Chapter 5: The Little Girl Who Knew Too Much
Marcus hit the metal door with both hands.
“OPEN THIS DOOR!””
His voice thundered through the underground corridor.
Nothing.
He kicked the lower panel.
Once.
Twice.
The metal barely moved.
He called the hospital again.
“Get your security supervisor. Lock down every entrance. Nobody leaves with my daughter.””
“Sir, we're already investigating.””
“Investigating?”” Marcus shouted.
“My six-year-old daughter has been taken!””
The nurse's voice trembled.
“We're trying to locate the person who signed her out.””
“Stop trying and call the police!””
He ended the call and dialed the mansion security office.
The guard answered immediately.
“Mr. Vale?””
“I'm locked inside the underground office. Julian is heading toward the hospital. Get me out.””
“Understood, sir.””
“Now!””
Marcus heard footsteps approaching from the other side.
A metallic clank followed.
The lock disengaged.
The door swung open.
The security guard stood there holding a heavy flashlight.
“Are you injured?””
“No. Where is Julian?””
“We've checked the garage. His car is gone.””
Marcus pushed past him.
“Get a vehicle ready.””
“Sir, the police are on their way.””
“Then they can meet us at the hospital.””
He ran up the staircase.
As he reached the study, his phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
Ava was sitting in the back seat of a black SUV.
Her face was wet with tears.
The caption read:
*She wants to see her mother.*
Marcus nearly dropped the phone.
He immediately called the number.
It rang.
Then someone answered.
“Hello, Marcus.””
Celeste.
Her voice was calm, almost cheerful.
“Where is my daughter?””
“She misses her mother.””
“Give me her location.””
“That's not how this works.””
Marcus grabbed the edge of the desk.
“Listen carefully. You have one chance to bring her back.””
Celeste laughed.
“You're still giving orders. That's adorable.””
“Celeste, I swear—”
“You swore many things, Marcus. You promised Elena you would protect her. You promised Ava that her mother would come home. How many promises have you actually kept?””
He closed his eyes.
“What do you want?””
“A document.””
“What document?””
“The original company transfer agreement. The one Elena refused to sign.””
Marcus looked toward the open filing cabinet.
“Why?””
“Because Julian made a mistake. He thought he could handle everything himself. Now I need you to correct it.””
“You want me to sign over my company?””
“I want what belongs to me.””
“Your company?””
There was a pause.
Then Celeste said something that made him stop.
“Ask your brother whose money built Vale Enterprises.””
The call ended.
Marcus stared at the screen.
Ava's photograph remained visible.
He enlarged it.
Behind his daughter, the black SUV's window reflected a building.
A red neon sign.
A distinctive clock tower.
Marcus recognized the area immediately.
An abandoned riverside hotel that had once belonged to his family.
He turned to the security guard.
“Get the police to track this number. I think I know where they're taking her.””
“Sir, the hospital—”
“They're not there anymore.””
He showed the guard the photograph.
“Find this building.””
The guard studied the reflection.
“I know that place.””
“Where?””
“The old Vale Riverside Hotel. It's been closed for years.””
Marcus grabbed his car keys.
“Then let's go.””
The drive took twenty minutes.
Marcus didn't remember most of it.
His hands were locked around the steering wheel. Every red light felt like an enemy. Every second without Ava's voice was another second he couldn't bear.
The hotel stood beside the river, its windows dark and its entrance blocked by rusted security gates.
He parked behind a row of abandoned delivery vans.
A police siren sounded in the distance, still several streets away.
The security guard approached him.
“Mr. Vale, wait for backup.””
“That's my daughter in there.””
“I understand.””
“Then don't ask me to wait.””
Marcus found a broken section of the side gate and slipped through.
The hotel's lobby smelled of damp carpet and cigarette smoke.
Dust covered the reception desk.
A single light glowed near the elevator.
He heard a child crying.
“Daddy?””
Marcus froze.
Ava.
He ran toward the sound.
“AVA!””
A door opened at the far end of the hallway.
Julian appeared.
He was no longer wearing his overcoat. His shirt collar was open, and his face looked exhausted.
“Marcus. Stop.””
“Where is she?””
“She's safe.””
“Let me see her.””
Julian stepped into the hallway.
“Listen to me. I can explain what Celeste is doing.””
“You've explained enough.””
Marcus grabbed his brother's jacket.
“You signed my daughter's name on a hospital release form. You took her out of a hospital bed. What is wrong with you?””
Julian pushed his hands away.
“She wasn't supposed to be harmed.””
Marcus nearly struck him.
“Don't you dare.””
A small voice came from behind Julian.
“Daddy?””
Ava stepped into view.
She was holding a stuffed rabbit with one missing button eye.
Marcus dropped to his knees.
“Baby!””
She ran into his arms.
He wrapped himself around her, checking her arms, her face, her neck.
“Are you hurt?””
Ava shook her head.
“Did anyone touch you?””
“No.””
“Did anyone scare you?””
She nodded.
“Uncle Julian said Mommy was making you sick.””
Marcus looked over her head.
Julian stood motionless.
Ava continued.
“He said if Mommy stayed gone, you wouldn't cry anymore.””
Marcus held his daughter tighter.
“That's not true, sweetheart. Not one word.””
Ava buried her face against his shoulder.
Then she whispered:
“Daddy, Uncle Julian told Miss Celeste that I saw something.””
Marcus looked down.
“What did you see?””
Ava pointed toward the stuffed rabbit.
“My bunny has a secret.””
Marcus gently took it.
The fabric near one ear had been stitched with thread that didn't match the original material.
“What's inside?””
“I don't know. Mommy told me to keep it safe.””
Marcus looked at her.
“When did Mommy tell you that?””
Ava's eyes filled with tears.
“Before she disappeared.””
Marcus carefully examined the stitching.
“Your mother gave you this?””
Ava nodded.
“She said if anything happened to her, I had to keep Bunny close. She said Daddy would understand.””
Marcus unpicked the stitching with his fingernail.
A tiny plastic memory card slipped out.
He stared at it.
Julian took one step forward.
“Give me that.””
Marcus stood.
“No.””
“Marcus, you don't know what's on it.””
“Then why are you afraid?””
Julian looked toward the broken elevator.
Ava clung to her father's leg.
“Uncle Julian said Bunny was dangerous.””
Marcus placed the memory card in his pocket.
“It's over, Julian.””
Julian let out a bitter laugh.
“It's never been over.””
He reached into his jacket.
Marcus immediately stepped between him and Ava.
“Don't.””
Julian pulled out a photograph.
He held it up.
It showed Elena standing beside a man Marcus had never seen before.
The location was the old company headquarters. The date was printed in the lower corner.
Three days before Elena disappeared.
“Look carefully,” Julian said.
Marcus took the photograph.
“What am I looking at?””
“Your wife wasn't only investigating Celeste. She was investigating you.””
Marcus's expression hardened.
“That's a lie.””
“Maybe. But that memory card might tell you otherwise.””
He looked at Ava.
Then back at Marcus.
“Do you really think Elena was innocent?””
Marcus stepped toward him.
“Say another word about my wife.””
Julian lowered his voice.
“She knew about the money. She knew about the offshore accounts. She knew why your father left the company to you instead of me.””
Marcus's grip tightened around the photograph.
“My father left the company to me because I worked for it.””
Julian smiled without warmth.
“That's what he told you.””
A crash echoed through the building.
Someone had opened the hotel's front gate.
The security guard shouted from downstairs.
“Police! Hands where we can see them!””
Julian suddenly turned toward the staircase.
Marcus caught his arm.
“You're not going anywhere.””
Julian swung his elbow into Marcus's chest.
Marcus stumbled.
Ava screamed.
Julian bolted toward the emergency exit.
Two officers rushed into the corridor and intercepted him.
He fought as they grabbed his arms.
“Get off me! You don't understand!””
One officer forced his hands behind his back.
“Julian Vale, you're being detained.””
Julian looked over his shoulder at Marcus.
“You think you've won?””
Marcus held Ava close.
“You're finished.””
Julian shook his head.
“No. You're about to find out what your father really did.””
The officers dragged him away.
At the police station, Marcus sat with Ava in a small interview room while detectives examined the memory card.
A family liaison officer brought them hot chocolate and a blanket.
Ava curled against him, still holding her rabbit.
“Daddy?””
“I'm here.””
“Are we going home?””
“Soon.””
“Will Mommy come?””
Marcus kissed her hair.
“I'm going to bring her home.””
Ava nodded.
Then she looked at the photograph Julian had left behind.
“Daddy?””
“Yes?””
“That's not the man Mommy was afraid of.””
Marcus frowned.
“What do you mean?””
Ava pointed to the photograph.
“That's the man who visited Mommy under the pool.””
Marcus went completely still.
She continued.
“He had a gold watch. He used to bring Miss Celeste a red bag.””
Marcus looked at the picture again.
The man standing beside Elena wore a gold watch.
A distinctive one.
A family heirloom.
The watch had belonged to Marcus's father.
But the man in the photograph wasn't Julian.
It wasn't anyone Marcus recognized.
A detective entered carrying a laptop.
“Mr. Vale, we've recovered some files from the card.””
Marcus stood immediately.
“What did you find?””
The detective hesitated.
“Videos. Financial records. Several audio recordings.””
“Show me.””
The detective turned the laptop toward him.
The first video showed Elena sitting in a chair inside the underground chamber.
Her face was bruised.
Her hair was tangled.
She was looking directly into the camera.
“If Marcus ever sees this,” she said, “he needs to know that Julian didn't start this.””
Marcus leaned closer.
Elena looked down, then whispered:
“His brother was only following our father's instructions.””
The video stopped.
Ava looked up.
“What did Mommy say?””
Marcus couldn't answer.
The detective opened the next recording.
A familiar voice filled the room.
His father's voice.
A man who had been dead for six years.
“Keep Elena alive until Marcus signs the agreement. If he refuses, use the girl.””
Marcus slowly sat down.
His daughter tightened her arms around him.
Then the detective paused the recording.
“Mr. Vale, there's something else.””
He opened a document.
The ownership records of Rowan Strategic Holdings.
The company's listed beneficiary wasn't Celeste.
It wasn't Julian either.
It was someone whose name Marcus had never expected to see.
*Elena Vale.*
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And beneath her name was a date.
A date scheduled for the following morning.
