Chapter 7: Twenty-Four Hours to Find My Daughter
“I'm coming with you.””
Martin stepped in front of the cottage door.
“Ethan, wait. The police are already coordinating a search. You cannot just drive around looking for Chad.””
“My daughter is missing.””
“I understand.””
“No, Martin. You don't.””
My voice cracked.
I looked down at the photograph of Lily lying on the wooden table. She was smiling, holding a stuffed rabbit. Someone had written her name on the back in my father's handwriting.
For three years, I had believed I had lost my family.
Now I knew my family had been hidden from me.
And the man responsible was threatening to take the only person I had left.
Margaret approached.
“Ethan, listen to me. Chad knows you are looking for Lily. That's why he's sending those messages.””
“Then he knows I'm coming.””
“That is exactly what worries me.””
Martin's phone rang again.
He answered immediately.
“Yes?””
A few seconds passed.
Then he looked at me.
“It's the school principal.””
He put the call on speaker.
A woman's anxious voice filled the room.
“Mr. Hayes, I'm sorry to call so late. The police asked us to preserve all security footage. There's something you need to see.””
“Go ahead,” Martin said.
“The man in the black car didn't enter the school. He waited outside. Lily left through the side entrance with someone else.””
My heart tightened.
“Who?”” I asked.
The principal paused.
“Her grandmother.””
“Brooke's mother?””
“Yes. Mrs. Bennett.””
Martin looked at me.
“Did she have permission to collect the child?””
“She was listed as an authorized pickup contact. But there was something unusual.””
“What?””
“She seemed frightened. She kept looking over her shoulder. Before leaving, she handed one of our teachers a small envelope.””
I leaned closer to the phone.
“What's in the envelope?””
“We haven't opened it. It's addressed to Ethan Sterling.””
The room went silent.
“Where is Lily's grandmother now?”” Martin asked.
“We don't know. She left in a gray SUV.””
Martin thanked her and ended the call.
I stared at the table.
“Brooke's mother has Lily.””
“Apparently,” Martin replied.
“Then we find her.””
He nodded.
“But we do it through the police. If Chad is involved, we cannot risk making a situation more dangerous.””
I reluctantly agreed.
Within twenty minutes, two officers arrived at the cottage.
One was Detective Laura Bennett, a woman in her early forties with short blond hair and a calm, direct manner.
She listened carefully as Martin explained the evidence.
When he finished, she turned toward me.
“Mr. Sterling, I understand you're frightened. But I need you to answer one question honestly.””
“Go ahead.””
“Has Chad Wilson ever threatened your daughter directly?””
“Not until tonight.””
“Has he threatened you?””
I showed her the messages.
She examined the screen.
“Did you reply?””
“No.””
“Good. Don't contact him.””
She turned to her partner.
“Get the phone records from the school footage investigation. Locate the gray SUV. And notify the regional units that Lily may be with her maternal grandmother.””
I stepped forward.
“Detective, I want to help.””
“You can help by giving us everything you know.””
“I want to see my daughter.””
Her expression softened.
“We'll do everything legally possible to make that happen.””
I nodded.
Then she noticed the photograph on the table.
“Is that Lily?””
“Yes.””
She picked it up.
“Beautiful little girl.””
I swallowed.
“She looks like my mother.””
Detective Bennett studied the picture.
Then she noticed the writing on the back.
“Who wrote this?””
“My father.””
She turned it over again.
“Did he leave anything else?””
I remembered the small envelope the school principal had mentioned.
“There's a letter at the school.””
Detective Bennett immediately contacted the principal.
Less than an hour later, an officer returned with the envelope.
My name was written across the front in careful handwriting.
I opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Ethan,
If this reaches you, then everything has gone wrong.
I took Lily because I finally understood what Brooke and Chad were planning. I should have told you years ago. I should have fought harder.
Lily is safe for now.
Do not trust anyone who claims to know where she is.
There is a place your father used to take us when things became unbearable. If you want to find your daughter, look where the lighthouse meets the sea.
I'm sorry.
Evelyn Bennett.
I read it twice.
“Where is the lighthouse?”” Detective Bennett asked.
I knew immediately.
“Harbor Point.””
Margaret looked at me.
“Your father's old lighthouse?””
I nodded.
It stood about forty miles from the cottage, on a stretch of rocky coastline where my father used to take me fishing.
He had bought the surrounding land decades earlier.
Nobody had lived there since my childhood.
Detective Bennett examined the letter.
“Do you believe Evelyn is telling the truth?””
“I believe she knows something.””
“Then we'll send a unit.””
I shook my head.
“I want to go.””
She looked at me carefully.
“You can accompany the officers, but you will not approach anyone without permission.””
“Understood.””
Martin took my jacket from the chair.
“I'm coming too.””
Margaret stood.
“So am I.””
I looked at her.
“You've done enough.””
She shook her head.
“Your father trusted me with his family. I won't abandon you now.””
I didn't argue.
We reached Harbor Point just before dawn.
The lighthouse stood against a pale gray sky, its white paint peeling and its windows dark.
The ocean crashed against the rocks below.
Two patrol vehicles parked near the entrance.
Detective Bennett stepped out first.
“Stay behind us.””
I nodded.
We approached the building.
The front door was unlocked.
Inside, the air smelled of salt, dust, and old wood.
A small lamp was burning on a table.
Beside it sat a child's pink backpack.
I recognized the stuffed rabbit attached to the zipper.
“Lily,” I whispered.
I moved toward the staircase.
Detective Bennett caught my arm.
“Wait.””
She signaled to the officers.
They checked the rooms.
A moment later, one called out.
“Detective! We found someone.””
I hurried toward the back room.
A woman stood near the window, holding a little girl against her chest.
Evelyn Bennett.
Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were red.
Lily wore a yellow sweater and held the same stuffed rabbit from the photograph.
I stopped breathing.
She looked at me.
I looked at her.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then Evelyn whispered, “Ethan?””
I nodded.
“Where is my daughter?””
Evelyn began crying.
“She doesn't know who you are.””
I looked at Lily.
Her little fingers tightened around the rabbit.
“That's all right,” I said softly.
“She doesn't have to know me yet.””
I crouched carefully, keeping a respectful distance.
“Hello, Lily.””
She hid behind her grandmother.
Evelyn brushed the child's hair.
“Sweetheart, this is Ethan.””
Lily looked at me.
“Are you the man from the pictures?””
My throat tightened.
“Yes.””
“Grandpa Robert's son?””
I smiled through the ache in my chest.
“Yes, sweetheart.””
She considered that.
Then she asked the question that nearly broke me.
“Why didn't you come to my birthday?””
I lowered my eyes.
“I didn't know where you were.””
She looked at Evelyn.
“Grandma said you were far away.””
“I was,” I said.
“But I wish I had known about you.””
Lily slowly stepped out from behind her grandmother.
“Are you my daddy?””
I couldn't speak.
I nodded.
Her small face changed.
She looked at me for several seconds.
Then she took one step forward.
I opened my arms.
She didn't run.
She walked slowly, holding her rabbit.
When she reached me, she touched my cheek.
“You're real.””
I closed my eyes.
“Yes, sweetheart.””
Then she leaned against my chest.
I wrapped my arms around her carefully.
For the first time in three years, I felt that something I had lost was finally coming home.
But the moment didn't last.
Detective Bennett approached Evelyn.
“Mrs. Bennett, we need to ask you some questions.””
Evelyn nodded.
“Of course.””
“Why did you leave the school without informing the police?””
“Because Chad was watching us.””
She pointed toward the window.
“He has people following Brooke. He knew Lily would be collected today. He wanted me to take her somewhere he could find her.””
“Why would he do that?””
Evelyn looked at me.
“Because Lily knows something.””
I frowned.
“She's a child.””
“I know. But she heard Chad speaking to Brooke several nights ago. They were arguing about the money and your father's documents.””
I looked down at Lily.
“What did she hear?””
Evelyn swallowed.
“She told me Chad said he needed to find the original trust agreement before you did.””
Martin stepped closer.
“Why?””
Evelyn looked at him.
“Because it contains a clause that could destroy everything he's built.””
Detective Bennett turned.
“What clause?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“I don't know the exact wording.””
Then she reached into her coat and removed a small recording device.
“I recorded their conversation.””
Martin took it.
Before he could play it, a loud crack echoed outside.
The officers immediately moved toward the windows.
Detective Bennett drew her weapon.
“Everyone away from the glass!””
I held Lily close.
Another sound followed.
A car engine.
Then tires screeched against the gravel.
An officer shouted from outside.
“Vehicle leaving! Black SUV heading east!””
Detective Bennett ran toward the door.
Martin stayed beside us.
I looked at Evelyn.
“Was that Chad?””
She nodded.
“He knew we were here.””
I held Lily tighter.
“Then we need to keep her safe.””
Evelyn looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“Ethan, there's something else.””
“What?””
She lowered her voice.
“Brooke didn't just help Chad steal your company.””
May you like
She glanced toward Lily.
“She helped him change your daughter's identity.””
