Chapter 8 - The Girl in the Photograph
"Who is she?" Damon asked.
June’s smile in the photograph was painfully ordinary. She might have loved pancakes, hated wet socks, or asked impossible questions before bedtime. Damon did not know a single one of those things. He only knew someone had taken her future and filed it under a number.
Evelyn looked toward the hallway. "Her name is June. She's four."
"And why was she with my wife?"
"Because Hannah was trying to get her out."
Maya examined the photograph. June had a purple sweater, a crooked ponytail, and a faded bandage on her wrist. She leaned into Hannah with the trust of a child who had learned to recognize one safe adult.
"June is one of the unregistered children," Evelyn said. "Her mother was told she died shortly after birth. Aster moved her into its private research program."
Damon stared at the image. "They stole a kid."
"They called it long-term clinical placement. The paperwork had signatures the mothers never gave."
He remembered how Hannah used to stop movies when a child was in danger. "I can't watch this," she'd say, and then insist on finishing because somebody had to come save the kid.
"Where is June now?" Maya asked.
"I don't know. After Hannah tried to report the program, both disappeared from the building."
Damon was about to demand more when the hospital doctor arrived. Noah's condition was improving, but he needed observation overnight. Preliminary screening suggested the bottle contained an ingredient not normally present in infant formula. Confirmatory testing would take time.
"Whoever did this knew the baby would be vulnerable," Maya said softly.
Damon handed Evelyn the photograph. "Who can we trust?"
"Federal investigator Tessa Morgan. Hannah sent her a packet before the crash. Tessa got reassigned two days later."
"Give me her number."
Evelyn scribbled it on a napkin and left by a side exit. Maya went to check on Noah.
Damon called Tessa. She answered on the first ring.
"Mr. Vale," she said. "Your wife told me you'd call eventually."
"Where is she?"
"I have a location, but I need you to understand something first."
May you like
A door slammed at the far end of the hall.
"The men who took your wife already know your son survived."
