Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN WHO VANISHED TWICE
Vanessa's accusation changed everything.
Luca stared at her across the library table.
“You expect me to believe Gabriel threatened the mother of his child?”
“I don't expect you to believe anything I say.”
“Then give me proof.”
Vanessa wiped her face.
“Rachel called me seven years ago. She said Gabriel had changed after his treatment.”
“Changed how?”
“He was frightened. Angry. He believed people were following him.”
Luca leaned forward.
“People were following him.”
Vanessa looked down.
“I know that now.”
She explained that Ward had ordered her to transport Rachel to a safe apartment after Gabriel's disappearance.
Rachel had been pregnant.
Terrified.
And convinced someone wanted her dead.
“Why would she trust you?”
“Because I told her I was helping her escape Ward.”
“Were you?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“At first, I thought I was.”
Luca closed his eyes.
There it was again.
At first.
Every confession contained another lie.
“Where did you take her?”
“A rented apartment in Milwaukee.”
“And then?”
“She disappeared.”
“Just like Gabriel?”
Vanessa nodded.
“I went back two days later. The apartment was empty.”
Luca studied her.
“Did Ward know where she was?”
“Yes.”
“Then Rachel wasn't safe.”
Vanessa began crying.
“I know.”
Emma had been listening from the doorway.
She stepped inside.
“My sister would never abandon Lily willingly.”
Vanessa looked at her.
“I believe you.”
Emma's voice rose.
“You knew where Rachel was. You knew she was pregnant. And you never told us?”
“I was threatened.”
“So was my sister!”
Emma's words broke.
Arthur placed a hand on her shoulder.
Vanessa lowered her head.
“I can't undo what happened.”
“No,” Emma whispered.
“You can't.”
Caleb entered with new information.
Investigators had traced the SUV seen outside the mansion.
It was registered to a transportation company contracted by Saint Agnes.
The company had also serviced a warehouse near Milwaukee.
The same neighborhood where Vanessa claimed Rachel had been hidden.
Luca stood.
“Give the address to the investigators.”
Caleb nodded.
“They're already requesting a search warrant.”
By dawn, police had entered the warehouse.
They found medical equipment.
Old patient files.
And a locked room containing dozens of personal belongings.
Watches.
Wallets.
Photographs.
Wedding rings.
Evidence bags were being prepared when an investigator called Caleb.
Among the belongings was a small leather purse.
Inside was a photograph of baby Lily.
On the back, written in blue ink:
For my little girl. Mommy is coming home.
Emma broke down when she saw it.
“That's Rachel's handwriting.”
Luca put his arm around her shoulders.
For the first time, she didn't pull away.
Then Caleb showed them another discovery.
A security recording recovered from an old hard drive.
The footage was dated five years earlier.
A woman entered the warehouse through a side door.
She wore a dark coat and carried a medical bag.
Her face was partly obscured.
But Emma recognized the way she walked.
“Rachel.”
The woman paused beneath a security camera.
Then looked directly into it.
For two seconds, her face was visible.
It was Rachel Bennett.
Alive.
Two years after she supposedly disappeared.
Emma began crying harder.
“She was alive.”
Caleb nodded.
“Five years ago, yes.”
Luca watched the recording again.
Rachel entered the building alone.
She wasn't being dragged.
She wasn't restrained.
She appeared to know the security code.
Then a man stepped into frame.
Tall.
Dark hair.
Scar above his eyebrow.
Gabriel.
Luca leaned closer.
His brother took Rachel's hand.
She embraced him.
They kissed.
Emma gasped.
“They found each other.”
But the next moment changed everything.
A third person entered the frame.
A man wearing a police jacket.
He approached Gabriel.
Gabriel handed him a folder.
The officer opened it.
Then pointed toward the security camera.
The footage abruptly ended.
Caleb identified the man.
“Detective Daniel Mercer.”
Luca remembered the name.
Mercer had led the original investigation into Gabriel's disappearance.
He had repeatedly assured Antonio that every lead had been exhausted.
“He was helping them?” Emma asked.
“Or controlling them,” Caleb answered.
Luca stared at the screen.
Mercer had retired two years earlier.
He now worked as a private security consultant.
For Saint Agnes.
Luca's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Luca?”
He stopped breathing.
“Who is this?”
“Please don't hang up.”
The voice was shaking.
“I don't have much time.”
Luca looked at Emma.
“Rachel?”
Silence.
Then the woman began crying.
“Is Emma there?”
Emma rushed forward.
“Rachel?”
A broken sob came through the phone.
“Oh, Em.”
Emma covered her mouth.
“Where are you?”
Rachel whispered:
“Lily is with me.”
Emma nearly collapsed.
“Is she okay?”
“Yes. She's scared, but she's okay.”
Luca took the phone.
“Rachel, tell me where you are. We'll send help.”
Her voice hardened.
“You can't send anyone connected to Mercer.”
“Why?”
“Because he's been protecting Ward for years.”
Luca gripped the phone.
“Where's Gabriel?”
A long silence.
May you like
Then Rachel whispered:
“Luca… Gabriel isn't the one you need to rescue anymore.”
