Chapter 6 - THE LITTLE GIRL WHO HEARD EVERYTHING
Vincent ordered every road leading away from the estate monitored.
Within minutes, helicopters were searching the surrounding woodland, while security teams checked every building on the property.
Jenna stood in the hallway, trembling.
“Find my daughter.”
Vincent faced her.
“I will.”
“You don't understand. She's six years old. She's never been away from me.”
His expression softened.
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
The words came out sharper than she intended.
“You have men, money, security cameras, gates. You can replace anything. I cannot replace Lily.”
Vincent absorbed the accusation.
Then he nodded.
“You're right.”
He turned to Marcus.
“Find her.”
An hour later, investigators discovered a black van abandoned near an industrial road.
Inside was a small pink backpack.
Lily's.
There was also a folded piece of paper.
Jenna recognized the handwriting immediately.
It was Lily's.
She had written only one sentence.
Mommy, the bad lady knows the secret room.
Jenna looked at Vincent.
“What secret room?”
He frowned.
“I don't know.”
Marcus examined the note.
“Maybe she heard something.”
Jenna suddenly remembered Lily's comment about Vanessa and the man outside their apartment.
“Lily told me she saw Vanessa meeting someone.”
Vincent's expression changed.
“Where?”
“Outside our building.”
Marcus immediately pulled up the security footage.
They enlarged the image of Vanessa's vehicle.
The man with the silver watch was visible through the passenger-side window.
Then Jenna noticed something.
“Stop.”
Marcus froze the recording.
“What?”
“Look at the driver's side.”
A second person was standing near the rear door.
A small figure.
Lily.
Jenna's blood turned cold.
The footage showed Vanessa opening the car door and speaking to the child.
Then the recording ended.
Vincent turned toward Marcus.
“Find every camera along that route.”
The next clue came from the hotel's maintenance records.
The Grand Aldridge had an old service tunnel connecting the basement laundry area to a neighboring commercial building.
Few employees knew it existed.
The tunnel had been sealed years earlier.
But the access log showed that somebody had opened it twice during the previous week.
One of the access codes belonged to Dominic.
The other belonged to Vanessa.
Vincent's face became stone.
“She's bringing Lily to the hotel.”
He grabbed his coat.
Jenna followed.
“I'm coming.”
“No.”
“She's my daughter.”
“I know.”
“Then don't ask me to wait.”
Vincent looked at her for several seconds.
Finally, he nodded.
They entered the old service tunnel through a maintenance entrance.
The air smelled of damp concrete and rust.
Marcus led the way with two armed security officers.
At the far end, they heard a child's voice.
“Mommy?”
Jenna nearly collapsed.
“Lily!”
A door opened.
Vanessa stepped into the corridor.
She held Lily's hand.
The little girl looked frightened but unharmed.
“Don't come closer,” Vanessa warned.
Vincent raised both hands.
“Let her go.”
Vanessa laughed.
“Still giving orders. Even now.”
Jenna moved forward.
“Please. She's just a child.”
Vanessa looked at her.
“You ruined everything.”
“I didn't do anything to you.”
“You made him question me.”
“He had questions before he met me.”
Vanessa's face twisted.
“Because you put those ridiculous ideas in his head.”
Vincent took one step forward.
“Enough. This is between us.”
“No,” Vanessa snapped. “It stopped being between us when you chose her.”
She pulled a small electronic device from her handbag.
Marcus raised his weapon.
“Put it down.”
Vanessa ignored him.
“Do you know what this is?”
Vincent recognized it.
It was the second component of the device found in his jacket.
“Where did you get that?”
“Dominic.”
“Give it to me.”
Vanessa laughed.
“You still think you're in control.”
Jenna looked at Lily.
“Sweetheart, remember what we practiced?”
Lily's eyes moved toward her mother.
Jenna had taught her a simple emergency trick: when frightened, look for the nearest safe adult and tell them exactly what was happening.
Lily looked at Marcus.
Then she spoke.
“The lady said Uncle Dominic was going to make the big man sleep forever.”
Everyone froze.
Vanessa's grip loosened.
Lily continued.
“She said the machine would hurt his head until he couldn't be the boss anymore.”
Vincent stared at Vanessa.
“Is that true?”
Vanessa's eyes filled with rage.
“Dominic promised me everything.”
“What did he promise?”
“The company. The money. The house. Everything.”
“And what did he tell you about me?”
“That you were never going to recover.”
Vincent's expression darkened.
“You helped him hurt me.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I didn't know it would be this bad.”
“You knew enough.”
She suddenly pushed Lily toward Jenna.
Jenna caught her daughter.
Marcus moved forward and restrained Vanessa.
The little girl buried her face against her mother's shoulder.
“Mommy, I was brave.”
Jenna kissed her hair.
“You were the bravest girl in the world.”
But the reunion lasted only seconds.
A loud explosion shook the tunnel.
The lights went out.
Marcus shouted.
“DOWN!”
Emergency lights flickered on.
Vincent was on the floor.
Blood spread across his shoulder.
Jenna dropped beside him.
“Vincent!”
He opened his eyes.
“Get Lily out.”
“No.”
“Jenna, listen.”
She pressed her hands against the wound.
Marcus called for medical assistance.
Vanessa was gone.
The tunnel's secondary exit stood open.
As the security team carried Vincent toward the vehicle, his phone began ringing.
It was Dominic.
Jenna answered.
A familiar voice came through.
“Did you find your little girl?”
Jenna's blood ran cold.
Dominic continued.
“Good. Now you can stop worrying about her.”
“What do you want?”
“I want my brother to understand something.”
A pause.
“Tonight was a warning.”
Then he said something that made Jenna's heart stop.
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“Next time, I won't miss him. And I won't leave his mother alive.”
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