Chapter 15 - The Thirteenth Child
The birth certificate was fake.
It had to be.
Daniel knew because he had signed Emma's real one at the hospital.
But the forged document had an official seal, a registration number, and a notarized signature.
Someone had prepared an entirely new identity for his daughter.
Ortiz bagged it as evidence.
"They planned to make Emma disappear legally after taking her physically."
Rachel's face twisted with anger. "Why our baby?"
Daniel looked at the ledger.
"Because I'm number seven."
Evelyn's spreadsheet showed descendants. Some of the stolen children now had children of their own.
"Maybe they were trying to erase witnesses," Rachel said.
Ortiz shook her head. "A newborn isn't a witness."
Margaret, allowed to assist under supervision, studied the fake certificate.
"Richard used to talk about clean records. He said paperwork could make truth irrelevant."
Daniel looked at her. "That sounds like him."
"There was another reason he kept the ledger," Margaret said. "Insurance. If Thomas ever turned on him, Richard could expose everyone involved."
"Everyone?"
"Doctors. Nurses. lawyers. social workers. Couples who knew exactly what they were buying."
Ortiz said, "Then someone may still be protecting the network."
A tech called from the back room.
They found a hidden router with recent connection logs. One device had accessed the cabin network that morning.
Registered name: DRCROSS.
Daniel stared.
"That's my laptop name."
"Your laptop is at home," Rachel said.
"Unless someone cloned it."
The IP trail led to a storage facility outside town.
Police entered unit 218 just before midnight.
Inside were dozens of banker boxes filled with records.
And a chair.
Someone was tied to it.
Thomas Vale.
Alive.
His face was swollen, his shirt dark with blood, and one hand was broken.
Daniel stopped in the doorway.
Thomas lifted his head.
"Danny."
"Don't call me that."
Thomas gave a weak smile. "Evelyn still does."
Ortiz cut him loose under guard.
"Where is Evelyn?"
Thomas coughed. "Trying to finish what Richard started."
Daniel stepped closer. "You kidnapped my daughter."
"I took Emma from the house."
Rachel lunged toward him. "You son of a—"
Daniel caught her before Ortiz did.
Thomas didn't flinch.
"I took her because Evelyn was already on her way. I was trying to move Emma somewhere safe."
"You staged blood in the crib."
"No. Evelyn did that before I arrived."
"You expect me to believe you?"
Thomas laughed painfully. "No. I expect you to believe evidence. That's why she broke my hand. She wanted the storage key."
Ortiz asked, "What is in these boxes?"
Thomas looked around.
"The part of the ledger Richard never had."
"Names?"
"Names of the buyers."
Daniel's phone vibrated.
A new video message.
Evelyn sat in the old nursery at Daniel's house.
Behind her, flames climbed the curtains.
May you like
She smiled into the camera.
"You wanted the truth, Danny? Come home and watch it burn."
