Chapter 11 - The Empty CribOne empty crib was enough to turn fear into fury.By the time we reached the hospital, police were everywhere.
Brandon was standing in the parking lot.
He looked terrible.
No fishing shirt.
No relaxed smile.
No confidence.
Just fear.
He saw me.
“Where's the baby?”
“With me.”
His eyes widened.
“You brought Emma?”
I froze.
“I brought both girls.”
He swallowed.
“Then where is Lily?”
My heart stopped.
I looked at Melissa.
She had both babies.
The twins were there.
Both.
Exactly where they should be.
Brandon looked confused.
“That's impossible.”
“What did Evelyn tell you?”
“She said she took one of them.”
“She lied.”
Brandon shook his head.
“She said she had Lily.”
“Why would she lie?”
“I don't know.”
I stepped closer.
“Where is she?”
He looked away.
“Inside.”
“Who?”
“Mom.”
Police officers moved around us.
Then the hospital doors opened.
A nurse ran toward us.
“Mrs. Calloway?”
“Yes?”
“We found a child.”
My heart stopped.
“Which child?”
The nurse looked at the photograph in her hand.
“It's not one of your daughters.”
Daniel appeared behind her.
His face went white.
“My God.”
The nurse handed him the photograph.
He stared.
“That’s my daughter.”
Everyone went silent.
The baby had been found inside an abandoned examination room.
Alive.
Safe.
But there was a note attached to her blanket.
Daniel took it.
Three words.
ASK YOUR HUSBAND.
I turned.
Brandon looked like he might collapse.
“You knew.”
“I didn't.”
“You brought her here.”
“No.”
“You knew where she was.”
“I suspected.”
I stepped closer.
“What did you do?”
He looked at me.
“I followed my mother.”
“Why?”
“Because she threatened me.”
“With what?”
“The truth.”
I stared at him.
“What truth?”
He looked at the twins.
Then at me.
“She wasn't working alone.”
Claire's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Brandon whispered,
“Marcus.”
The name landed like a stone.
His business partner.
The man behind the recordings.
The man attached to the hidden company.
The man I'd been searching for.
“Where is he?”
Brandon shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Then a phone rang.
An officer answered.
His expression changed.
“Sir?”
He listened.
Then looked at us.
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
“The family court database shows an emergency custody order.”
Claire stepped forward.
“That case was withdrawn.”
The officer shook his head.
“It wasn't.”
“What does the order say?”
He looked at me.
“It authorizes immediate transfer of both children to Brandon Calloway.”
My blood ran cold.
“That’s impossible.”
“It was signed electronically this morning.”
Claire took the document.
She scanned it.
Then looked at me.
“It's fake.”
“How do you know?”
She pointed to the signature.
“Because the judge whose name is on this order retired three years ago.”
The room went silent.
Then Brandon whispered,
“Marcus.”
We all looked at him.
“He has access to the system.”
Claire's face went pale.
“What would he do with a fake custody order?”
Brandon stared at me.
“Take the girls.”
I looked down.
The twins were sleeping peacefully.
Completely unaware.
Then every light in the hallway flickered.
A hospital security alarm began screaming.
And somewhere in the building, a door slammed open.
The officer shouted,
“Lock down the pediatric floor!”
I grabbed my daughters.
May you like
Someone had come for them.
And this time, they weren't making a mistake.
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