Chapter 6 - The Empty Bassinet
The call came at 10:17 a.m.
A nurse had entered the nursery at the Romano estate and discovered Lily's bassinet empty.
The security cameras had been disabled for eleven minutes.
A rear service door stood unlocked.
No ransom note had been left.
Sebastian's face became frighteningly still.
Isabella grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He turned toward her.
“I'm going to bring her back.”
“They took her once. They can do it again.”
“Not this time.”
Marco was already coordinating with investigators. Every road leaving the estate was being checked. The nursery staff were separated for questioning, and the hospital bracelet's transfer code was sent to forensic specialists.
Clara sat in a chair outside the nursery, pale and shaking.
“I was only gone for five minutes,” she whispered. “I went to get her bottle.”
Sebastian knelt in front of her.
“This isn't your fault.”
“They knew where she was.”
“Yes.”
“Someone inside helped them.”
Sebastian looked at Marco.
“Find out who.”
An hour later, a delivery driver was stopped at a checkpoint several miles away. His van contained medical supplies and a locked transport carrier.
Inside the carrier was a folded blanket bearing the same pattern as Lily's.
But Lily was gone.
The driver insisted he had been hired to deliver equipment to a private residence. He claimed he had never seen the baby.
Investigators found a phone hidden beneath the passenger seat.
It contained one message:
Transfer complete. Await further instructions.
The sender's number belonged to a prepaid phone registered through a company connected to Richard Sterling.
Vanessa's father.
Sebastian drove to Sterling Holdings with investigators.
Richard was waiting in his office, wearing a tailored suit and an expression of practiced concern.
“Sebastian, I heard about the baby. This is a tragedy.”
“Where is my daughter?”
Richard spread his hands.
“I have no idea what you're talking about.”
Sebastian placed the phone on his desk.
Richard glanced at it, then looked away.
“You should be careful about making accusations.”
“You paid for the facility where Isabella was held. Your company arranged her transfer. Now my daughter has vanished, and a phone connected to your business has been used to coordinate it.”
Richard's expression hardened.
“You're emotional.”
“No. I'm a father.”
For the first time, Richard appeared unsettled.
Sebastian leaned forward.
“If Lily is harmed, every person involved will spend the rest of their life answering for it.”
Richard stood.
“Threats won't help you.”
“Then give me something useful. Where is she?”
Richard's eyes flickered toward the office safe.
It was a small movement, but Marco noticed.
While investigators questioned Richard, Marco found a property ledger containing several rural addresses. One was marked with a coded notation matching the delivery driver's message.
Hawthorne Cottage.
The property was owned by a company registered to Richard's late brother.
Sebastian stared at the address.
“Get a team there.”
Isabella, waiting in a secure vehicle outside, heard the news over the phone.
“I'm coming.”
Sebastian shook his head.
“You need medical care.”
“My daughter is there.”
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
They reached Hawthorne Cottage shortly after sunset.
The house sat beside a narrow lake, surrounded by tall trees. A single light glowed upstairs.
Investigators approached quietly.
A woman emerged from the side door carrying a baby carrier.
Sebastian recognized her immediately.
Dr. Evelyn Shaw.
She froze when she saw the officers.
“Please,” she whispered. “I didn't know what else to do.”
“Where is my daughter?” Isabella cried.
Evelyn pointed toward the house.
“Inside. She's safe.”
Sebastian rushed through the doorway.
Lily lay in a portable crib, wrapped in her yellow blanket. She was crying, but she was alive.
Isabella fell to her knees beside her.
“My baby.”
She lifted Lily into her arms, pressing her face against the infant's hair.
“I've got you. Mommy's here.”
Sebastian stood over them, unable to speak.
Then he lowered himself beside Isabella and placed one hand gently on Lily's back.
For several seconds, the three of them remained together on the floor.
May you like
They had found each other again.
But the people who had stolen their lives were still waiting to be exposed.
