Chapter 6 - The Empty NurserySilas drove through the streets of Newport with Jonah beside him.
His phone rang repeatedly.
He ignored every call except one.
Mallory.
“Silas?”
“I'm coming.”
“They took him.”
“I know.”
“Please tell me you know where he is.”
Silas gripped the steering wheel.
“I'll find him.”
Mallory was crying so hard that she could barely breathe.
“They came through the kitchen. I was upstairs getting his pajamas. When I came back, the window was open.”
“Did you see anyone?”
“One man.”
“Describe him.”
“Black coat. Gray gloves. He had a scar beneath his ear.”
Jonah immediately looked at Silas.
“Victor's security chief.”
Silas accelerated.
“What's his name?”
“Marcus Bell,” Jonah answered.
Silas ended the call.
When they reached the mansion, police cars surrounded the property.
Walter Dain was nowhere to be found.
Mallory stood in the entrance hall wrapped in a blanket.
The moment she saw Silas, she ran toward him.
“Where is our baby?”
Silas caught her.
“We'll find him.”
She buried her face against his chest.
“I promised him you'd come back.”
Silas closed his eyes.
“You kept him alive. You kept him safe as long as you could. Don't you dare blame yourself.”
Jonah approached with a tablet.
“We recovered something from the security system.”
He showed them a photograph of the vehicle used in the kidnapping.
A black SUV.
The license plate had been removed.
But a small sticker was visible on the rear window.
A white compass.
Silas recognized the symbol.
Victor Hale's private security company.
“Find it.”
Jonah made several calls.
Within twenty minutes, they had a location.
An abandoned coastal hotel outside Providence.
Silas gathered his men.
Mallory grabbed his arm.
“I'm coming.”
“No.”
“Silas, that's my son.”
“I know.”
“Then don't ask me to sit here while someone has him.”
He looked at her.
For three years, other people had decided where Mallory could go, what she could say, and whether she deserved to see her own child.
Silas refused to become another person controlling her life.
He nodded.
“Stay behind me. Follow my instructions if things become dangerous.”
She nodded.
The hotel was dark when they arrived.
A single light burned on the third floor.
Silas entered through the service entrance with Jonah and two trusted men.
They found Marcus Bell guarding a staircase.
The man reached for his weapon.
Silas struck first.
The gun hit the floor.
Jonah secured Marcus while Silas continued upstairs.
At the end of the corridor, a door stood open.
Inside, Noah sat on a bed holding a stuffed rabbit.
A woman in a gray coat was trying to persuade him to drink water.
“Daddy!”
Silas crossed the room.
He dropped to his knees and embraced his son.
“I'm here, buddy.”
Noah began sobbing.
“They said you weren't real.”
Silas held him tighter.
“I'm real.”
“They said Mommy made you up.”
“Your mommy would never lie to you about something like that.”
Mallory entered the room.
Noah immediately reached for her.
She gathered him into her arms.
Silas watched them.
Then Jonah called from the corridor.
“Silas. You need to see this.”
He held up a phone recovered from Marcus.
There was a message from Victor.
Bring the boy to the harbor. The exchange happens at midnight.
Another message followed.
And make sure the mother comes too.
Silas stared at the screen.
“They wanted both of them.”
Jonah nodded.
“There's another message.”
He showed Silas the final line.
The mother knows where the original ledger is hidden.
Silas looked at Mallory.
She had gone pale.
“Mallory?”
She hugged Noah tighter.
May you like
Then she whispered:
“I know what they're talking about.”
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