Chapter 10 - The Little Girl in the Photograph
The photograph trembled in my hands.
I stared at the little girl standing just a few feet behind me.
She wore a yellow sweater.
A tiny backpack hung over one shoulder.
She looked like any other child walking through downtown San Francisco.
Except she wasn't there by accident.
Detective Mercer leaned closer.
"Her name is Emma."
"Maya's daughter."
I looked at him in disbelief.
"Why would she be following me?"
Mercer didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
Neither did anyone else.
Agent Torres immediately picked up her phone.
"I want someone at Maya's house."
"Right now."
She paused, listening.
"No."
"Don't call first."
"If there's a problem, I don't want anyone warning them."
She ended the call.
Rebecca Lawson folded her arms.
"We need to assume the child is in danger."
Those words made my stomach tighten.
Maya had risked everything by telling the truth.
If the Caldwell family believed she had betrayed them...
What would stop them from using her daughter against her?
Mercer's phone rang.
He answered immediately.
"Mercer."
His expression changed within seconds.
"When?"
Another pause.
"Understood."
He slipped the phone into his pocket.
"Maya isn't home."
My pulse quickened.
"What about Emma?"
"The school says someone picked her up an hour ago."
Agent Torres looked up sharply.
"Who?"
Mercer shook his head.
"The office assumed it was a family member."
"They didn't ask for identification."
A cold silence filled the room.
Rebecca grabbed her briefcase.
"We're going."
"So am I."
Everyone turned toward me.
Mercer sighed.
"No."
"You stay here."
I crossed my arms.
"I've spent the last twenty-four hours hiding."
"I'm done."
Agent Torres looked at Mercer.
"She's right."
"If this is connected to the case, she deserves to know."
Mercer hesitated.
Then nodded once.
"Stay close."
Thirty minutes later, we arrived at Emma's elementary school.
The principal was waiting outside.
She looked terrified.
"I'm so sorry."
"We thought everything was normal."
Mercer kept his voice calm.
"Tell us exactly what happened."
The principal swallowed hard.
"A woman arrived just before lunch."
"She said Emma's grandmother had fallen."
"She told us Maya had asked her to pick Emma up."
Rebecca frowned.
"Did anyone verify that?"
The principal lowered her eyes.
"No."
"She knew Emma's full name."
"She knew Maya's emergency contact information."
"And she signed the release form."
Agent Torres asked the question everyone was thinking.
"Do you have security cameras?"
"Yes."
Minutes later, we were watching the footage.
The woman walked confidently through the front office.
She wore sunglasses.
A navy blazer.
Her dark hair was tied into a neat bun.
She smiled at everyone.
No one questioned her.
She signed the paperwork.
Emma ran into her arms without hesitation.
The little girl looked happy.
Safe.
Comfortable.
Mercer paused the video.
"Zoom in."
The technician enlarged the image.
The woman's face became slightly clearer.
I felt my breath catch.
"I know her."
Everyone looked at me.
"Who is she?"
I pointed at the screen.
"That's Lydia."
Rebecca stared at me.
"Adrian's assistant?"
I nodded slowly.
"I'm certain."
Mercer looked confused.
"That doesn't make sense."
"Lydia was unconscious in her apartment."
Agent Torres folded her arms.
"Unless..."
Rebecca finished the sentence.
"...unless this happened before the attack."
The technician checked the timestamp.
He shook his head.
"No."
"This was this morning."
The room fell silent.
Mercer looked at the video again.
"Then whoever was in Lydia's apartment..."
"...wasn't Lydia."
A chill ran down my spine.
Someone had wanted the police to believe Lydia was the victim.
Which meant the woman who picked up Emma was either the real Lydia...
Or someone who looked enough like her to fool everyone.
The technician advanced the footage.
The woman and Emma walked toward a silver SUV parked outside the school.
The camera caught the license plate for only a second.
Mercer immediately wrote it down.
"Run it."
Within minutes, another officer hurried into the room.
"The plate is fake."
Of course it was.
Nothing about this case was simple anymore.
Agent Torres replayed the footage once more.
"Stop."
She pointed toward the edge of the screen.
A man stood across the street.
He wasn't approaching the school.
He wasn't speaking to anyone.
He was simply watching.
Mercer leaned closer.
"Can you sharpen the image?"
The technician enhanced the frame.
The man's face slowly became clearer.
My heart nearly stopped.
It wasn't Adrian.
It wasn't Charles.
It wasn't Victor Kane.
It was someone I'd never expected to see again.
The construction contractor from the old security footage.
The man everyone believed had disappeared after accepting the Caldwell family's settlement.
He was alive.
And he had been watching Emma.
Mercer whispered under his breath.
"So..."
"He never disappeared."
Rebecca looked at the screen.
"Which means someone lied."
Mercer nodded.
"No."
He looked directly at me.
"Several people lied."
Before anyone could speak again, Agent Torres' phone rang.
She answered immediately.
Her face turned pale.
"What?"
She turned on the speaker.
A frantic officer's voice filled the room.
"Agent Torres..."
"We just searched Maya's house."
"What did you find?"
There was a long pause.
Then came the answer.
"Maya is gone."
"So is her husband."
"And every family photograph with Emma has been removed."
The line went silent.
Mercer slowly lowered his head.
"They didn't just take the child."
"They erased the family."
Then another message arrived on his phone.
An anonymous text.
May you like
Only one sentence.
Stop looking for Emma... unless you want Claire to disappear next.
