Chapter 4 - DANIEL’S SECRETSarah nearly dropped the phone.
Arthur caught it.
“What did you see?”
She showed him.
Arthur’s face became expressionless.
“Call the police.”
“I did.”
“Call again.”
Sarah shook her head.
“He said not to trust my mother.”
Arthur corrected her.
“He said not to trust Eleanor.”
Sarah looked toward the hospital door.
“What if the police are already working for her?”
Arthur’s expression tightened.
“That is why we need evidence.”
He took the phone.
The photograph’s metadata showed a location.
Vance Manor.
Sarah stared.
“He’s in the house.”
Arthur nodded.
“Or someone wants us to think he is.”
A doctor entered.
“Mrs. Vance, your contractions have slowed. We’re keeping you overnight.”
Sarah nodded.
Then she turned to Arthur.
“Go.”
Arthur frowned.
“Where?”
“Find Daniel.”
“No.”
“You said you saw what happened to me.”
“And I won't let you become bait.”
Sarah held his gaze.
“Someone tried to kill me once tonight.”
Arthur didn't move.
“And if Daniel is alive, they may kill him too.”
Arthur finally nodded.
“I'll go.”
Before leaving, he leaned down.
“One thing.”
“What?”
“Do not be alone.”
The moment he left, Sarah’s phone buzzed again.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
ASK YOUR HUSBAND WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS SISTER.
Sarah stared at the screen.
The name Clara appeared in her mind.
Daniel’s sister.
The family had always said Daniel was an only child.
Then how could Clara exist?
She opened the internet.
Typed the family name.
Old newspaper articles appeared.
Vance Industries.
Philanthropy.
Political donations.
International expansion.
No Clara.
She searched deeper.
Archived local newspaper.
Nothing.
Then one obscure result appeared.
A twenty-year-old article.
LOCAL GIRL PRESUMED DEAD AFTER PRIVATE FAMILY DISPUTE.
Sarah clicked.
The article had been almost completely removed.
But one photograph remained.
A teenage girl.
Dark hair.
Pale face.
Standing beside a younger Daniel.
Sarah stared.
The resemblance was unmistakable.
Then she noticed something else.
The girl was wearing a necklace.
A silver pendant.
Sarah knew it.
It had been hanging in Daniel’s study for years.
He had always told her it belonged to his mother.
Sarah’s hands shook.
She called Daniel again.
Straight to voicemail.
Then Arthur called.
Sarah answered.
“Arthur?”
His breathing was heavy.
“I’m inside the east wing.”
“Did you find Daniel?”
“Not yet.”
“What did you find?”
Silence.
Then:
“Blood.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“Is Daniel hurt?”
“I don't know.”
Arthur moved through the dark corridor.
The east wing looked abandoned.
Dust covered the floor.
Paint peeled from the walls.
Every room was locked.
Then Arthur found one door.
Unlike the others, it was clean.
Recently used.
He entered a code.
The door opened.
Inside was a surveillance room.
Dozens of screens covered one wall.
Sarah’s bedroom.
The nursery.
The kitchen.
The front gate.
Every room.
Arthur stared.
Someone had been watching the entire mansion.
But then he saw one final screen.
It displayed a hospital room.
Sarah’s hospital room.
His blood ran cold.
“Sarah…”
She answered.
“What?”
“Leave your room.”
“Why?”
“Now.”
Sarah looked toward the window.
“Arthur, what is happening?”
He stared at the camera feed.
A man in a surgical mask had entered her room.
Sarah slowly turned.
The masked man stood behind her.
He raised one hand.
And held a syringe.
Arthur shouted:
“RUN!”
Sarah screamed and pulled the IV from her arm.
The masked man lunged.
She stumbled toward the door.
The hospital monitor screamed.
Doctors rushed down the hallway.
The man turned and escaped through the emergency stairwell.
Sarah collapsed against the wall.
A nurse ran toward her.
“Are you okay?”
Sarah looked at the empty doorway.
“No.”
Her voice shook.
“He wasn't trying to kill me.”
“What?”
Sarah touched her belly.
“He was trying to drug me.”
The nurse froze.
“Why?”
Sarah looked down.
“Because they don't want my baby born here.”
At that exact moment, Arthur discovered something on the surveillance system.
A file labeled:
BIRTH TRANSFER PROTOCOL.
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And beneath it:
EXECUTE WHEN SARAH ENTERS LABOR.
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