Chapter 6 - The Night Elelliana Disappeared
For three seconds, Nathan could not understand what he was seeing.
The empty crib looked ordinary. The blanket had been folded back. The monitor still glowed green. A small stuffed bear rested beside the mattress.
But Noah was gone.
Mrs. Alvarez gripped the crib rail.
“I was downstairs for six minutes.”
Nathan rushed to the window.
The latch had been forced.
Outside, a maintenance ladder leaned against the stone wall.
Security footage showed a man in a utility uniform entering the property through a service gate using an active company access code.
Simon Creel had spent twenty years learning Nathan’s systems.
Now he was using those systems against him.
Elelliana stood in the doorway, completely silent.
Nathan crossed the room.
“Look at me.”
She did not.
“Elelliana.”
“You promised.”
Her voice cracked.
“You said nobody would take them.”
“I’m going to bring him back.”
“You promised!”
She struck Nathan’s chest with both fists.
“You said locked doors! You said guards! You said we were safe!”
Nathan allowed her to hit him until her arms lost strength.
Then she collapsed against him.
“Please,” she sobbed. “He gets scared when Oliver isn’t there.”
“I know.”
“He doesn’t like loud sounds.”
“I know.”
“He needs the blue bottle because the other nipple is too fast.”
Nathan held her tightly.
“I know.”
Elelliana pulled back.
“No, you don’t. You don’t know because you weren’t there when they were born.”
The words hurt because they were true.
“I wasn’t,” he said. “But I’m here now.”
Police surrounded the estate. Vivian was brought inside for questioning.
She claimed Simon had contacted her an hour earlier and sent a photograph of Noah.
“He wants the storage drive,” she said.
Nathan stared at her across the dining-room table.
“You expect me to believe you’re helping?”
“I don’t care what you believe.”
“You set the fire.”
Vivian’s face tightened.
“Dean said that?”
“He recorded a statement.”
“He’s lying to protect himself.”
“You planted the matches in a child’s room.”
“Simon did.”
“You watched him do it.”
Vivian looked toward Elelliana, who stood beside Dana near the doorway.
“I never wanted Rachel to die.”
Elelliana’s face went cold.
“You wanted her scared.”
Vivian lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
“You wanted my brothers.”
“I wanted money.”
The honesty shocked the room.
Vivian twisted her hands together.
“Private adoption agencies paid referral fees. Wealthy couples wanted newborn twins. Simon said Rachel was already struggling and the babies would have better lives.”
“They had a mother,” Elelliana said.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
Vivian began to cry.
Elelliana did not move toward her.
Nathan placed the storage drive on the table.
“Where does Simon want to meet?”
“He hasn’t said yet.”
As if summoned by the words, Nathan’s phone rang.
An unknown number.
He answered.
Simon’s voice came through the speaker.
“Turn off the police scanners.”
“Let me hear Noah.”
A baby cried in the background.
Elelliana moved closer to the phone.
“Noah!”
The crying grew louder.
Simon continued.
“Bring the drive and every paper from Rachel’s box.”
“Where?”
“The old Vale textile mill.”
Nathan knew the place. It stood abandoned near the river, scheduled for demolition.
“Put Noah somewhere warm.”
“You have forty minutes.”
“If you hurt him—”
“You spent years ignoring children you never met. Don’t pretend this one is special because cameras are watching.”
The call ended.
Police advised Nathan not to go. They wanted time to establish surveillance and negotiate.
Elelliana grabbed his sleeve.
“You have to.”
“I will.”
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“He knows my voice.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“He’s my brother.”
Nathan knelt.
“And keeping you alive is part of bringing him home.”
“You can’t leave me here.”
“I’m not leaving you. I’m asking you to trust me.”
“I trusted you before.”
Her gaze shifted toward the empty crib.
Nathan had no defense.
He gave the real documents to the police and placed copies inside a metal case. A tracking device was hidden beneath the lining.
Before he left, Elelliana gave him the blue bottle.
“In case he’s hungry.”
Nathan placed it inside his coat.
The textile mill rose beside the river like the remains of a burned ship. Broken windows gaped across its brick walls. Wind carried dust through the open loading bay.
Nathan entered alone, carrying the case.
“Simon!”
A light came on above the factory floor.
Simon stood on an elevated walkway.
Noah’s infant carrier rested beside him.
The baby was crying.
Nathan’s restraint nearly broke.
“Bring him down.”
“The drive first.”
Nathan raised the case.
“You took a newborn because you were afraid of an accountant’s files.”
Simon laughed.
“You still don’t understand. Those files implicate city officials, investors, contractors, and your father.”
Nathan went still.
“My father?”
“He built the system. I inherited it. You inherited the profits.”
“You continued it.”
“Because the company depended on it.”
“People lived in buildings that could have killed them.”
“People always live somewhere dangerous. The question is whether danger is profitable.”
Nathan started toward the stairs.
Simon lifted the infant carrier.
“One more step.”
Nathan stopped.
Noah’s cries sharpened.
“Put him down.”
“Slide the case across the floor.”
Nathan obeyed.
Simon descended halfway, retrieved it, and opened the lid.
“Where is the original drive?”
“That is the original.”
“No. You’re cautious, but not stupid. You would have made copies.”
“The police have everything.”
Simon’s face changed.
“You lied.”
“You kidnapped a child. Did you expect honesty?”
Simon shoved the case away and took out a lighter.
Gasoline fumes filled the air.
Nathan looked around.
“You planned to burn the mill.”
“Fire destroys confusion.”
“It didn’t destroy Rachel’s evidence.”
“It destroyed Rachel.”
Elelliana’s voice came from the darkness.
“No, it didn’t.”
Nathan spun around.
She stood near the loading entrance.
Vivian was behind her.
“What are you doing here?” Nathan shouted.
Vivian raised both hands.
“She hid in my car.”
Elelliana stepped forward.
Simon stared at her.
“You should have disappeared with the building.”
“You should have checked the window.”
Simon’s face twisted.
“Your mother caused all of this.”
“My mother tried to stop you.”
Simon grabbed Noah’s carrier and moved backward.
Elelliana began singing.
It was a quiet lullaby.
Noah’s crying paused.
Simon looked down involuntarily.
Nathan moved.
He crossed the distance in seconds and struck Simon’s arm. The lighter flew across the walkway. The infant carrier tipped, but Nathan caught it before it fell.
Simon punched him and ran toward the rear stairs.
Police flooded the building.
Simon reached the loading platform, slipped on loose gravel, and fell hard against the railing. Officers surrounded him before he could stand.
Nathan carried Noah toward Elelliana.
She took one look at the baby and collapsed to her knees.
“He’s okay,” Nathan said.
She touched Noah’s face.
“You brought him back.”
“We brought him back.”
Sirens filled the night.
Vivian stood several feet away with her wrists in handcuffs. She had agreed to testify in exchange for consideration, but her role in the fire guaranteed serious charges.
Elelliana approached her.
“Why did you help tonight?”
Vivian looked at the baby.
“Because there was one thing worse than what I had already become.”
“Did you love my mother?”
Vivian began to cry.
“Yes.”
“You didn’t act like it.”
“No.”
Elelliana looked at her for a long time.
“I’m not going to tell you it’s okay.”
“I know.”
“But I’m going to stop carrying what you did.”
Vivian lowered her head as officers led her away.
At the hospital, doctors confirmed Noah was unharmed.
Nathan sat beside Elelliana while she held both twins.
“You followed me,” he said.
“You would have followed me.”
“That isn’t the point.”
“It is to me.”
He rubbed a hand over his face.
“You could have been killed.”
“So could Noah.”
“You’re eight years old.”
“I know.”
“You are allowed to let adults protect you.”
She looked at him.
“Then be better at it.”
Nathan almost laughed, though his eyes burned.
“I’ll try.”
The next morning, federal investigators arrested Simon Creel and three city officials. News organizations published Rachel’s evidence. Vale Urban Housing became the center of the largest municipal corruption case in the state’s history.
Nathan’s board voted to remove him as chief executive.
When his attorney informed him, Nathan stood beside the hospital window watching Elelliana feed Oliver.
“Do you want to fight it?” the attorney asked.
“No.”
“You could win.”
“I have something else to fight for.”
The custody review was scheduled for the following week.
Dana warned him that his financial scandal, removal from the company, and public scrutiny could affect the judge’s decision.
Nathan looked toward the three children.
“Does losing a title make me less capable of caring for them?”
“No.”
“Then we’ll prove it.”
But before the hearing, an unexpected document surfaced.
Rachel Mercer had signed a temporary guardianship form two days before the fire.
The designated guardian was not Vivian.
It was the twins’ biological father.
And beside his name appeared an address Nathan recognized.
May you like
The address belonged to his late father.
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