Chapter 5 - THE CHILD THEY TOOK
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Claire had never told me she had a daughter.
Her name was Lily.
Five years old.
Blonde curls.
Brown eyes.
A laugh Claire said sounded like wind chimes.
Northstar had taken her six months earlier.
They had threatened Claire with videos, messages and photographs.
“Why didn't you go to the police?”
“Because the police were compromised.”
Damien's jaw tightened.
“So you had no choice.”
Claire looked at him.
“No. I had one choice.”
“Which was?”
“Disappear.”
She had spent six months gathering evidence.
Then she saw my face on television.
The gala.
The confrontation.
She knew her time was running out.
“We find Lily first,” I said.
Claire stared at me.
“You don't have to do this.”
I laughed.
“She is my niece.”
“You barely know me.”
“You're my sister.”
I didn't need to say more.
Damien stood.
“Let's start with the address.”
Claire hesitated.
“We have one.”
She gave us the location.
An old private school outside Philadelphia.
Northstar had purchased it six years earlier.
We arrived before dawn.
The building was empty.
Too empty.
No guards.
No cameras.
No vehicles.
Claire whispered:
“This is wrong.”
Damien nodded.
We entered through a side door.
The hall smelled like dust.
Then we heard a child's voice.
“Mommy?”
Claire ran.
I followed.
At the end of the corridor, a little girl stood beside a table.
Lily.
Alive.
Untouched.
Claire fell to her knees.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
Lily ran into her arms.
I cried without realizing it.
For one beautiful moment, nothing else mattered.
Then a speaker crackled.
Blake's voice.
“Family reunion.”
My stomach dropped.
The doors slammed shut.
A red light appeared above us.
Damien looked around.
“Everybody stay calm.”
Blake continued.
“I knew you'd come.”
I stepped toward the speaker.
“What do you want?”
“Your shares.”
“You already asked.”
“This time, I need all of them.”
“No.”
He laughed.
“Then the building burns.”
Claire held Lily tighter.
“You wouldn't.”
“I don't need to.”
The fire alarm began screaming.
Smoke poured from the vents.
Damien grabbed the emergency extinguisher.
“Move!”
We rushed toward the exit.
The door wouldn't open.
Claire began panicking.
Lily coughed.
I looked up.
There was a small window.
“Damien.”
He followed my gaze.
“Too high.”
“We'll make it.”
He smashed a table against the wall.
The window shattered.
He lifted Lily first.
Claire climbed after her.
Then me.
We barely escaped before flames engulfed the hallway.
Outside, we collapsed in the wet grass.
Sirens approached.
Police.
Fire trucks.
And one black SUV.
Blake stepped out.
He wasn't looking at us.
He was looking at the burning building.
Then he turned toward me.
“You still think this is about money?”
I stared.
“What else could it be?”
Blake smiled.
“Your father stole something from my family.”
“What?”
“An algorithm.”
Damien frowned.
“What algorithm?”
Blake answered:
“Aerospace defense technology.”
I felt cold.
My father's company had government contracts.
Defense contracts.
He hadn't just built airplanes.
He had developed classified technology.
Technology Northstar wanted.
Blake looked at me.
“And you inherited the access key.”
My heart stopped.
“What key?”
He smiled.
“The one your father hid inside your marriage.”
Then he walked away.
Claire looked at me.
“What does that mean?”
I didn't know.
But Damien did.
His face had gone pale.
“Audrey…”
May you like
“What?”
“The key might be you.”
