Chapter 5 - Claire's Last Secret
I had seen almost every photograph Claire ever took.
I had never seen that one.
The little girl beside her looked about six.
She had red hair, a gap between her front teeth, and a frightened expression.
Behind them stood a blue-painted door.
I photographed the picture and called Marcus.
He arrived with two officers.
“You touched it?”
“Only the edges.”
He studied the writing.
“Who knew your sister was investigating Vale?”
“Me.”
“Anyone else?”
I hesitated.
There had been one person.
Claire's fiancé, Daniel Ross.
He worked in cybersecurity.
After Claire died, Daniel disappeared from my life almost completely.
He attended the funeral.
Then he stopped answering calls.
For fourteen months, I assumed grief had broken him too.
Marcus searched for him.
Daniel's apartment had been empty for six months.
His company claimed he resigned unexpectedly.
His phone number was disconnected.
His bank accounts had barely been touched.
Then Marcus found something stranger.
Daniel had entered the United States through JFK Airport three weeks earlier.
There was no record of him leaving.
That evening, I visited Lucy at Mount Sinai.
Two officers stood outside her room.
She looked smaller beneath the hospital blankets.
Her mother, Rachel Bennett, sat beside the bed crying silently.
When she saw me, she crossed the room and hugged me.
“You brought her back.”
I could not answer.
Lucy watched us.
Then she asked her mother to leave for a moment.
Rachel hesitated.
Lucy insisted.
When we were alone, the girl reached under her pillow.
She handed me a small metal button.
A golden letter V was engraved on its surface.
“I took it.”
“From who?”
“A man.”
“What man?”
“He helped them.”
I turned the button over.
A thin thread of dark blue fabric remained attached.
“Did he have a name?”
Lucy nodded.
“Mr. Daniel.”
My throat closed.
“Daniel Ross?”
She frowned.
“I don't know his other name.”
I showed her a photo from my phone.
Daniel and Claire smiling during Christmas two years earlier.
Lucy's eyes widened.
“That one.”
My stomach dropped.
“Lucy, was he hurting you?”
She shook her head.
“He brought food.”
“Did he lock you inside?”
“No.”
“Then what did he do?”
Lucy looked toward the door.
“He told me not to scream.”
My heart broke a little.
“Why?”
“Because he said if they knew I was still alive, they would move me to the blue room.”
I leaned closer.
“What happens in the blue room?”
Lucy began trembling.
May you like
Her answer was barely audible.
“Children disappear there.”
