Chapter 9
Daniel was free.
The news hit me like a punch to the chest.
Fifteen years. He’d served three months.
Escaped through a broken window in the laundry room.
The police were searching everywhere.
Roadblocks. Helicopters. Dogs.
Nothing.
He was gone.
Marcus doubled security at the penthouse.
Guards at every door. Cameras in every room.
Noah and Lily never left the apartment. Never left my sight.
I didn’t go to work.
I worked from home.
Liam ran the day-to-day at Langford.
My father stayed with us.
He held Lily while I worked. Sat with Noah while he watched cartoons.
We were a fortress.
But I couldn’t sleep.
Every creak of the house. Every shadow.
I thought of Daniel.
Angry. Desperate. With nothing left to lose.
He’d already tried to kill me once.
Now he had nothing to stop him.
A week passed.
No sign of him.
The police said he’d probably left the country.
I didn’t believe them.
Daniel was petty. Vengeful.
He wouldn’t run.
Not when he could hurt me.
Then the notes started.
Left on the penthouse doorstep.
Taped to the car.
I know what you did.
You took everything from me.
I’m going to take it all back.
No fingerprints. No DNA.
Nothing to trace them to Daniel.
But I knew.
Then, one night, I woke up.
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
Lily was whimpering in her crib.
I got up to check on her.
Her bedroom door was open.
I walked in.
The window was wide open.
The curtains blowing in the wind.
Lily was gone.
My heart stopped.
I screamed.
Marcus came running. My father came running.
“Lily!” I screamed. “She’s gone!”
The police were there in five minutes.
They searched the apartment. The building. The whole neighborhood.
Nothing.
Then my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I answered, my hand shaking so bad I could barely hold the phone.
“Hello?”
“Elena,” Daniel said. His voice was rough. Breathing hard.
“Where is she?” I screamed. “If you hurt one hair on her head—”
“Shut up,” he said. “You listen to me. You took my wife. My son. My money. My freedom. Now I have your daughter.”
He paused.
“I’m at the old Langford warehouse on the docks. You come alone. No police. No Marcus. No security. Just you. You bring fifty million dollars in cash. And you sign over every penny you own to me. Then I give you back the baby. If you call anyone? I kill her. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I sobbed. “Yes. I’ll do anything. Just don’t hurt her.”
“One hour,” he said. “If you’re late, she goes in the river.”
He hung up.
I turned to Marcus.
“Give me the money,” I said. “Now.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No, Elena. It’s too dangerous. We call the police. We surround the warehouse. We get her back.”
“He’ll kill her,” I said. “You heard him. If he sees one cop, she dies.”
I looked at my father.
“Dad, please. Give me the money.”
My father’s face was white.
He nodded.
“Get it,” he said to Marcus.
Thirty minutes later, I was in the car.
Fifty million dollars in cash in the trunk.
Driving alone to the docks.
Marcus and the police were five minutes behind.
Hidden.
Waiting.
The old Langford warehouse was dark.
Rusting. Falling apart.
I parked the car.
Grabbed the two duffel bags of money.
Walked to the door.
It was open.
“Daniel?” I called. “I’m here. Alone. I have the money.”
“Come in,” his voice echoed.
I walked inside.
The warehouse was huge. Full of old crates. Broken machinery.
Daniel was standing in the middle.
He looked terrible. Thin. Dirty. His clothes torn.
He was holding Lily.
She was asleep. A rag over her mouth.
My blood boiled.
“Give her to me,” I said.
Daniel laughed. A crazy sound.
“Not so fast,” he said. “Sign the papers first.”
He dropped a stack of papers on a crate next to him. A pen.
“Sign over everything. The penthouse. Langford. Hale Industries. All of it. To me.”
I put the money down.
Picked up the pen.
I looked at Lily.
I would have signed the world away for her.
I signed the first page.
Then the second.
Then I heard it.
A soft click.
From the shadows.
I looked up.
Helen stepped out of the dark.
She was wearing a guard’s uniform. A gun in her hand.
I froze.
“Helen?” I whispered. “How…?”
She smiled. That same cold smile.
“Did you really think they could keep me in prison?” she said. “I have friends everywhere. I got out yesterday. Daniel and I had a little talk. We decided we’re better together.”
She walked closer. The gun pointed at me.
“Thank you for the money, Elena. And the company. But we don’t need you anymore.”
She raised the gun.
“Goodbye, Elena.”
Then the door burst open.
Marcus. A SWAT team.
“DROP THE GUN!” Marcus shouted.
Helen turned. Fired.
The bullet grazed Marcus’s arm.
He fired back.
Hit her in the shoulder.
She fell. Screaming.
Daniel dropped Lily. Tried to run.
Two officers tackled him. Cuffed him.
I ran to Lily.
Picked her up.
She was crying. The rag fell from her mouth.
I held her so tight.
“Mama’s here,” I sobbed. “Mama’s got you. You’re safe. You’re safe.”
The paramedics checked Lily.
She was fine. Just scared.
Marcus’s arm was bandaged.
Helen and Daniel were led away in cuffs.
This time, there would be no escape.
No more trials.
No more threats.
It was over.
Truly over.
I walked out of the warehouse.
The sun was coming up.
Pink and gold over the river.
My father was waiting for me. Noah in his arms.
Noah reached for me.
I held both my children.
Lily warm in one arm. Noah’s arms around my neck.
Marcus came over.
“Langford just announced their quarterly earnings,” he said, smiling. “Up forty percent. The board wants to rename the company. Hale-Langford. In your honor.”
I looked at my father. At my children. At Marcus.
At the sun rising over a new day.
May you like
I smiled.
“Let’s go home,” I said.
