Chapter 9 - One Hour
Ortiz replayed the video three times.
Thomas had made one mistake.
Behind him, a commuter train passed every ninety seconds. Through a cracked window came the sound of a crossing bell.
Police started mapping abandoned buildings near active rail lines.
Ethan barely listened.
“He wants the ledger. Give it to me.”
“No,” Ortiz said.
“That’s my child.”
“And this is an active kidnapping.”
“She is seven.”
“I know exactly how old she is.”
Claire touched Ethan’s arm. “If Thomas wanted the ledger destroyed, he could have come for it years ago. He wants something else.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Proof,” Claire said. “Maybe he thinks the ledger is the only thing that can expose Charles and Victoria.”
Charles snapped, “Stop saying my name like I’m a criminal.”
Claire turned. “Your granddaughter was kidnapped by a man you pretended was dead while financial records tied to your foundation were hidden behind a nursery wall. You’re going to have to survive being uncomfortable.”
For once, Charles had no reply.
Ortiz’s analyst found a likely location: an old print warehouse beside the New Haven rail line.
Police prepared a tactical entry.
Ethan demanded to go.
Ortiz finally agreed to use him as bait, but only with a tracker and body camera.
Claire hated every second of it.
At 6:14 a.m., Ethan entered the warehouse carrying a duplicate ledger.
Thomas appeared on a metal catwalk.
He looked older than Claire remembered. Thinner. Scar along one cheek.
“Where’s Lily?” Ethan called.
“Safe for now.”
“You threatened to kill her.”
“I needed you to move.”
“You drugged her.”
“No. Victoria’s man did. I intercepted the van.”
Ethan froze.
Thomas pointed to a side room.
Lily stepped out.
Alive.
She ran to Ethan.
He dropped the ledger and fell to his knees, wrapping both arms around her.
Police surged in.
Thomas raised his hands.
“I’m not your kidnapper,” he shouted. “I’m the reason she’s alive.”
Ortiz cuffed him anyway.
Lily clung to Ethan’s neck. “Uncle Ethan, he helped me.”
Ethan squeezed his eyes shut.
Then Lily whispered something into his ear.
He pulled back. “What?”
She pointed at the fake ledger on the floor.
“That’s not what Mommy hid.”
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Ethan looked at her.
Lily said, “Mommy hid the real thing inside Grandma.”
