Chapter 8 - The Empty House
Ethan did not go alone.
He wanted to.
Detective Chen refused.
"People who threaten children don't get to set the rules," she said.
Police reached Maya's sister's house in six minutes.
The back door had been forced open.
One officer was unconscious in the laundry room. The second had a cut above his eye but was awake.
Lily was gone.
Ethan felt something inside him break cleanly in two.
"Who took her?"
The injured officer shook his head. "Black mask. Tall. Knew the camera blind spots."
"Lily hid when the lights went out. I heard her run upstairs. Then somebody came through the back."
Chen pulled Ethan aside.
"The address in your text is an abandoned Mercer storage property. We move carefully."
"My daughter is six."
"Which is why we don't rush into a trap."
Ethan nearly collapsed when he saw it.
Inside was her stuffed rabbit, a juice box, and a folded piece of paper.
Maya opened it.
A legal document.
PETITION FOR EMERGENCY GUARDIANSHIP OF LILY MERCER.
Nora was named petitioner.
Attached was a statement claiming Ethan had become violent after "another drug-induced psychotic episode" and had abducted Lily from the marital home.
"She kidnapped Lily," Ethan said, "and filed paperwork saying I did it."
Chen's phone rang.
She listened, then looked at Ethan.
"Nora just appeared at family court with her attorney."
"Where is Lily?"
"Nora says she doesn't know."
Ethan kicked the metal leg of a table hard enough to make it jump.
Then a tiny sound came from the far wall.
Beep.
Maya looked down.
Lily's tablet was hidden behind a crate.
The screen showed an unfinished video.
Lily's frightened face filled the frame.
"Daddy, if you find this, the man who took me has Uncle Grant's watch. The blue one."
She looked over her shoulder.
"And I heard him say we're going to the lake house."
Ethan's heart stopped.
May you like
The Mercer lake house had been empty for years.
Except Grant still had the key.
