Chapter 5: The Missing File
The photograph showed my house at night.
The porch light was on.
Our curtains were closed.
A black car sat across the street.
Someone had taken the picture from inside it.
My stomach twisted.
“When was this taken?””
Luke stared at the screen.
“Tonight.””
Eli immediately stepped beside me.
“Emily, don't go home.””
“I wasn't planning to.””
Detective Harris took Luke's phone.
“Did you receive anything else?””
Luke shook his head.
“Not from this number.””
“Who has the number?””
“I don't know.””
Eli gave a humorless laugh.
“That's not true.””
Luke looked at him.
Eli pulled another page from the envelope.
“You've been communicating with them for months.””
“I told you, I was trapped.””
“You're still lying.””
Luke's face hardened.
“You think you're saving her?””
Eli stepped closer.
“I am.””
“Then you're already too late.””
I looked at Luke.
“What does that mean?””
He stared at me.
“They know about June.””
I held my daughter tighter.
“Who?””
Luke didn't answer.
Detective Harris slammed the phone onto the table.
“Enough.””
His voice filled the room.
“People have been harmed. Babies have been moved. Records have been falsified. If you know who's behind this, now is the time to tell us.””
Luke looked at him.
“I don't know who runs it.””
“Who gave you instructions?””
“A man named Marcus.””
Eli's eyes narrowed.
“Marcus what?””
“Vale.””
Rachel suddenly gasped.
“I know him.””
Everyone turned.
Rachel's hands began shaking.
“He was the man who came to my house.””
“When?”” Detective Harris asked.
“Three months ago.””
“What did he want?””
Rachel looked at Luke.
“He wanted me to sign something.””
“What?””
“A transfer agreement.””
Her voice dropped.
“He said if I refused, my baby would disappear from the hospital system.””
Olivia stepped closer.
“He told me the same thing.””
I stared at both women.
“How many mothers did Marcus contact?””
Eli answered.
“At least seven.””
“Seven,” I whispered.
He nodded.
“And there's another problem.””
He pulled out his laptop.
The screen showed a hospital database.
“What is that?””
“The original newborn assignments.””
He scrolled.
“Your baby was assigned correctly.””
My breath caught.
“Then when was it changed?””
“After your delivery.””
He clicked another file.
“Someone manually replaced June's identification number with Rachel's.””
Rachel looked at Jasmine.
“Who had access?””
Jasmine's face was grim.
“Doctors. Nurses. Administrators. IT.””
Eli looked at her.
“And one temporary employee.””
“Who?””
Jasmine shook her head.
“I don't remember the name.””
Eli zoomed in.
There was a photograph.
A man wearing hospital scrubs.
I recognized him.
“He was at my delivery.””
Luke looked at the screen.
“That's Marcus.””
My heart pounded.
“You said Marcus wasn't a hospital employee.””
“He wasn't.””
“Then why was he there?””
Luke's silence returned.
I stepped toward him.
“Why was he there?””
Luke finally said, “Because I gave him access.””
The room went still.
I felt something inside me break.
“You brought him into the hospital?””
Luke looked at me.
“I didn't know he would switch the babies.””
“But you knew he was there.””
“Yes.””
“And you let him near my daughter.””
Luke's eyes filled with tears.
“I thought they were only changing paperwork.””
Rachel shook her head.
“You're a coward.””
Luke didn't respond.
Detective Harris took a breath.
“Eli, what else did you find?””
Eli's expression changed.
“There was one file I couldn't open.””
“What file?””
He turned the laptop toward us.
The file name was simple.
*PROJECT JUNE.*
My blood ran cold.
“Open it.””
“I tried.””
“What happened?””
“Password protected.””
Luke stared at the screen.
Then he whispered—
“Don't.””
I turned toward him.
“Why?””
“Because that file wasn't created for you.””
“Then who was it created for?””
Luke looked at June.
“For the people who were supposed to take her.””
I felt dizzy.
Detective Harris stepped forward.
“Can you break the password?””
Eli nodded.
“I think so.””
He started typing.
Rachel moved closer.
“What happens if you open it?””
Eli didn't look up.
“We find out why June was worth more to them than the other babies.””
The password box disappeared.
A folder opened.
There were photographs.
Dozens of them.
Mothers.
Newborns.
Hospital rooms.
And beneath each photograph was a date and a price.
I covered my mouth.
Olivia began sobbing.
Rachel looked away.
Eli scrolled down.
Then stopped.
His face went completely still.
“What?””
He didn't answer.
“Eli, what did you find?””
He turned the laptop toward me.
There was a photograph of June.
Taken the morning after she was born.
She was sleeping in the bassinet.
But the timestamp was impossible.
It had been taken *before I gave birth*.
And beneath the photograph was a note:
*SUBJECT JUNE — PRIMARY TARGET.*
I stared at the screen.
“Why was she the primary target?””
Eli slowly opened the next document.
His face drained of color.
“Emily…”
“What?””
“This isn't a baby-selling operation.””
May you like
He looked at me.
“It never was.””
