Chapter 7 - THE EMPTY BEDROOM
Lucas ran through the mansion calling Lily’s name.
Security locked every door.
Guests were moved into the ballroom and searched again.
Daniel reviewed the camera feeds.
A nurse appeared on the third-floor recording pushing a laundry cart.
Her face was hidden beneath a surgical mask.
She entered Lily’s room.
Four minutes later, she left through the service elevator.
The cart was larger.
Lucas looked toward the mansion’s medical room.
“The doctor brought two nurses for Sophia.”
Daniel checked the staff list.
“One of them was not sent by the clinic.”
The false nurse had entered using identification belonging to a woman who died six months earlier.
Her route led toward the underground parking garage.
A camera captured her transferring Lily into the back of a dark sedan.
Richard sat in the passenger seat.
The vehicle left through the delivery gate while security focused on the shooting.
Lucas slammed his fist against the desk.
Vanessa stood behind him.
“He will take her to the old Bennett estate.”
Lucas turned.
“What estate?”
“The one near Blackwood Lake.”
“Richard used it to meet people connected to the land companies.”
Daniel requested police units at the location.
Vanessa grabbed Lucas’s arm.
“If officers approach openly, Richard will hurt Lily.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he once told me the house had a tunnel leading to the lake.”
“He always kept a boat there.”
Lucas pulled away.
“You are coming with us.”
Sophia tried to rise from the medical bed.
“I am coming too.”
“You can barely stand.”
“She is my sister’s child.”
Sophia looked at Vanessa.
“And I know the woman who took her.”
Vanessa’s face tightened.
“Who?”
“Eleanor Voss.”
Vanessa stepped backward.
Lucas recognized the name.
Eleanor had been Emily’s doctor.
She signed the death certificate for the missing twin.
Sophia continued.
“She did not disappear after Emily died.”
“She changed her name and worked for Richard.”
Vanessa whispered.
“That is impossible.”
Sophia stared at her.
“Eleanor is our mother.”
The revelation silenced the room.
Vanessa’s eyes filled with disbelief.
“My mother died when I was twelve.”
“That is another lie Richard gave you.”
Sophia closed her eyes in pain.
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“He built his entire operation by taking children from families and rewriting their histories.”
“And now he has Lily.”
