Chapter 9 - THE EMPTY MEDICAL ROOM
Victor called the mansion.
No one answered.
Cole tried the secure line.
The system had gone offline.
Serena had not been alone.
Before the church attack, one of Crane’s teams entered the property using Dr. Price’s medical credentials.
The guards at the east gate allowed the vehicle through.
When Victor returned, the medical room was empty.
Dr. Sofia Navarro lay unconscious in the hallway.
A sedative had been injected into her arm.
Two guards were injured but alive.
Ethan’s bed was empty.
Lily found the baby’s blanket near the service elevator.
She picked it up with trembling hands.
“She took him.”
Victor stood completely still.
Cole checked the garage.
A medical transport van was missing.
The tracking system had been disabled.
Serena had escaped through the underground tunnel connecting the mansion to an old Blackwood warehouse.
Marlene had also disappeared.
No one knew whether she had been taken or had helped.
Ruiz found a message on the medical computer.
Bring the ledger to Pier Seventeen.
Come alone.
If Lily comes, the child dies first.
Lily read the sentence.
“I am going.”
Victor looked at her.
“It says not to.”
“She expects you to obey because Ethan is your weakness.”
“He is my son.”
“And she knows you will do anything.”
Lily’s voice shook.
“That means she has planned for anything you would do.”
“She has not planned for me.”
Victor wanted to refuse.
Every instinct told him to lock Lily somewhere safe.
Then he remembered Isabella’s message.
The child must not inherit a kingdom built on cruelty.
Control disguised as protection was still control.
“What do you need?” he asked.
Lily looked surprised.
“A tracker.”
“A small recorder.”
“And a copy of the ledger that looks real.”
Ruiz objected.
“This is a police operation.”
Victor looked at her.
“It becomes one when you can reach the pier without Serena seeing you.”
Cole prepared a false archive case.
The real files were already being copied into federal custody.
Lily placed a tracker inside the lining of her shoe.
Victor wore a hidden microphone beneath his shirt.
They traveled separately.
Victor approached Pier Seventeen in a black sedan.
Lily entered through the warehouse district on foot.
The cold wind cut through her borrowed coat.
At the pier, Serena stood beside a private yacht.
Ethan was strapped inside a child carrier against her chest.
His injured arm was wrapped.
He was awake.
His frightened eyes searched the darkness.
Dr. Malcolm Price stood beside Serena.
Marlene knelt near the railing with her hands tied.
Serena smiled when Victor arrived.
“You brought the ledger.”
Victor lifted the case.
“Give me my son.”
Serena touched Ethan’s cheek.
“You still think this is an exchange.”
“No.”
“This is your last lesson.”
A helicopter appeared above the lake.
May you like
Crane had not been Serena’s final partner.
Someone else was coming to collect Ethan.
