Chapter 6 - THE LOCKER
Union Station was nearly empty when Grace arrived shortly before dawn.
Jonah wanted her to remain at the mansion.
Grace refused.
She had spent six years waiting for other people to decide what she was allowed to know.
She would never wait again.
Nathan followed in a second vehicle.
Lily remained under police protection with a female officer.
Grace did not like leaving her.
However, she knew the contents of the locker might be the only way to keep Lily safe permanently.
Locker 317 was hidden at the end of a dim corridor.
Grace entered the combination from the photograph.
The door opened with a metallic click.
Inside sat a cardboard box.
There were no diamonds.
There was no money.
There were only letters.
Hundreds of them.
Every letter Grace had written from St. Augustine had been carefully preserved.
Nathan stared at the stack.
“You wrote all of these?”
“I wrote every day.”
He picked up the first envelope.
It was addressed to him.
The seal had already been broken.
Someone had read it.
Nathan unfolded the paper.
Grace watched his expression change as he read.
The letter described the forced injections.
It described Olivia’s threats.
It begged Nathan to visit before Grace forgot the sound of Lily’s voice.
Nathan lowered the page.
“I never saw this.”
A woman’s voice came from behind them.
“But I did.”
Nurse Camila Ruiz stepped from the shadows.
Her dark hair had turned gray since Grace last saw her.
She carried a small suitcase.
Grace rushed toward her.
Camila held her tightly.
“I’m sorry it took me so long.”
“You saved my life.”
“I should have saved you sooner.”
Jonah asked Camila why she had kept the letters.
Camila explained that every outgoing message from Grace had been intercepted.
Dr. Mercer ordered the nurses to place them inside a locked cabinet.
Olivia collected them every month.
One evening, Camila stole the cabinet key.
She removed every letter and hid them.
“Why didn’t you go to the police?”
Camila looked ashamed.
“Mercer had documents showing I was stealing medication.”
“Were you?”
“No.”
Grace understood immediately.
The same people who had framed her had framed Camila.
Camila opened the suitcase.
Inside were medical files, payment records, and audio recordings.
One recording captured Olivia speaking with Dr. Mercer.
Another captured Charles threatening Camila’s family.
The final recording contained Nathan’s voice.
Grace looked at him.
Nathan stepped back.
Camila pressed play.
Nathan’s recorded voice filled the corridor.
“If Grace is still alive, no one can ever find out.”
Grace stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
“The company cannot survive another scandal.”
A second male voice answered.
“What about your daughter?”
Nathan replied without hesitation.
“Lily has already lost her mother.”
Grace turned toward him.
Nathan’s face collapsed.
“That isn’t what it sounds like.”
Camila watched him with disgust.
“It is exactly what it sounds like.”
Nathan moved toward Grace.
She backed away.
“When was this recorded?”
“Three years ago.”
Grace’s voice cracked.
“You knew.”
“I was told there was a possibility.”
“You knew I might be alive.”
Nathan shook his head.
“Olivia said Mercer was demanding money.”
“You chose your company.”
“I thought it was a lie.”
“You chose not to find out.”
Nathan reached for her.
Grace slapped his hand away.
“You let Lily believe I was dead.”
Nathan’s eyes filled with tears.
“I was afraid.”
Grace laughed bitterly.
“So was I.”
A phone rang inside the locker.
Everyone froze.
Beneath the letters, Jonah found an old black cellphone.
He answered it.
A distorted voice spoke through the speaker.
“You found the letters.”
Jonah demanded the caller’s identity.
The voice ignored him.
“Go back to the mansion.”
Grace grabbed the phone.
“Who are you?”
May you like
The caller whispered four words.
“Your daughter is gone.”
