Chapter 13 - LILY'S SECOND DISAPPEARANCE
Z
Eleanor did not talk.
Not immediately.
For six hours, she sat inside a federal interview room and requested attorneys.
Three.
One in Washington.
One in London.
One in Geneva.
Marcus waited outside.
He hadn't slept.
Daniel brought coffee Marcus never touched.
Every few minutes, Marcus checked his phone.
Nothing.
No ransom call.
No photograph.
No instructions.
That frightened him.
Professional kidnappers communicated.
Eleanor's people didn't need money.
They needed leverage.
And the leverage was already gone.
The dissolution instrument had been transmitted.
The committee was legally dead.
So what happened to Lily now?
Daniel sat beside him.
“We'll find her.”
Marcus stared ahead.
“You said that when I disappeared.”
Daniel flinched.
Marcus immediately regretted it.
“Sorry.”
Daniel nodded.
“No. Fair.”
“It isn't.”
They sat in silence.
Then Vanessa arrived.
Her left arm was in a sling.
Bruises covered her face.
Marcus stood.
“What happened?”
“They hit me.”
“Who?”
“Two men. One woman.”
“Describe them.”
“I already did.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Why didn't you stop them?”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“You think I didn't try?”
Marcus said nothing.
She stepped closer.
“I know what I did to you. I know what I did to Lily.”
Her voice broke.
“But don't you dare look at me like I handed her over.”
Marcus lowered his eyes.
She was right.
“What happened exactly?”
Vanessa breathed slowly.
“The power went out. Rebecca went to check the backup system.”
“Where was protection?”
“Two federal agents outside. Someone called them to the road because a vehicle crashed.”
“Diversion.”
“Yes.”
“Then?”
“The kitchen door opened.”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Lily ran upstairs. I tried to block them.”
Marcus imagined it.
His six-year-old daughter running.
Again.
Always running from adults obsessed with things she didn't understand.
“Did she say anything?”
Vanessa looked at him.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“She screamed your promise.”
Marcus felt his chest constrict.
“What promise?”
“She said, ‘My daddy always comes back through the door.’”
Marcus looked away.
Vanessa started crying.
“You have to find her.”
“I will.”
“No.”
Marcus looked back.
Vanessa wiped her face.
“You don't understand.”
“What?”
“One of the men said something.”
Marcus became still.
“What?”
“He told the woman, ‘Take the heir to Grey House.’”
Daniel, who had been listening nearby, stood.
“Grey?”
Marcus remembered the Founders Committee list.
Thomas Grey.
One of the six original members.
His successor line had ended.
Or appeared to.
Daniel immediately opened the ledger images.
“Thomas Grey died in 1998.”
“Family?”
Daniel searched.
“One son. Nicholas Grey.”
“Alive?”
“Supposedly died in 2007.”
“Supposedly?”
Daniel looked up.
“Plane crash. No body recovered.”
Marcus almost laughed.
“Of course.”
History repeating itself.
Daniel continued searching.
“Thomas Grey owned properties through trusts.”
“Find anything called Grey House.”
Five minutes later they had three candidates.
Virginia.
Maryland.
Massachusetts.
Vanessa interrupted.
“Not a name.”
Marcus looked at her.
“What?”
“Grey House could mean the color.”
Daniel stopped typing.
Vanessa continued.
“Lily told me something last month.”
“What?”
“She asked why adults hide important things in rooms with colors.”
Marcus felt a chill.
“The blue room.”
“Yes.”
“What else?”
“She said Mommy once told her, ‘Blue means remember. Grey means run.’”
Marcus stared.
Elena again.
Daniel whispered, “She knew.”
Elena had known about Grey House.
Marcus tried to remember every conversation they had about Nathaniel's properties.
Then one memory surfaced.
A charity retreat in Massachusetts.
Old stone building.
Gray exterior.
Owned by the Vale-Sutter Foundation.
Eleanor's foundation.
“Berkshires.”
Daniel turned.
“What?”
“There was a retreat center.”
Daniel searched.
Vale-Sutter Educational Residence.
Closed eight years ago.
Photographs appeared.
Gray stone.
Marcus pointed.
“That.”
Federal teams mobilized.
Marcus wanted to go.
Daniel refused.
“You are not trained for hostage recovery.”
“Neither is Lily.”
“That doesn't make your presence useful.”
Marcus grabbed Daniel's jacket.
“My daughter thinks I always come through the door.”
Daniel stared at him.
Then quietly said, “Then be alive when you do.”
Marcus released him.
The tactical team left first.
Marcus followed ten minutes behind with Daniel.
Snow began falling as they entered western Massachusetts.
The property sat behind iron gates.
Federal agents found the front entrance abandoned.
No guards.
No vehicles.
Too easy.
Marcus waited in the command vehicle.
Every second felt like a year.
Then radio chatter.
“First floor clear.”
“Second floor clear.”
“Basement entrance.”
Marcus stopped breathing.
Static.
Then:
“We have a child.”
Marcus was out of the vehicle before Daniel could stop him.
He ran.
Agents shouted.
Marcus ignored them.
He entered the building.
Downstairs.
Stone corridor.
An agent pointed.
“Last room.”
Marcus ran to the door.
Then stopped.
He remembered Lily.
The promise.
He opened it.
Lily sat on a mattress beneath a blanket.
She looked toward the doorway.
For half a second, she didn't move.
Then she screamed.
“DADDY!”
Marcus crossed the room.
She ran into him so hard they both nearly fell.
He held her.
Her arms locked around his neck.
“You came.”
“I came.”
“You came through the door.”
“I told you.”
She was shaking.
Marcus kissed her hair.
“Did anybody hurt you?”
“No.”
“Did they touch you?”
“One lady held my arm.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
Thank God.
Then Lily whispered, “Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“They wanted me to say a number.”
Marcus pulled back.
“What number?”
“I don't know.”
“What did they ask?”
“They showed me pictures.”
“What pictures?”
“The painting.”
Marcus froze.
“The Rothwell?”
Lily nodded.
“And Teddy. And Mommy. And Grandpa Nathaniel.”
Marcus looked toward Daniel, who had entered behind him.
“What did they want you to say?”
Lily frowned.
“They kept asking where Mommy told me the seven numbers.”
Marcus's heart stopped.
“What seven numbers?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel looked at Marcus.
Elena had hidden something else.
Again.
An agent entered.
“Mr. Voss, we found the kidnappers.”
“Alive?”
“Two.”
“And the others?”
“Gone.”
“Who gave the orders?”
“We're working on it.”
Marcus looked at Lily.
She was exhausted.
He didn't care about the rest tonight.
But as he carried her outside, she whispered something against his shoulder.
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“I think I know the numbers now.”
Marcus stopped walking.
May you like
Lily lifted Teddy.
“Mommy sewed them in his other ear.”
