Chapter 7 - Saint Martha’s
Smoke appeared beneath the chapel doors.
Vance ordered the building evacuated.
Claire refused to move.
“My daughter is inside.”
“So are move.
“My daughter is inside officers.”
“They do not know where she is.”
Claire remembered the school’s old plans.
Daniel had once considered turning Saint Martha’s into a music center.
He showed Claire a hidden service staircase connecting the chapel to the dormitory basement.
She led firefighters toward the west corridor.
Julian followed despite Vance ordering him outside.
They reached the basement through a laundry passage.
Smoke thickened near the ceiling.
Lily’s voice continued through the intercom.
“Mommy, I am in the room with stars.”
Claire knew the room.
The former astronomy classroom occupied the north tower.
They climbed three flights.
A metal door blocked the tower stairs.
Julian struck it with a fire extinguisher.
The lock broke after four blows.
They found Lily tied to a wooden chair beneath a painted ceiling of constellations.
Conrad Pike stood beside the window holding a gasoline can.
Two men guarded the stairwell.
One fled when he saw the firefighters.
The other drew a gun.
Julian moved in front of Claire.
The shot struck the wall.
A police officer returned fire.
The gunman fell.
Conrad grabbed Lily and pulled her toward the window.
“Stay back.”
Claire stopped.
Lily’s eyes met hers.
The child was terrified.
Still, she remembered what Claire had always taught her.
Look for the door.
Look for the adult who helps.
Keep breathing.
“Let her go,” Claire said.
Conrad smiled.
“Daniel said the same thing about the foundation.”
“What did you do to him?”
“Your husband believed documents were stronger than people.”
“He forgot documents burn.”
Behind Conrad, flames moved along the lower hallway.
The tower windows rattled from heat.
Julian stepped sideways.
Conrad pressed a knife near Lily’s shoulder.
“You were always the weak brother,” he said.
Julian froze.
Claire watched Lily’s feet.
One shoe remained.
The other was bare.
The bare foot touched a wooden telescope stand.
Claire understood.
“Lily,” she said.
“Show Uncle Conrad the stars.”
The child kicked the stand.
The telescope swung.
Its metal tube struck Conrad’s arm.
He released her.
Julian crossed the room and tackled him.
Claire reached Lily and pulled her toward the stairs.
The ceiling groaned.
Firefighters carried them through the smoke.
Outside, Lily clung to Claire and refused oxygen until she saw Julian emerge.
He appeared between two officers.
Blood covered his forehead.
Conrad followed in handcuffs.
As paramedics examined Lily, Vance approached Claire.
“We recovered the metal container.”
“What was inside?”
“Nothing.”
“Pike says Daniel removed the ledger before the accident.”
“Then why abduct Lily?”
“Because Evelyn believed Daniel told her where it was.”
Claire looked at her daughter.
Lily rested against Serena beneath a blanket.
The child had lost the crown, one shoe, and every illusion that adults were safe by default.
Then Claire remembered the camera.
“Where is the recording device?”
Vance showed her a melted black fragment recovered from Conrad’s pocket.
The memory card was missing.
Conrad smiled from the police vehicle.
“Evelyn has it.”
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At that moment, Julian received a hospital alert.
His mother had vanished from her room.
