Chapter 11 - THE RABBIT
Lily slept with that rabbit every night.
It had belonged to Emma.
I had brought it to the hospital that morning.
Which meant Grant had taken it from the hospital, not the house.
I ran back to Lily’s room.
Her bed was empty.
For one second, my heart stopped.
Then Maria pointed toward the bathroom.
Lily emerged holding a nurse’s hand.
I nearly collapsed.
“Where’s Bunny?” she asked.
I couldn’t answer.
Hospital security pulled camera footage. At 4:22 p.m., a man in scrubs had entered the family waiting area, lifted the rabbit from a chair, and walked out.
Grant had been inside the hospital.
Close enough to touch my daughter’s things.
Detective Ortiz ordered the floor locked down.
A nurse handed me an envelope found beneath Lily’s pillow.
Inside was a photograph of Emma holding the rabbit when Lily was a newborn.
On the back, Grant had written an address in South Boston.
And one sentence.
COME ALONE IF YOU WANT THE ORIGINAL FILES.
Ortiz immediately said, “No.”
“I’m going.”
“No, you’re not.”
“He has evidence about Emma.”
“He also just walked into a pediatric hospital to scare you. That’s not an invitation. It’s leverage.”
Maria took the photograph from me.
She held it near the light.
“Wait.”
She peeled back the corner.
A tiny memory card was taped behind the photo.
We loaded it on James’s laptop.
The first file was a video from Emma’s phone.
She was sitting in her car, breathing fast.
“If anything happens tonight,” she said, “Grant isn’t working alone.”
Then she turned the camera toward the rearview mirror.
A black SUV was parked behind her.
The driver stepped out.
Claire.
But another man got out of the passenger side.
I recognized him.
May you like
My father’s longtime attorney.
James Holloway.
