Chapter 13 - The Night Lily Disappeared
Emma called Sarah immediately.
No answer.
She called again.
Nothing.
Daniel stood.
"Emma."
She grabbed her keys.
"Stay here."
"I'm coming."
"No."
"That's my daughter."
"Then act like her father and do exactly what I say."
Daniel stopped.
Emma called Brooks while driving.
Within eleven minutes, police surrounded Sarah's safe location.
The front door was unlocked.
No forced entry.
Sarah was found unconscious in the kitchen.
Alive.
Drugged.
Lily was gone.
Emma stood inside the bedroom staring at the empty bed.
The window was closed.
No broken locks.
No struggle.
A stuffed rabbit lay on the pillow.
Brooks approached quietly.
"We have cameras from across the street."
Emma turned.
"Show me."
Video showed a black SUV arriving at one twenty-three.
A woman stepped out.
She entered using a key.
Seven minutes later, she carried Lily outside wrapped in a blanket.
Sarah followed behind her.
Walking voluntarily.
Then Sarah collapsed near the kitchen after returning inside.
Emma zoomed in.
The woman's face became visible.
Rachel Caldwell.
Daniel swore.
Emma said nothing.
Brooks immediately issued an alert.
Marcus answered his phone on the first call.
Emma did not bother with greetings.
"Where is Rachel?"
"I don't know."
"She took Lily."
Silence.
Then Marcus whispered, "What?"
"You heard me."
"No. She wouldn't."
"She did."
Marcus began breathing harder.
"Where would she go?"
"Think."
"I don't know."
"Think!"
"There's the cabin."
"Already searched."
"Dad's old office."
"Police have it."
Marcus was silent.
Then:
"The quarry."
Emma's pulse jumped.
"What quarry?"
"Caldwell Development owned one south of town. Closed years ago."
"Address."
"I don't know. Old Route Six near Miller Creek."
Police moved.
Daniel sat beside Emma in Brooks's vehicle.
Neither spoke.
Halfway there, Daniel said, "Rachel may not be doing this willingly."
Emma looked at him.
"She walked into the room."
"Red Cedar uses coercion."
"So did Warren."
"I know."
"You keep saying that."
Daniel looked out the window.
"Because I keep discovering how many things I should've stopped."
At the quarry, they found Rachel's car.
Empty.
Inside was Lily's shoe.
Emma picked it up.
Her hands stayed steady.
That frightened Brooks.
"Emma."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
"Good. Fine gets people careless."
They followed tire tracks into the abandoned excavation site.
At the bottom stood an old processing building.
Lights glowed inside.
Police surrounded it.
No movement.
Brooks received authorization.
Tactical officers entered.
Emma was ordered to remain outside.
She ignored the order after hearing gunfire.
Inside, the building was almost empty.
One room contained surveillance equipment.
Another contained medical supplies.
A third contained Rachel.
She was tied to a chair.
Blood ran from her forehead.
Emma cut her free.
"Where's Lily?"
Rachel sobbed.
"I'm sorry."
"Where?"
"They made me."
"Who?"
"I thought they were going to kill Marcus."
"Rachel."
"They knew everything. His gym. His apartment. His schedule."
"Where is Lily?"
Rachel looked toward Daniel.
Her face changed.
"You."
Daniel froze.
Rachel stared.
"You were there."
"When?"
"When Mom died."
Daniel went pale.
Their mother, Patricia Caldwell, had supposedly died in a highway accident fourteen years earlier.
Rachel began shaking.
"I remember now."
Daniel whispered, "Rachel..."
"You were standing next to the car."
Emma looked at Daniel.
"What is she talking about?"
Daniel's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Rachel screamed.
"You were there!"
Daniel backed away.
Emma stared at him.
"Daniel."
He looked at her.
"I didn't kill her."
"That's not what I asked."
Rachel sobbed.
"You helped Voss take her!"
Daniel's face collapsed.
Emma stepped forward.
"Where is your mother?"
Daniel whispered:
"Alive."
Emma felt the world move again.
Rachel stopped crying.
"What?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
"She never died."
A speaker crackled overhead.
Everyone froze.
Colonel Samuel Voss's voice filled the building.
Older.
Weaker.
But unmistakable.
"Daniel, you always did confess too late."
Emma looked toward the ceiling.
Voss continued.
"Major Carter, if you'd like your daughter back, bring Daniel to where your story began."
The speakers went silent.
Brooks looked at Emma.
"Where did your story begin?"
Emma already knew.
The military charity dinner where she met Daniel.
The building had closed years ago.
But the address remained burned into her memory.
May you like
Fort Hensley Officers Club.
And beneath that building were Cold War tunnels that officially no longer existed.
