Chapter 10 - Vanessa's Last Bargaining Chip)
The nurse remembered seeing Emma leave with a blonde woman.
The woman wore hospital scrubs.
Her face was partly hidden behind a mask.
She told the nurse she was taking Emma for imaging.
No one questioned it.
The hospital went into lockdown.
Daniel became something beyond panic.
He ran from corridor to corridor shouting Emma's name.
Claire tried to stand.
Her legs gave way.
Rebecca caught her.
"Stay here."
"My daughter"
"We'll find her."
Claire grabbed Rebecca's arm.
"Vanessa won't hurt Emma immediately."
Daniel stopped.
Claire looked at him.
"She needs leverage."
"For what?"
"The drive."
Daniel's phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone froze.
He answered.
"Emma?"
Vanessa spoke.
"Bring me Claire's drive."
Daniel's voice changed.
"Where is my daughter?"
"Safe."
"If you touch her"
"Daniel, listen carefully."
He forced himself silent.
"One hour. Bellamy."
Rebecca signaled an officer to trace the call.
Vanessa continued.
"You come alone."
Daniel said, "Let me hear Emma."
Silence.
Then Emma's voice.
"Dad?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Emma."
"I'm okay."
"Where are you?"
The line shifted.
Vanessa returned.
"One hour."
The call ended.
Rebecca looked at the technician.
He shook his head.
Too short.
Daniel reached for the drive.
Rebecca stopped him.
"You're not going alone."
"I am not risking her."
Claire said, "Vanessa wants more than the drive."
Daniel looked at her.
"What?"
"She wants to destroy the annex."
"Why?"
"Evidence."
Rebecca understood.
"Bellamy."
Claire nodded.
"The charity guests were evacuated. Police processed the main annex, but there are records hidden under the old floor."
"How do you know?"
"Marcus talked when he thought I was unconscious."
Rebecca called her team.
Daniel looked at Claire.
"Why would Vanessa bring Emma there?"
"Because she believes she still controls the building."
At Bellamy, Vanessa led Emma through the dark dining room.
Police had sealed the service hallway earlier, but Vanessa used a hidden stairway from the neighboring building.
Emma's wrists were not tied.
Vanessa knew she did not need restraints.
She held a knife.
Not against Emma.
Visible in her hand.
That was enough.
"You could have had everything," Vanessa muttered.
Emma walked silently.
"What?"
"Your father loved me."
Emma looked at her.
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
"He did."
"Then why did you lie to him?"
Vanessa stopped.
"For once, stop talking."
Emma obeyed.
They reached the service hallway.
Yellow police tape crossed the freezer entrance.
Vanessa pulled it down.
The broken lock remained on the floor.
She opened the freezer.
Emma stared at the hidden annex.
Her mother had spent eleven months there.
Vanessa pushed a metal shelf aside.
"Inside."
Emma did not move.
"Why?"
"Because your father is bringing something I need."
"Mom's drive?"
Vanessa stared.
Emma knew from her reaction that she was right.
"You found it."
"Mom left it for Dad."
Vanessa gripped Emma's shoulder.
"Where was it?"
Emma said nothing.
"Where?"
"Somewhere you never thought to look."
Vanessa almost slapped her.
She stopped herself.
Emma was leverage.
She guided Emma into the annex.
For the first time Emma saw the room completely.
Blankets.
Scratches beneath a shelf.
A plastic cup.
A chain.
Marks on the wall covered by fresh paint.
Emma's fear became anger.
"You kept her here."
Vanessa did not answer.
"Why didn't you just let her go?"
"Because she wouldn't stop."
"My mom?"
"She thought being right made her untouchable."
Emma looked at the scratches.
"No."
Vanessa frowned.
"What?"
"Being my mom made her not give up."
Vanessa stared at the child.
Then she heard movement outside.
Daniel.
He entered the freezer holding the drive.
"Emma."
"Dad."
Vanessa pulled Emma behind her.
The knife rose.
Daniel stopped.
"I brought it."
"Put it down."
He placed the drive on a metal shelf.
"Let her go."
"Move back."
Daniel stepped backward.
Vanessa reached for the drive.
Emma saw something Daniel did not.
Claire had told her years ago that when she was frightened, she should never stare only at the frightening thing.
Look for doors.
Look for adults.
Look for something useful.
Emma looked.
The inner annex door.
The red alarm sensor.
The old metal bracket Claire had loosened.
Emma grabbed it.
She slammed it against the sensor.
A piercing alarm exploded through the restaurant.
Vanessa screamed.
Daniel lunged.
Emma ducked.
The knife fell.
Daniel caught Vanessa's wrist.
They crashed into the freezer rack.
Rebecca and two officers rushed from the hallway where they had been waiting.
"Police."
Vanessa released the knife.
Daniel pulled Emma behind him.
Rebecca forced Vanessa to the floor.
Handcuffs clicked around her wrists.
For eleven months Vanessa had controlled doors.
Locks.
Information.
Silence.
Now she lay beside the broken freezer lock while Emma stood over her.
Vanessa looked up.
"You ruined everything."
Emma held Daniel's hand.
"No."
May you like
She looked toward the room where Claire had survived.
"You did."
