you?”
Arthur ignored the question.
“You have six hours.”
The screen went black.
Clara turned toward Julian.
“Find them.”
“We will.”
“No matter what it costs.”
Julian touched her face.
“I will bring him home.”
Clara pushed his hand away.
“Don’t promise me. Do it.”
The words hurt him, but he accepted them.
Technicians traced the broadcast through a network of relay servers. The signal appeared to originate from three cities at once.
Daniel examined the device beneath the crib.
“It was planted before today.”
“How?” Julian asked.
“One of your household employees.”
Every employee was detained for questioning.
The estate manager, a woman who had worked for Julian for fifteen years, had disappeared.
Her name was Margaret Hale.
Julian recognized the surname from Amelia’s files.
One of the nurses who changed her statement after Amelia’s death had been Teresa Hale.
Margaret was her daughter.
They searched Margaret’s room.
Inside a locked drawer, they found photographs of Lucas taken before his birth.
Images of Clara leaving medical appointments.
Images of Julian entering secure offices.
And a recent photograph of Victoria Vance.
Alive.
She stood beside Arthur Sterling at a private airfield.
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On the back, someone had written:
The Custodian is ready to meet her grandson.
