Chapter 7 - The Night the Past Came BackEmily had forgotten what fear felt like.
Not grief.
Not anger.
Fear.
The kind that made your hands cold and your vision narrow.
“Where are they?”
Adrian was already moving.
“I have a location.”
“Let's go.”
“No.”
Emily grabbed his arm.
“Those are my children.”
“And that's exactly why you're coming.”
They drove through the city.
Thomas stayed on another line, coordinating police contacts and private security.
But something was wrong.
The children's location had shifted three times.
“They're moving,” Adrian said.
Emily's fingers dug into the leather seat.
“Can you track them?”
“Yes.”
“Then do it.”
The final location appeared on the screen.
An abandoned warehouse near the waterfront.
Emily recognized it.
Carson Meridian had once planned to turn it into a luxury hotel.
The project had collapsed five years earlier.
Adrian stopped the car.
They entered through the side.
Inside, the building was empty.
Then they heard a child crying.
Emily ran.
“Mom?”
She stopped.
The voice came from behind a wall.
A little boy appeared.
Not one of the three.
He looked about nine.
Adrian crouched.
“Where are the others?”
The boy pointed toward the loading area.
“They took them.”
Emily's heart stopped.
“Who?”
The boy swallowed.
“A man named Charles.”
“Where?”
“He said they belonged to him.”
Emily's hands trembled.
“Did he hurt them?”
“No.”
The boy pointed to a chair.
“He left this.”
A small silver bracelet.
Emily recognized it.
Her bracelet.
The one her grandmother had given her.
She grabbed it.
Then a voice echoed from the darkness.
“Emily.”
She turned.
Charles Carson stepped into the light.
Older than the photographs.
But unmistakably Blake's father.
Emily stared.
“You stole my children.”
Charles smiled.
“No.”
“You lied to me.”
“I protected an asset.”
“They are not assets!”
Charles looked amused.
“You still sound like your grandmother.”
Emily's voice shook.
“Where are they?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
He looked toward the upper floor.
“Waiting.”
Emily took a step.
Charles raised a hand.
“Come closer, and the arrangement changes.”
Adrian stepped forward.
Charles looked at him.
“Still playing hero?”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“You should have disappeared forever.”
Charles laughed.
“You wish.”
Emily turned to Charles.
“What do you want?”
“Control.”
“Of Carson Meridian?”
“Of something more valuable.”
“What?”
Charles stared at her.
“Your bloodline.”
Emily frowned.
“You're insane.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“I'm practical.”
He explained.
Years ago, Charles and Emily's grandmother had created a joint investment structure.
When the company became valuable, Charles tried to seize it.
Her grandmother prevented him.
When Emily married Blake, Charles saw an opportunity.
He engineered the transfer of assets.
He manipulated Blake.
And when Emily became pregnant, they saw the ultimate bargaining chip.
The children.
“They were born with your grandmother's bloodline rights,” Charles said.
Emily stared.
“What does that mean?”
“The trust.”
He smiled.
“Your grandmother didn't just protect shares.”
She froze.
“She protected succession.”
Emily's mind raced.
If the children were listed as future beneficiaries, then their existence changed everything.
Charles had kept them hidden because their inheritance could block him from ever owning Carson Meridian.
“Why tell me this now?”
Charles looked at Adrian.
“Because Adrian has already found them.”
Emily's blood ran cold.
“What?”
Charles smiled.
“You thought he saved them.”
A pause.
“He didn't.”
Emily looked at Adrian.
For the first time, uncertainty entered her eyes.
Charles continued.
“He took them.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Don't listen to him.”
Emily looked between them.
“Adrian.”
He stopped.
“Did you take my children?”
Silence.
Emily's face changed.
Adrian finally spoke.
“Yes.”
The word devastated her.
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“Why?”
“To keep Blake from killing them.”
Emily stared at him.
“You knew where they were.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me?”
“I couldn't.”
“You could have.”
“No.”
Emily stepped back.
“You lied to me.”
Adrian's expression was painful.
“I protected them.”
“You stole three years from me.”
Charles smiled.
“That is why you should choose carefully.”
Emily turned toward him.
“What do you want?”
“The trust.”
“You're not getting it.”
“Then the children disappear.”
Emily's eyes hardened.
“You will not touch them.”
Charles laughed softly.
“You think you have power because you won a board vote?”
He pulled out his phone.
A live feed appeared.
Three children.
Emily saw them.
Alive.
Terrified.
The little girl looked directly into the camera.
“Mommy?”
Emily's heart broke.
She stepped forward.
“Mia.”
The little girl began crying.
“You came.”
Emily covered her mouth.
She had never heard that voice before.
Yet every bone in her body recognized it.
Charles turned off the feed.
“Tomorrow morning.”
He looked at Emily.
“Bring me the trust.”
“And if I refuse?”
May you like
Charles smiled.
“Then you lose your children again.”
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