Chapter 15 - THE CHILD TAKEN FROM THE HOSPITAL -Claire ran through the emergency exit.
Lily followed.
The stairwell was empty.
Ethan’s silver whistle lay on the landing.
Lily picked it up.
A faint chemical odor lingered on the railing.
Sedative spray.
Security footage showed a hospital orderly guiding Ethan toward a service elevator.
The orderly wore a mask and cap.
His face remained hidden.
The elevator camera stopped recording two minutes before they entered.
A delivery van left the loading dock shortly afterward.
Federal agents issued an alert.
Claire blamed herself.
“I was sitting ten feet away.”
“So was I,” Lily said.
“He chose the moment Adrian entered surgery.”
“He knew we would be distracted.”
Grace stood beside the wall clutching her rabbit.
“He won’t hurt Ethan yet.”
Claire looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“Dr. Voss likes people to watch.”
“He always makes a lesson.”
Grace’s insight chilled them.
Voss would keep Ethan alive until Lily and Claire understood whatever punishment he had planned.
Lily searched the whistle.
A tiny smear of blue paint marked its edge.
She had seen the same paint in the abandoned psychiatric hospital.
The medical carts there were painted blue.
Voss may have used equipment from another facility connected to the same supplier.
Hayes traced recent purchases.
One shipment went to a closed children’s theater in Connecticut.
The buyer used a shell company belonging to Samuel Voss.
The theater stood less than forty miles from Blackwood Manor.
Lily realized the location had personal meaning.
Her earliest clear memory was standing on a stage during a foster-home fundraiser.
A man watched her from the final row.
She had always assumed he was a stranger.
Now she wondered whether it had been Voss.
The rescue team left immediately.
Claire wanted to join.
Hayes refused.
“Your husband is still in surgery.”
“My son has been kidnapped.”
Grace pulled Claire’s sleeve.
“I want to go too.”
“No.”
Grace’s face tightened.
“You left me before.”
The words were not fair, but they came from years of pain.
Claire knelt.
“I am not leaving you now.”
“Then don’t leave Ethan.”
Claire looked toward Lily.
Lily understood.
“I’ll bring him back.”
Claire took her hand.
“Bring yourself back too.”
Lily traveled with Hayes and six agents.
The theater sat behind abandoned storefronts.
Its marquee contained no letters.
Dust covered the lobby.
The main auditorium lights were on.
Ethan sat in the center of the stage beneath a spotlight.
His hands were tied to a chair.
Voss stood behind him.
Rows of mannequins filled the audience seats.
Each mannequin wore a photograph over its face.
The pictures showed people connected to the conspiracy.
Evelyn.
Julian.
Richard.
Claire.
Adrian.
Lily.
The final mannequin wore a photograph of Lily’s mother.
Lily stopped in the aisle.
Voss lifted a microphone.
“Welcome home, Laura.”
Hayes’s team surrounded the exits.
Voss held a dead-man switch.
“If my hand releases this button, the explosives beneath the stage detonate.”
Ethan stared at Lily.
He was frightened but conscious.
Lily stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
“The truth.”
“You already know the truth.”
“No.”
“You believe Evelyn killed your mother.”
“She didn’t.”
Lily looked toward the mannequin.
Voss continued.
“Your mother discovered what I was doing for Evelyn.”
“She tried to take you away.”
“I confronted her.”
“The fire began during our struggle.”
Lily’s breath stopped.
“You killed her.”
“It was an accident.”
“You let me believe Evelyn did it.”
“I needed someone to blame.”
“You built your revenge on a lie.”
Voss’s face twisted.
“I lost everything because of the Blackwoods.”
“You lost me because of yourself.”
He tightened his grip on the switch.
“Come onto the stage.”
Hayes whispered through Lily’s earpiece.
“Do not approach.”
Lily removed the earpiece and placed it on the floor.
She walked forward.
Ethan shook his head.
“No, Lily.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not.”
She climbed the stage steps.
Voss ordered her to tie her own wrists.
She did.
Then he moved behind her and attached the rope to a metal support.
“You wanted me home,” she said.
“I’m here.”
“Let Ethan go.”
“Adrian took my daughter.”
“Adrian did not know you existed.”
“His family did.”
“He was a child when the fire happened.”
“Blackwoods always inherit the benefits of crimes they pretend not to understand.”
Lily looked at Ethan.
“Close your eyes.”
Voss frowned.
“Why?”
“Because you don’t want him to see what happens next.”
His attention shifted toward the boy.
Lily pulled against the rope.
She had tied the knot loosely.
Her right hand slipped free.
She grabbed the dead-man switch.
Voss fought her.
The button began to rise.
Ethan kicked the stage light toward them.
The heavy lamp struck Voss’s leg.
He fell.
Lily closed her hand around the switch.
Federal agents rushed the stage.
Voss drew a concealed knife.
He slashed Lily’s arm.
Hayes tackled him.
The switch dropped.
Lily caught it inches above the floor.
Bomb technicians disconnected the explosives.
Ethan was freed.
He ran into Lily’s arms.
“You came.”
“I promised.”
Voss was carried away.
This time, Hayes personally secured his restraints.
Lily looked at the photograph of her mother.
She finally knew the truth.
Her father had not lost his family to the Blackwoods.
He had destroyed it himself.
At the hospital, Adrian survived surgery.
Ethan climbed carefully into the bed beside him.
Adrian touched the boy’s hair.
“I told you not to leave Lily’s side.”
Ethan looked serious.
“I didn’t.”
“She found me.”
Adrian smiled weakly.
Grace sat near the foot of the bed.
Claire stood in the doorway.
For the first time, all four Blackwoods were together without a weapon, a camera, or a locked door between them.
Then a nurse brought Lily an envelope.
It had been delivered before Voss’s arrest.
Inside was a legal document.
It stated that Lily Carter owned twelve percent of Blackwood Industries.
The shares had been transferred to her by Adrian’s father fifteen years earlier.
A handwritten note accompanied the document.
May you like
Lily read the first line.
Your mother did not die in the fire.
Related Stories
