Chapter 3 - HE WAS AFRAID OF HIS OWN FATHERThe room became silent.
Daniel slowly turned.
Aaron Mercer stood in the doorway with both hands at his sides.
“Eli,” he said softly.
The boy screamed again.
“No!”
Daniel moved between them.
“Step outside.”
Aaron looked offended.
“Officer, that's my son.”
“Step outside.”
“This is absurd.”
“Now.”
Aaron's jaw tightened.
For several seconds, neither man moved.
Then Aaron walked out.
Melissa remained frozen beside the wall.
Lena Ruiz stepped closer.
“Mrs. Mercer, why is he terrified of your husband?”
Melissa wiped her eyes.
“He's been traumatized.”
“By whom?”
“He was taken from us.”
“That's not what I asked.”
Melissa looked down.
Daniel noticed something.
Her hands were shaking.
Not from grief.
From fear.
An hour later, the DNA result arrived.
Daniel opened the report.
He read it twice.
Then a third time.
“There's no match.”
Lena stared at him.
“What?”
“Eli is not biologically related to Aaron Mercer.”
“Melissa?”
“No match either.”
The room seemed to shrink.
A detective ran a second test.
Same result.
No biological relationship.
Yet the missing-person file clearly identified Noah Mercer as their son.
Lena pulled the old case file.
Birth certificate.
Hospital registration.
Pediatric records.
Everything pointed toward the Mercers.
Except DNA.
Daniel looked through the file.
There was one document he hadn't noticed before.
A hospital discharge summary from nine months earlier.
The date was unusual.
It came three days before Noah disappeared.
Daniel read the notes.
Child presented with unexplained bruising. Parent refused extended observation.
His eyes narrowed.
“Why wasn't this investigated?”
Lena took the document.
“Because the doctor signed off.”
“Who was the doctor?”
She checked.
“Dr. Rebecca Shaw.”
Daniel looked up.
“Same doctor who examined Eli today.”
Rebecca was brought back into the room.
When she saw the document, her face changed.
“I remember him.”
“You said you didn't.”
“I said I didn't remember the name.”
“What do you remember?”
Rebecca stared at the floor.
“The boy had bruises.”
“How serious?”
“Serious enough that I recommended keeping him overnight.”
“Why didn't that happen?”
“The father insisted on taking him home.”
Aaron.
Rebecca swallowed.
“I thought I was dealing with a difficult parent.”
Lena's voice hardened.
“Were there any other injuries?”
Rebecca nodded.
“There was a bruise around his wrist.”
Daniel looked at the photograph taken nine months ago.
The same place.
The same mark.
He returned to the children's ward.
Eli was awake.
A nurse was reading him a picture book.
Daniel crouched beside him.
“Eli.”
The child looked up.
“Do you remember where you lived?”
Eli nodded.
“Can you tell me?”
The boy pointed to a small red dinosaur on the page.
Daniel waited.
Finally, Eli whispered.
“Red door.”
“Where?”
“Downstairs.”
“What's downstairs?”
The boy's lower lip trembled.
“Children.”
Daniel felt a chill.
“How many?”
Eli held up three fingers.
Then four.
Then five.
“Five children?”
Eli shook his head.
“More.”
“How many?”
The boy started crying.
Before Daniel could ask another question, the hospital lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the hallway went dark.
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A second later, every emergency alarm in the building began screaming.
And somewhere downstairs, a fire door slammed shut.
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