Chapter 2 - Thirty-Seven Seconds
Adrian Vale had spent twenty years teaching dangerous men to fear his silence.
But when Natalie Cross looked at the locked SUV and whispered, “It wasn't supposed to happen like this,” he felt something far more terrifying than anger.
He felt time running out.
“What wasn't supposed to happen?” he demanded.
Natalie backed away.
“Adrian, please. I thought someone would find him sooner.”
For one terrible second, the world stopped.
Then Adrian turned toward the SUV.
“GET ME SOMETHING TO BREAK THAT WINDOW!”
His security chief, Marcus Doyle, came sprinting across the driveway with an emergency glass breaker from the security vehicle.
Adrian snatched it from him.
“Stand back!”
Hannah pulled Maisie away as Adrian struck the rear side window opposite the infant's car seat.
The first impact left a tiny white mark.
The second shattered the tempered glass.
Adrian swept away the remaining fragments with his jacket, reached inside, and released the door lock.
The heat that escaped was suffocating.
Owen sat strapped into his infant seat, his tiny cheeks flushed crimson, his damp blond hair plastered to his forehead.
His eyes were half-open.
His breathing was shallow.
“Daddy's here,” Adrian whispered.
His voice broke.
“Daddy's right here.”
He unfastened the harness and lifted his son into his arms.
Owen's head fell against his chest.
Adrian had held dying men before. He knew the dreadful weight of a body that no longer fought to remain alive.
But this was his child.
His five-month-old son.
“No,” he whispered. “No, buddy. Stay with me.”
“Call 911!” Hannah shouted.
Marcus already had his phone out.
“Infant trapped in a vehicle, possible heatstroke. We need paramedics immediately.”
Hannah rushed forward.
“Mr. Vale, inside. We need to cool him safely.”
Adrian looked at her helplessly.
“Tell me what to do.”
Hannah guided him toward the shaded portico.
“Take off his extra clothing. We can use cool water and damp cloths while we wait for the ambulance. Not ice. We need to keep checking his breathing.”
Mrs. Bell brought towels and cool water.
Adrian knelt on the stone floor, holding Owen while Hannah gently cooled the baby's skin.
Maisie stood a few feet away, trembling.
“Is Owen sleeping?”
Nobody answered.
“Mommy?”
Hannah swallowed.
“Sweetheart, the doctors are coming.”
Maisie looked at Adrian.
“Did I find him too late?”
Adrian raised his head.
The question struck harder than any bullet ever could.
“No, princess.”
He reached out with his uninjured hand.
“You found him.”
A weak sound escaped Owen's lips.
A whimper.
Then another.
Adrian bent over his son and began crying without making a sound.
Behind them, Natalie tried to leave.
Marcus stepped into her path.
“Where are you going?”
“I need my purse.”
“You can wait.”
“Move.”
Marcus didn't.
Natalie glanced toward Grant Mercer, who stood near the broken SUV.
Grant was staring at his phone.
His thumbs moved rapidly.
Then he slipped the device into his jacket.
Adrian noticed.
“Marcus.”
“Yes, boss?”
“Nobody leaves this property until the police arrive.”
Victor Shaw approached.
“Adrian, be careful. You can't legally detain—”
“Then ask them to stay,” Adrian interrupted. “And preserve every security recording.”
Victor's face tightened.
“Security recordings?”
“Every camera. Every gate. Every hallway.”
“Adrian, you're upset.”
“My son nearly died.”
Victor lowered his voice.
“Think about tomorrow's hearing.”
Adrian looked at him.
For the first time, he saw something strange beneath his attorney's polished composure.
Not concern.
Calculation.
The ambulance arrived eight minutes after the emergency call.
Paramedics immediately took over Owen's care, assessing his airway, breathing, circulation, and temperature.
One paramedic looked at Adrian.
“How long was he inside?”
“I don't know.”
“Was the engine running?”
“No.”
“Was he responsive when you found him?”
“Barely.”
The paramedic's expression hardened.
“We need to move.”
Adrian climbed into the ambulance.
Hannah approached with Maisie in her arms.
“Mr. Vale?”
He turned.
“She's been frightened for a long time,” Hannah said softly. “Please don't let anyone blame her for what happened.”
Adrian looked at the little girl.
Maisie's cheeks were wet.
Her pink stethoscope dangled from one hand.
“Come here.”
She leaned toward him.
Adrian kissed her forehead.
“You were the only one who listened when Owen needed help. You did exactly the right thing.”
Maisie whispered, “Will he come home?”
Adrian looked down at his son.
“I am going to do everything I can.”
The ambulance doors closed.
As they pulled away, Adrian called Marcus.
“Find out exactly how my son got into that car.”
“Already working on it.”
“And Marcus?”
“Yes?”
“Don't trust Victor.”
There was a brief silence.
“Understood.”
At Johns Hopkins Hospital, Owen was rushed into emergency treatment.
Adrian remained outside the treatment room, his shirt stained with blood from his injured arm.
Twenty minutes passed.
Then forty.
A pediatric critical care physician finally approached.
“Mr. Vale?”
Adrian stood.
“Your son is alive. His condition is serious, but he's responding to treatment. We need to monitor him closely for complications.”
Adrian gripped the back of a chair.
“Will he recover?”
“It's too early to promise that. But bringing him in when you did gave him a much better chance.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
For the first time in years, he prayed.
His phone vibrated.
Marcus.
“Boss, I found something.”
“What?”
“The west driveway camera was disabled at 1:17 p.m.”
“By whom?”
“Someone logged into the security system using your personal authorization.”
Adrian went still.
“That isn't possible.”
“There's more.”
Marcus hesitated.
“Mrs. Bell says Natalie never carried Owen upstairs. She handed him to Grant Mercer at the side entrance.”
Adrian stared through the hospital window.
“Grant?”
“Yes.”
“Why would my lawyer's associate be carrying my son?”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“That's what I'm trying to find out. But there's something else.”
“What?”
“The camera wasn't simply switched off.”
A pause.
“Someone replaced the missing footage with a recording from yesterday.”
Adrian's blood turned cold.
May you like
Then Marcus said the words that changed everything.
“Boss, whoever did this had been planning it before Natalie ever arrived.”
