Chapter 6 - The Price of a Father's Return
Kieran wanted to go alone.
I refused.
“It's my son.”
“That's exactly why you can't come.”
“You don't get to decide that.”
His eyes burned with frustration.
“Mila, whoever took Noah knows how to get through my security. This isn't some ordinary kidnapping.”
“Then stop treating me like I'm helpless.”
Garrett stepped between us.
“She should come.”
Kieran looked at him sharply.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Whoever sent the note wants the key. Mila has a right to know what's happening.”
Elise examined the paper.
“It's a trap.”
“Of course it is,” Garrett replied. “The question is who they're trapping.”
Kieran finally agreed to let me accompany him, provided I stayed behind his security team.
We drove to the old river warehouse shortly before midnight.
The building had once belonged to Vincent Voss. Its windows were boarded up, and rust covered the loading doors.
Kieran carried the key.
I carried a photograph of Noah.
Inside, a single light burned above a metal table.
A man sat with his back to us.
He wore a dark coat.
His hair was graying.
When he turned, my legs nearly gave out.
Daniel.
Older. Thinner. But unmistakably the man I'd once loved.
“Hello, Mila.”
I couldn't speak.
He stood slowly.
“Where's Noah?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere your enemies can't reach him.”
I stepped forward.
“You took my son?”
“I protected him.”
“You frightened him!”
Daniel's expression cracked.
“I know.”
Kieran raised his weapon.
“Tell us where the boy is.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You still point guns at people when you're afraid?”
“And you still hide behind excuses?”
For a moment, the two men stared at each other with a hatred that seemed much older than either of them.
Daniel finally explained.
He had discovered Vincent's criminal operation years earlier. When he tried to leave, Vincent threatened Mila and their unborn child.
Daniel had disappeared to keep them safe.
He'd sent money through intermediaries, but Vincent intercepted it. Eventually, he learned that someone inside Kieran's organization had continued tracking Mila.
“So you let me believe you abandoned us?” I whispered.
“I thought distance would protect you.”
“You were wrong.”
“I know.”
He reached into his coat and placed a photograph on the table.
It showed a young Noah asleep in a hospital bassinet.
On the back was a date.
The day Noah was born.
“I was there,” Daniel said. “Outside the hospital. I watched through the window.”
My eyes filled.
“You watched me raise him alone.”
“I couldn't come closer.”
I wanted to slap him.
I wanted to hold him.
Mostly, I wanted to know why five years of our lives had been stolen.
Kieran interrupted.
“Who took Noah?”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Someone who believes the boy is the key to Vincent's last account.”
“What account?”
“An inheritance account created under a false identity. Vincent hid millions in it. The access codes were divided between three people.”
Daniel looked at me.
“One of those people was Noah's mother.”
I shook my head.
“That's impossible.”
“Your name was used without your knowledge. When you signed the hospital paperwork after Noah's birth, someone copied your signature.”
Kieran went still.
“Who?”
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Then he looked toward Garrett.
“Ask your brother.”
Everyone turned.
Garrett's face had gone pale.
“What are you talking about?”
Daniel pointed at him.
“Garrett was the one who arranged the account.”
Kieran stepped toward his brother.
“Tell me he's lying.”
May you like
Garrett looked down.
And said nothing.
