Chapter 7: The Empty Bedroom
Vanessa stood in the doorway, staring at the empty bed.
For three seconds, she couldn't move.
Then she screamed.
“Emily!””
Marcus rushed past her and looked through the bathroom.
“Emily!””
Claire ran toward the window.
“It’s open.””
Vanessa grabbed the curtains with both hands.
Rain blew against her face.
“Where is she?””
Marcus leaned out.
“There's a fire escape.””
Vanessa looked down.
Two floors below, the alley was empty.
“She couldn't have climbed down that.””
Marcus was already pulling out his phone.
“I’m calling the police.””
“No.””
Vanessa turned.
“What?””
“Not yet.””
Her expression hardened.
“She is eight years old, Marcus!””
“I know.””
“Then call them!””
“If my father took her—”
“Your father is supposedly dead!””
Marcus stopped.
Claire quietly said, “We need to think.””
Vanessa spun toward her.
“My daughter is gone. I don't want to think. I want her back.””
Claire nodded.
“You're right.””
She stepped toward the bed.
“There has to be something here.””
Vanessa looked at the pillow.
The note was still in her hand.
*She knows who her mother is.*
Marcus read it.
His face went pale.
“What does that mean?””
Vanessa stared at him.
“You tell me.””
“I don't know.””
“You always don't know.””
Marcus flinched.
Claire began searching the room.
“Emily wouldn't leave willingly.””
Vanessa looked around.
Her daughter's stuffed animals were lined up against the wall.
Her pink backpack sat beneath the desk.
Her tablet was charging.
Her shoes were still beside the bed.
Then Vanessa noticed something.
“Her phone.””
Marcus looked.
“It’s gone.””
Vanessa's stomach dropped.
“She took her phone.””
Claire's eyes narrowed.
“Then someone may have convinced her to leave.””
Marcus shook his head.
“She wouldn't go with a stranger.””
“Unless she knew them,” Vanessa said.
Silence.
Marcus slowly looked at Claire.
Claire whispered, “The girl.””
Vanessa's eyes widened.
“The girl who called you.””
Marcus nodded.
“She could have contacted Emily.””
“How?””
“I don't know.””
Vanessa grabbed Marcus's phone.
“Call her.””
“She didn't give me a number.””
“Then find it.””
Marcus opened his contacts.
His fingers froze.
Claire leaned over.
“What?””
Marcus looked at Vanessa.
“The number that called me earlier…”
“What about it?””
“It isn't there anymore.””
Vanessa stared.
“Someone erased it?””
“No.””
He showed her the screen.
The call history was empty.
Even the unknown call had disappeared.
Claire whispered, “Someone has access to your phone.””
Marcus looked toward the hallway.
“No.””
Vanessa's eyes narrowed.
“What's wrong?””
“My phone has been locked down for years.””
“What does that mean?””
“My father taught me how to secure it.””
Claire gave him a strange look.
“You never changed the system?””
Marcus didn't answer.
Vanessa understood.
“Your father can still access it.””
Marcus's phone suddenly lit up.
A video began playing.
Emily appeared on the screen.
Vanessa screamed.
“Emily!””
The recording showed her daughter sitting in a room with white walls.
She wasn't crying.
She looked frightened, but calm.
A man's voice came from behind the camera.
“Emily, tell your mother what you were told.””
Emily looked directly into the lens.
“Mommy…”
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“I’m okay.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“Where are you?””
Emily ignored him.
“Mommy, they said you need to remember.””
“Remember what, baby?””
Emily swallowed.
“They said you already met my real mother.””
Vanessa felt dizzy.
“No…”
Emily continued.
“She came to the hospital.””
Marcus stared at the screen.
Claire whispered, “Oh my God.””
Emily looked toward someone off-camera.
Then back at the lens.
“She was crying.””
Vanessa's knees weakened.
“Who was crying, sweetheart?””
Emily's lips trembled.
“The lady who gave me to Daddy.””
The video ended.
Vanessa stared at the black screen.
Marcus whispered, “Your mother?””
Vanessa slowly shook her head.
“My mother died when I was twenty.””
Claire looked at her.
“Then who was she?””
Vanessa didn't know.
Then she remembered something from the hospital.
A woman standing beside her bed.
She had been crying.
Vanessa had assumed she was another patient's relative.
But the woman had whispered something.
I'm sorry.
Vanessa had forgotten it for twelve years.
Now she remembered the face.
She grabbed her coat.
“I know where she is.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Where?””
“The hospital.””
Claire shook her head.
“It's been twelve years.””
“Not the hospital.””
Vanessa looked at Marcus.
“Your father's old clinic.””
Marcus went still.
“The one in Chicago?””
“Yes.””
“That's three hours away.””
Vanessa picked up her keys.
“Then we have three hours.””
Marcus followed.
Claire stopped him.
“Marcus.””
He turned.
“What?””
“If Emily was taken there, your father wants you to come.””
“I know.””
“And it's a trap.””
Marcus looked at Vanessa.
“I don't care.””
They rushed downstairs.
But before Vanessa opened the front door, her phone buzzed.
A text appeared.
*Come alone.*
A second message followed.
*If Marcus comes, Emily dies.*
Vanessa looked at Marcus.
For the first time, she saw genuine fear in his eyes.
May you like
Then a third message arrived.
*And bring the hospital bracelet.*
