Chapter 6 - The Camera in Lily's RoomLily was not dead.
That was the first thing the kidnappers wanted me to believe.
The second thing was worse.
They wanted me desperate.
Officer Harris tracked the phone call to a disposable device.
The signal had bounced through three towers.
No location.
No face.
No vehicle.
Nothing.
Then forensic technicians searched the basement.
They found a hidden camera.
Not an old camera.
A new one.
Installed less than a week ago.
The feed was still active.
Someone was watching us.
Harris plugged it into a secure laptop.
The screen showed a room.
Concrete walls.
A single chair.
A stuffed rabbit on the floor.
And Lily.
Alive.
I nearly collapsed.
"Lily!"
She looked toward the camera.
"Daddy?"
My heart broke.
A voice came through the speakers.
"Michael."
The same distorted voice.
"What do you want?"
"You already know."
"The property."
"No."
A pause.
"We want the second deed."
"I don't have it."
"You will."
"Where is my daughter?"
The camera moved closer to Lily.
Then the image cut.
I slammed my hand against the table.
"We need to find her."
Nathan stared at the screen.
"The room."
"What?"
"I've seen it before."
He zoomed in.
Behind Lily was a pipe.
Painted red.
And a faded number.
"That's an old municipal building."
Harris frowned.
"How do you know?"
Nathan looked at me.
"Your father's old warehouse."
We drove there under police escort.
The warehouse had been abandoned for years.
The side door was unlocked.
Inside, the air smelled of rust.
We searched the offices.
Nothing.
Then I heard something.
A child's voice.
"Daddy?"
I ran toward it.
Down a corridor.
Through a metal door.
But Lily wasn't there.
A speaker had been mounted inside.
Someone was playing a recording.
Her voice.
Not live.
Recorded.
I turned around.
A red light blinked above me.
Camera.
Then the warehouse doors slammed shut.
The alarm system activated.
Sprinklers exploded from the ceiling.
Water poured down.
And from somewhere in the darkness came Evelyn's voice.
"You should have listened."
She stepped into the light.
No police.
No lawyer.
May you like
Just my mother.
Holding a gun.
