CHAPTER 10: THE PICTURE ANNA HID FROM EVERYONE
I stared at the photo on my phone.
Lily.
Alive.
Sitting in a room I didn't recognize.
Her face was pale, but she wasn't crying.
That was the only thing keeping me standing.
Because if Lily was terrified, I would have broken.
But she wasn't.
She was waiting.
Waiting for me.
The figure behind her remained hidden.
A black coat.
A blurred face.
A shadow.
Whoever had taken her wanted me to see one thing.
Not where she was.
Not who had her.
But that they could reach her anytime.
Detective Collins looked over my shoulder.
"Can we trace the number?"
She already knew the answer.
"No."
The call had been routed through multiple locations.
Professional.
Careful.
Planned.
Again.
"They want something," I said.
Detective Collins nodded.
"Yes."
"What?"
She looked at the photo.
"The picture."
Anna's picture.
The one Lily had hidden for two years.
The one everyone suddenly wanted.
I felt something shift inside me.
Because I finally understood.
The journal wasn't the only thing Anna had left behind.
She had created a trail.
A trail only the right person could follow.
And somehow...
She had trusted Lily to protect the final piece.
My daughter.
A six-year-old child at the time.
The thought broke my heart.
Anna had known something terrible might happen.
And she had prepared Lily without letting her understand the danger.
"How do we get her back?"
I asked.
Nobody answered immediately.
Because everyone knew.
This wasn't a normal kidnapping.
The person who took Lily wasn't asking for money.
They weren't demanding a ransom.
They weren't threatening violence.
They were playing a game.
A game Anna had started before she died.
And my daughter was the final piece.
Detective Collins looked at Rachel.
"You knew about the picture."
Rachel's face changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
Another secret.
"You knew."
Rachel looked down.
"I suspected."
My anger returned.
"Everyone knew something."
"Daniel—"
"No."
My voice was sharp.
"I'm tired of discovering pieces of my own life from other people."
Rachel looked hurt.
But she didn't argue.
Because she knew I was right.
"Tell me."
She took a deep breath.
"After Anna died, Lily was afraid."
I looked away.
I remembered.
She stopped sleeping alone.
She cried whenever I left the room.
She would wake up screaming.
I thought it was because she lost her mother.
Maybe it was because she saw something.
"One night," Rachel continued, "I visited you."
I remembered.
"After the funeral."
"Yes."
"You stayed for two hours."
Rachel nodded.
"While you were making dinner, Lily showed me something."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
"A drawing."
I frowned.
"A drawing?"
"Yes."
"What was in it?"
Rachel looked at me.
"Three people."
She held up three fingers.
"Anna."
"Michael."
"And another person."
My stomach tightened.
"Who?"
Rachel whispered:
"An old man."
I looked at Detective Collins.
"Victor Moore."
She nodded.
Rachel continued.
"Lily didn't know his name. She just said he was the angry man."
"Angry man?"
Rachel nodded.
"She said he yelled at Anna."
"When?"
"The night before Anna died."
My mind raced.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Rachel looked ashamed.
"Because Anna told me not to."
"Again."
I laughed bitterly.
"Everyone listens to Anna except me."
Rachel's eyes filled with tears.
"Because Anna knew you would run toward danger."
I looked at her.
"She was right."
Another message arrived.
This time, there was a video.
My hands froze.
The message contained only one word.
Watch.
I pressed play.
The screen showed Lily.
She was sitting in the same room.
But this time, someone was speaking.
A man's voice.
Old.
Calm.
Controlled.
"Lily."
She looked up.
"Do you know who I am?"
My daughter shook her head.
"No."
The man stepped closer.
Only his hand appeared.
A gold ring.
A symbol engraved into it.
The same symbol from Anna's journal.
The circle.
The line through the center.
"You know my daughter."
Lily looked confused.
"Your daughter?"
"Anna."
My chest tightened.
The man's voice became softer.
"You loved her."
Lily nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"Then tell me something."
A pause.
"Why did Anna choose Daniel?"
I stopped breathing.
The same question.
Again.
Why did Anna choose me?
The man continued.
"Your mother left you something because she knew you would understand."
Lily looked down.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Yes, you do."
His voice hardened.
"Where is the picture?"
Lily didn't answer.
The man sighed.
"Your mother taught you well."
The video ended.
I stared at the black screen.
"He knows."
Detective Collins looked at me.
"He knows Lily has the picture."
"But he doesn't know where it is."
"Exactly."
I looked at Rachel.
"Where would Anna tell Lily to hide something?"
Rachel thought.
"Somewhere safe."
"No."
I shook my head.
"Not safe."
They looked at me.
"Somewhere only Lily would think of."
I closed my eyes.
I remembered Lily at six years old.
Her favorite places.
Her secret hiding spots.
The little places children believe adults cannot find.
Then I remembered something.
A wooden box.
Under her bed.
A box Anna gave her.
I ran upstairs.
Everyone followed.
In Lily's room, I opened the old toy box.
Inside were drawings.
Letters.
Small memories.
But nothing else.
I searched deeper.
Then my hand touched something.
A false bottom.
My heart stopped.
I lifted it.
Inside was a small envelope.
Pink.
With Anna's handwriting.
For Lily.
I couldn't breathe.
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Not a normal photograph.
A hospital photograph.
A newborn baby.
Lily.
And beside the baby...
Anna.
And another person.
I looked closer.
My entire body froze.
Because the person standing beside Anna wasn't Michael.
It wasn't me.
It was Victor Moore.
But that wasn't what shocked me.
It was what Anna had written on the back.
The truth about Lily's birth.
Below that:
Daniel, I am sorry.
My hands shook.
Detective Collins looked at the photo.
"What does it say?"
I turned it over.
Everyone became silent.
Because Anna's final message was not about Michael.
It was not about Victor.
It was about me.
Daniel was never supposed to meet Lily.
I felt the room disappear.
"What does that mean?"
Nobody answered.
Then my phone rang.
The kidnapper.
I answered immediately.
A man's voice spoke.
"You found the picture."
My grip tightened.
"Where is my daughter?"
"You want Lily back?"
"Yes."
"Then you need to know the truth first."
My voice was cold.
"Tell me."
The man paused.
Then said:
"Daniel..."
"Your entire life with Anna was built on a lie."
I looked at the photograph.
At the newborn baby.
At Anna's apology.
The man continued:
"Because Anna did not choose you to raise Lily."
A pause.
"She chose you because you were the only man who could protect her."
My heart stopped.
"Protect her from what?"
The answer came quietly.
"From me."
The call ended.
And beneath the photograph...
I noticed something I had missed.
A second line written by Anna.
One sentence.
One sentence that changed everything.
May you like
If Daniel ever learns the truth, he must know that Lily is not the only child I saved.
End of Chapter 10
