Chapter 8: The Price of Protecting Her Sister
Nia dropped the phone.
Evelyn caught it before it hit the floor.
“What happened?””
“Madison is missing.””
Evelyn's expression changed.
“Call the police. Now.””
Nia grabbed her coat.
“I'm going home.””
“Not alone.””
They reached the Carter house within twenty minutes.
Two police officers were already outside.
Vanessa stood on the front steps, her makeup running down her cheeks.
The moment she saw Nia, she rushed toward her.
“Where have you been?””
Nia stepped backward.
“Where is Madison?””
“I don't know!””
“Then tell the police everything.””
Vanessa looked at the officers.
“I already explained. She disappeared.””
One officer approached.
“Mrs. Carter, we found a note in the child's bedroom. We'd like to ask a few additional questions.””
Vanessa nodded nervously.
Nia entered the house.
Madison's pink backpack lay beside the staircase.
Her favorite stuffed rabbit was on the sofa.
A half-finished drawing sat on the kitchen counter.
Nia picked it up.
It showed three people standing beneath a large blue sky.
Madison had drawn herself in the middle, Nia on one side, and Vanessa on the other.
Above them were the words:
My family.
Nia's throat tightened.
She turned the paper over.
A message had been written in childish handwriting.
I'm sorry I took the dress.
Nia stared at it.
“Vanessa?””
Her stepmother entered the kitchen.
“What?””
“Why would Madison apologize for taking the dress?””
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“She feels bad.””
“Did you tell her I was angry with her?””
“I never said that.””
“Then why would she think she had to apologize?””
Vanessa looked away.
Nia stepped closer.
“What did you tell her?””
Vanessa's lips trembled.
“I told her you were trying to take away everything we had.””
Nia went still.
“You told an eight-year-old that?””
“I was upset!””
“You made her believe this was her fault.””
Vanessa covered her face.
“I didn't know she would run away.””
Evelyn entered the room.
“Mrs. Carter, did Richard contact you?””
Vanessa froze.
“No.””
“Think carefully.””
“I don't know what you're talking about.””
Evelyn placed the photograph of Richard's business card on the table.
“We know he offered Nia money for the patents.””
Vanessa looked at the card.
Then she sat down.
“He said he only wanted to talk to Madison.””
Nia felt a chill.
“What?””
Vanessa looked at her.
“He said he wanted to explain something about her father.””
“Why would he involve Madison?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you let him take her?””
“No!””
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“He came to the house yesterday. He said if I didn't help him recover the original designs, he would make sure I lost everything.””
Evelyn folded her arms.
“And you believed him?””
Vanessa began crying.
“He knows people. He has money. I thought he was bluffing.””
Nia stared at her.
“Where did he take Madison?””
“I don't know.””
“Vanessa!””
“He mentioned a warehouse near the river. That's all I know.””
The police officer entered.
“Mrs. Carter, we need you to come with us.””
Vanessa stood.
“Why?””
“We need to establish the circumstances surrounding your daughter's disappearance and your contact with Mr. Hale.””
Nia turned to the officer.
“Please. Find my sister.””
The officer nodded.
“We're treating this as a priority.””
Evelyn called her security director and gave him the warehouse information.
Within minutes, the search began.
Nia paced the living room.
She couldn't stop thinking about Madison's drawing.
The little girl had done something terrible, but she was still a child.
She hadn't understood why her mother had taken the dress.
She hadn't understood the money.
She hadn't understood the patents.
All she knew was that the two people she loved were fighting.
Nia's phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
Madison was sitting on a wooden chair in a dimly lit room.
Her eyes were red.
Her hands were folded in her lap.
Beneath the photograph was a message.
Bring the original Star of Tomorrow prototype. No police. No Evelyn. You have one hour.
A second message followed.
If you refuse, the child pays for your father's stubbornness.
Nia's blood ran cold.
She showed Evelyn.
“No.””
Nia looked at her.
“He has Madison.””
“And he wants you to walk into a trap.””
“I don't care.””
“I do.””
Evelyn took the phone.
“Richard wants the original prototype. If you give it to him, he'll disappear with the technology.””
“Madison is eight years old.””
“I know.””
“Then what are we waiting for?””
Evelyn looked at the photograph.
“I'm not suggesting we abandon her. I'm suggesting we get her back without giving Richard what he wants.””
They contacted the police.
A detective named Laura Bennett arrived shortly afterward.
She examined the photograph and the messages.
“Do we have an exact location?””
Nia shook her head.
“Only the warehouse near the river.””
Detective Bennett studied the background.
“Wait.””
She enlarged the image.
There was a faded sign behind Madison.
A blue anchor.
The detective called her team.
“Search warehouses with this symbol near the riverfront.””
Within fifteen minutes, they had identified a likely location.
An abandoned textile distribution center.
Detective Bennett turned toward Nia.
“We'll coordinate the rescue.””
Nia nodded.
But her phone vibrated again.
Time is running out.
She looked at Evelyn.
“I have to go.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“Not without the police.””
Nia walked toward the sewing table.
The unfinished gown stood beneath the work lights.
She looked at it for a long moment.
Then she removed a small piece of the reflective fabric.
“What's that for?”” Evelyn asked.
Nia folded it carefully.
“Insurance.””
She placed it inside her coat.
Then she picked up the original design notebook.
“If Richard wants the prototype, I'll make him think he's getting it.””
Evelyn understood immediately.
“You're going to give him a replica?””
Nia nodded.
“The technology is in the construction sequence. I can reproduce the appearance without giving him the actual working pattern.””
Detective Bennett looked uncertain.
“Can you do that?””
Nia took a breath.
“I can try.””
They worked quickly.
Using the original sketches, Nia constructed a temporary display panel from ordinary reflective material.
Under ultraviolet light, it appeared nearly identical to the real prototype.
But it lacked the final layered structure.
The true technology remained in the original dress.
At 9:42 p.m., Nia arrived near the warehouse.
Detective Bennett's team was positioned around the building.
Evelyn stayed in the vehicle with the security director.
Nia carried the covered panel.
Her phone vibrated.
Enter alone.
She opened the warehouse door.
The smell of dust and damp cardboard filled her nose.
A single overhead light illuminated the center of the room.
Madison sat on a wooden chair.
Her cheeks were wet.
“Mommy?””
Nia rushed toward her.
“Madison!””
A man stepped out of the shadows.
Richard Hale.
He held a phone in one hand.
“Careful, Nia.””
She stopped.
Richard smiled.
“It's good to see you.””
“Let her go.””
“First, the prototype.””
Nia placed the covered panel on the table.
Richard examined it.
“Is this the original?””
“Yes.””
He pulled back the fabric.
The silver-blue surface shimmered.
His eyes widened.
For several seconds, he looked almost overwhelmed.
“Beautiful.””
“Now release her.””
Richard laughed.
“You really think I'm going to let you walk away?””
Nia's stomach tightened.
“You said you only wanted the design.””
“I want the company, the patents, and the complete production method.””
“You can't have them.””
Richard stepped closer.
“You don't understand what your father created.””
“I understand enough.””
He reached for the panel.
Then a voice echoed from behind him.
“Richard, don't touch it.””
Vanessa stood in the doorway.
Nia turned in disbelief.
“What are you doing here?””
Vanessa's face was pale.
She looked directly at Richard.
“You promised you wouldn't hurt Madison.””
Richard laughed.
“I promised you a lot of things.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Let her go.””
Richard's expression changed.
“You've already received more than you deserved.””
Vanessa pulled a small flash drive from her handbag.
“I have the original financial records. Every transfer. Every payment. Everything you told me to hide.””
Richard stared at her.
Nia understood.
Vanessa had been working with him all along.
But now she was turning against him.
Richard took a step toward Vanessa.
“You wouldn't dare.””
“I would.””
She threw the flash drive across the room.
Richard lunged for it.
At that exact moment, Detective Bennett's team entered.
“Police! Don't move!””
Richard spun around.
He tried to reach the exit, but two officers blocked his path.
Within seconds, he was on the floor, handcuffed.
Nia ran to Madison.
She dropped to her knees and hugged her tightly.
“Are you okay?””
Madison sobbed into her shoulder.
“I didn't want him to take me.””
“I know. You're safe now.””
“I didn't mean to steal your dress.””
Nia closed her eyes.
“It's okay.””
Madison pulled back.
“Do you hate me?””
Nia shook her head.
“No, sweetheart.””
Then she looked at Vanessa.
Her stepmother stood beside the doorway, crying silently.
Detective Bennett approached.
“Mrs. Carter, we'll need you to accompany us for questioning.””
Vanessa nodded.
As the officers led her away, she stopped beside Nia.
“I know you hate me.””
Nia didn't answer.
Vanessa looked down.
“I did love your father.””
Nia finally spoke.
“Then why did you hurt everything he loved?””
Vanessa had no answer.
After the officers left, Detective Bennett approached Nia.
“We found something else in Richard's vehicle.””
“What?””
“A document showing that he had arranged to sell the stolen technology to an overseas buyer.””
Nia frowned.
“But the prototype he took was fake.””
Detective Bennett nodded.
“We know. That's why we're going to need the real design to establish the extent of the theft.””
Nia looked at Madison.
Then at the black-covered garment bag waiting in the police vehicle.
“The real design is safe.””
She had almost finished the dress.
But she still hadn't completed the final light map.
And now she knew something her father had never been able to tell her.
The original prototype wasn't just valuable.
It was evidence.
Evidence that could expose everyone involved in stealing Daniel Carter's work.
Detective Bennett handed Nia a small evidence bag.
Inside was a folded sheet of paper found in Richard's vehicle.
Nia opened it.
It contained a photograph of the original silver-blue gown.
But someone had drawn a red circle around a tiny symbol at the waist.
Beneath it was a handwritten note.
The real key is not in the fabric.
Nia looked at the paper.
Then she remembered the star-shaped pendant in her father's video.
Her father had said the final key was hidden somewhere she would never think to look.
She touched the small pendant hanging beneath her blouse.
The one she had worn since childhood.
May you like
For the first time, she noticed that the silver star had a tiny opening in its center.
And inside that opening was something that looked remarkably like a microchip.
